I.

Clean Air Act

History of the Clean Air Act

In October 1948, a thick cloud of air pollution formed above the industrial town of Donora,
Pennsylvania.

The cloud lingered for five days, killed 20 people and caused sickness in 6,000 of the town's 14,000
people.

In 1952, over 3,000 people died in what became known as London's "Killer Fog." The smog was so thick
that buses could not run without guides walking ahead of them carrying lanterns.

Events like these alerted about the dangers that air pollution poses to public health.

The original Clean Air Act of 1963, was established for the study and the cleanup of air pollution.

But there was no comprehensive federal response to address air pollution until Congress passed a much
stronger Clean Air Act in 1970.

In 1970 Congress created the EPA and gave it the primary role in carrying out the law.

Since then EPA has been responsible for a variety of Clean Air Act programs to reduce air pollution
nationwide.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA or USEPA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting
human health and with safeguarding the natural environment : air, water, and land.

The EPA was proposed by President Richard Nixon and began operation on December 2, 1970.

The EPA is not a cabinet agency, but the Administrator is normally given cabinet rank.

Role OF U.S EPA

Under the Clean Air Act, EPA sets limits on certain air pollutants, including setting limits on how much
can be in the air anywhere in the United States.

This helps to ensure basic health and environmental protection from air pollution for all Americans.

The Clean Air Act also gives EPA the authority to limit emissions of air pollutants coming from sources
like chemical plants, utilities, and steel mills.

Individual states or tribes may have stronger air pollution laws, but they may not have weaker pollution
limits than those set by EPA.

EPA must approve state and local agency plans for reducing air pollution.
 If a plan does not meet the necessary requirements, EPA can take over enforcing the Clean Air Act in
that area.

EPA assists state and local agencies by providing research, expert studies, engineering designs, and
funding to support clean air progress.

Since 1970, Congress and the EPA have provided several billion dollars to the states, local agencies, and
tribal nations to accomplish this.

Air Pollution Control Acts and amendments

The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was the first federal legislation involving air pollution. This Act
provide funds for federal research in air pollution.

The Clean Air Act of 1963 was the first federal legislation regarding air pollution control. It established a
federal program within the U.S. Public Health Service and authorized research into techniques for air
pollution monitoring and control.

Air Pollution Control Acts and amendments

In 1967, the Air Quality Act was enacted to expand federal government activities. In accordance with
this law, enforcement proceedings were initiated in areas subject to interstate air pollution transport.

The federal government conducted extensive ambient monitoring studies and stationary source
inspections.

Also studies of air pollutant emission inventories, ambient monitoring techniques, and control
techniques were studied.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

The Clean Air Act, which last amended in 1990, required EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment.

The Clean Air Act established two types of national air quality standards.

Primary standards

Secondary standards

Primary standards set limits to protect public health, including the health of "sensitive" populations
such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly.

Secondary standards set limits to protect public welfare, including protection against reduced visibility,
damage to animals, crops, vegetations, and buildings and other environmental components.

The EPA has set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six "criteria" pollutants.
Units of measure are parts per million (ppm) by volume, milligrams per cubic meter of air (mg/m3), and
micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3).

The six criteria air pollutants are:-

Carbon monoxide

Lead

Nitrogen dioxide

Particulate matter

Ozone

Sulphur dioxide

National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) are emission standards set
by the United States EPA for an air pollutant not covered by NAAQS that may cause an increase fatalities
or serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness.

National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Pollution sources

Most air toxics originate from human-made sources, including

mobile sources (e.g., cars, trucks, buses)

stationary sources (e.g., factories, refineries, power plants),

indoor sources (e.g., building materials and activities such as cleaning).

There are two types of stationary sources that generate routine emissions of air toxics:

1. "Major" sources - are defined as “sources that emit 10 tons per year of any of the listed toxic air
pollutants, or 25 tons per year of a mixture of air toxics”.

These sources may release air toxics from equipment leaks, when materials are transferred from one
location to another, or during discharge through emission stacks or vents

2. "Area" sources- smaller-size facilities that release lesser quantities of toxic pollutants into the air.

Area sources are defined as “sources that emit less than 10 tons per year of a single air toxic, or less
than 25 tons per year of a combination of air toxics”.
Though emissions from individual area sources are often small, collectively their emissions can be of
concern - particularly where large numbers of sources are located in heavily populated areas.

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977

Major amendments were added to the Clean Air Act in 1977 (1977 CAAA).

The 1977 Amendments primarily concerned provisions for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration
(PSD) of air quality in areas attaining the NAAQS.

The 1977 CAAA also contained requirements pertaining to sources in non-attainment areas for NAAQS.

“A non-attainment area is a geographic area that does not meet one or more of the federal air quality
standards.” II CLASS

Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)

The states are required to ensure areas already in compliance with the national ambient air quality
standards do not deteriorate to or cross those standards

Such areas, must control the emissions of certain pollutants such that the concentration of those
pollutants does not increase than the allowable increment as set in the CAA.

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

In 1990, Clean Air Act was revised and expanded.

1. cost-effective approaches to reduce air pollution.

2. Control of acid deposition (acid rain)

3. control of toxic air pollutants

4. stratospheric ozone protection

CONCLUSION

By reducing air pollution, the Clean Air Act has led to significant improvements in human health and the
environment.

Since 1970, the six commonly found air pollutants have decreased by more than 50 percent

Air toxics from large industrial sources, such as chemical plants, petroleum refineries, and paper mills
have been reduced by nearly 70 percent

New cars are more than 90 percent cleaner and will be even cleaner in the future, and
Production of most ozone-depleting chemicals has ceased.

At the same time,

the gross domestic products, or GDP, has increased……

energy consumption has increased and

vehicle use has increased by almost 200 percent……………

How clean is clean……..???????

II. Clean Water Act

Goal of CWA

The main goal of these regulatory and non regulatory tools are to restore and maintain the chemical,
physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters so that they can support "the protection and
propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water."

 Federal Clean Water Act

 ►Legislative History:

 Congress in 1948 – “Water Pollution Control Act”

 Major amendments 1961, 1966, 1970, and 1972

 Amended/renamed 1977 - “Clean Water Act” (CWA)

Federal Clean Water Act

Passed by congress on October 4, 1972 – vetoed by President Nixon

Pre-1972, discharge limits were calculated based on receiving water quality-assimilative capacity – didn’t
take into account cumulative effects

eg (Cuyahoga River) – “dilution is no solution”

What is the relevance of CWA?

The Clean Water Act (CWA 1977) was established for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters
of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters.
The basis of the CWA was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

 The Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. "Clean Water Act" became the
Act's common name with amendments in 1977.

Under the CWA, EPA has implemented

 pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.

 water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters were set.

CWA deals with two types of pollution: point-source and non-point-source

-Point source: CWA has been very successful

Pollution that comes out of the end of a pipe or other discrete conveyance

Governed primarily by Section 402 of the CWA

Establishes a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

Pollution control strategy in the CWA

Point sources

The 1972 act introduced a permit system for regulating point sources of pollution.

Point sources include:

industrial facilities (including manufacturing, mining, oil and gas extraction, and service industries)

municipal governments and other government facilities (such as military bases), and

some agricultural facilities, such as animal feedlots.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) . (IMP)

Point sources may not discharge pollutants to surface waters without a permit from the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

This system is managed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in partnership
with state environmental agencies.

EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls discharges.

Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches.

Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a
surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit;
however, industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to
surface waters.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

►Administered by the U.S. EPA

►Regulates:

 Municipal Wastewater (Sewer) Discharges

 Industrial Wastewater (Process) Discharges

 Municipal Storm Water Discharges

 Industrial Storm Water Discharges

 Construction Site Storm Water Discharges

Administered through a permit system

Includes requirements for public notice & public involvement

Provides for delegation to approved states

Non-point sources

Congress exempted some water pollution sources from the point source definition in the 1972 CWA,
and was unclear on the status of some other sources.

These sources were therefore considered to be non-point sources that were not subject to the permit
program.

Non-point sources

Agricultural storm water discharges

irrigation return flows

Storm water runoff from industrial sources,

municipal storm drains.

The controlling of non-point source pollution—from diffuse or not-easily identifiable sources—is

much a harder task than controlling point source pollution, which can be predicted, controlled, and
monitored.
1970 Clean Water Act Amendments (CWAA)

The Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire several times since the 1930s, a result of oil slicks and
flammable industrial waste dumped in it.

Coupled with widespread and human waste contamination of rivers, the fire on the Cuyahoga in 1969,
led to the enactment of the CWAA.

Relevance of CWA

1. The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection.

2. The Act does not deal directly with ground water nor with water quantity issues.

3. The act employs a variety of regulatory and non regulatory tools to reduce direct pollutant
discharges into waterways, finance municipal wastewater treatment facilities, and manage
polluted runoff.

III. Sustainable Development

Definitions of Sustainable Development

I. Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs

(Brundland Commission - Our Common Future, 1987)

II. A sustainable society enables its members to achieve a high quality of life in ways that are
ecologically sustainable
(United Nations)

Goal for Sustainable Development

To enable each individual to live life to their full potential physical, mental, and spiritual
development

(1992 Earth Summit - Agenda 21)

Some Core Themes of Sustainable Development

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we are borrowing it from our children
 Awareness leads to appropriate action

Prevention of pollution

Conservation of natural resources (i.e., preserving natural capital)

Systems thinking - interdependence of all life

More Core Themes of Sustainable Development

Those who reap the benefits of development must bear the costs

Those who bear the costs of development should share in the benefits

Those affected by development must participate in decision making

Precautionary principle

Development-> Poverty-> and Hunger

Poverty and ecosystem degradation result from externalised environmental and social costs of
market transactions

Some groups are enriched at the expense of the environment

Key criterion for sustainable development is whether the needs of the least advantaged, most
vulnerable members of society are met

(United Nations Environment Program, 1995)

Poor people have limited access to resources

Preoccupied with immediate survival,

not long-term conservation

Increased pressure
to exploit marginal environments

More environmental degradation

More poverty

The Poor and Environmental Degradation

Environmental degradation affects poor people most through:

 polluted and unsafe water

 inadequate sanitation
  erosion, flooding

 exposure to toxic waste

 loss of local resources - food, fuel

Thus..........

Reducing poverty is a prerequisite for sustainable development

Environment and Health

Some environmental causes of ill health:

Water pollution from humans and industry

Overcrowding, especially in urban centres

Unhealthy working conditions

Modifying the natural environment, e.g:

 malaria, Japanese encephalitis from reservoirs, irrigation

 pesticide contamination from agriculture

 air pollution from vehicles in big cities

Sustainable development must contribute to:

physical, social, spiritual, and economic well-being

safe drinking water and sanitation

safe, nutritious food, and overall hygiene

adequate housing

health care services and health education

disease control

lower infant mortality and longer life

Development has often caused native peoples to lose:

 Means of livelihood

 Ancestral land, traditions, cultural values, self-determination, dignity

 Frequently the outcomes of development are:

 Unemployment

 Increased poverty, ill-health, societal breakdown, crime

Vehicles for the Sustainable Development Journey

Visionary policies

Cross-sectoral legislation and institutions

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

Environmental awareness and public participation in decisions

Unsustainable Human Activities (one 8 mark question)

1. Reduction of forest cover

2. Conversion of wetlands for agriculture and aquaculture

3. Overuse of pesticides and fertilizers

4. Some reservoirs and irrigation projects

5. Removal of coastal mangrove forests

6. Destructive fishing methods, over fishing

7. Expansion of urban populations

• 1. Human Impacts on Forests

a. Drastic forest cover reduction

b. Unsustainable legal and illegal logging

c. Collection of firewood - primary energy source for most people

d. Clearing of forests for agriculture

e. Road building increased access to remote forest areas

• Unsustainable Effects
of Forest Loss

a. Loss of habitat for plants and animals lower the biodiversity

b. Loss of soil fertility

c. Loss of soil due to erosion, landslides

d. Higher turbidity and siltation of Rivers, its tributaries, and reservoirs

e. Global warming

• Unsustainability of Plantation Forests

a. Species often have high nutrient demands

b. Leaf litter damages soil quality

c. Low biodiversity - loss of wildlife, increased risk of disease

d. Supply little firewood, no medicines, food

e. Not labour intensive

• 2. Unsustainable Effects of Mangrove Forest Removal

a. Reduced protection from coastal erosion

b. Loss of habitat for breeding and feeding coastal marine species, lower biodiversity,

c. Pollution from agriculture runoff wastes and chemicals

• 3. Unsustainable Fisheries

a. Too many people chasing too few fish

b. Destruction of fish habitat

c. Blockage of fish migration routes by dams

d. Increased sedimentation, water turbidity hinders fish feeding and spawning

e. Changes in water chemistry unsuitable for fish

f. Illegal methods such as dynamite fishing

g. Introduction of exotic species

• 4. Unsustainable Effects of Dams

a. Forced resettlement of communities often results in their impoverishment

b. Loss of downstream river flow volumes and natural fluctuations

 c. Undesirable changes in water chemistry

d. Loss of traditional fisheries

e. Flooding of uncleared forested areas causes greenhouse gas emissions,

• 5. Unsustainable Effects of Irrigation

a. Increased salinization of soils

b. Inequitable allocation of water - upstream users benefit at expense of downstream

c. Reduction in downstream water flow

d. Increased agro-chemical run-off to river

e. Soil erosion and siltation from run-off

• Landslides in hilly areas

6. Unsustainable Effects of Urbanization

a. Increase in urban poverty

b. Overcrowding, overloaded infrastructure

c. Lowering of well-being in cities: health, pollution, waste, crime, social tensions, family and
community breakdown

d. Loss of cultural traditions

e. Cut off from natural ecosystems

• 7. Unsustainable Attitudes and Beliefs

 When humans forget we are children of nature and instead believe we can dominate nature

 Taking from nature without caring for and not replenishing it

 Caring for the environment is someone else’s responsibility

Barriers to sustainability includes :

• continued population growth

• increasingly efficient and resource-hungry technology (extracting, processing, and distributing

more in less time)
 • a social, political, and corporate culture that focuses on the short term

• change is only seen through the eyes of an election cycle or a human lifetime

• pervasive advertising and marketing efforts aimed at increasing consumption

• a distancing from the environmental consequences of our actions (e.g. our waste does not pile
up in our back yard)

• the complexity of ecosystems making it difficult for scientists to give clear and univocal advice to
political decision-makers, hence the recommendation to adopt the Precautionary Principle

• we do not (yet) pay for nature as we would for other goods and services and are therefore
inclined to assume it has little value.

• we are not prepared to change our behaviour if it takes us out of our comfort zone (even in the
face of overwhelming scientific evidence)

• we feel that our own individual action is insignificant and unimportant.

• The Sustainable Development Journey………

Sustainable development is a journey, not a destination… and there are no short cuts……

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