1. Your Professor: Joe Serres

2. What will you learn in this unit? In your readings and seminar, you will learn about the various sources of air pollution and the regulatory structure in place to deal with such issues as hazardous air pollutants and criteria pollutants. Special emphasis will be placed on carbon dioxide and climate change. In the Discussion Boards, you will learn about the various health effects of air pollution and how ubiquitous that pollution is in our communities Unit 3 Air Pollution

3. Read Chapter 5, pp. 353–357 in Chapter 9, and pp. 448–454 of Chapter 11 in Environmental Law Watch a video on climate change Participate in Seminar and Discussion Boards Search an air quality database Read an air quality report on air pollution Read a case related to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for lead Read an article on the importance of citizen suits Unit 3 Air Pollution Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

4. Air Pollutants & Problems Health Effects of Pollutants Table 5.1, bottom p.169, Chapter 5 SIGNIFICANT AIR-QUALITY PROBLEMS ACID DEPOSITION DEPLETION OF THE OZONE LAYER HUMAN-INDUCED GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE FIGURE 5-7 1998 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Per Capita (Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent Per Person)

5. Clean Air Act 1. National Ambient Air Quality Standards 2. State Implementation Plans See FIGURE 5-12 Counties Designated Nonattainment for Clean Air Act’s National Ambient Air-Quality Standards (NAAQS) p.194 FIGURE 5-13 Attainment and Nonattainment Areas in the U.S. 8- hour Ozone Standard p.195 PERMIT PROGRAM POLICY OF NO SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION NEW SOURCE REVIEW & BUSH ADMINISTRATION CHALLENGES TO ENFORCEMENT

6. Clean Air Act MOBILE SOURCE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS -The Lead example CHANGES WITH 1990 AMENDMENTS TO CLEAN AIR ACT THE MERCURY CONTROVERSY Is George Bush’s views on mercury consistent with yours? What about that Clear Skies Initiative? ACID RAIN-CONTROL PROGRAM ENFORCEMENT OF THE 1990 ACT

7. COAL Coal is this nation’s most plentiful fossil fuel, constituting approximately 90 percent of the U.S. hydrocarbon reserves. At one time providing over 90 % of our energy needs, today coal supplies about 25 %. Out of the entire electric industry, some estimate that coal-fired power plants contribute 96 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions, 99 percent of mercury emissions, 93 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions, and 88 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Such pollutants significantly contribute to the deterioration of public health, especially in the development of respiratory ailments such as asthma. Global Commons Review pp. 448-454 for summary of “global commons” issues surrounding international treaties and carbon dioxide and global warming pollutants

8. Discussion Board Topic 1: Criteria Pollutants – The State of the Air EPA uses six "criteria pollutants" as indicators of air quality, and has established for each of them a maximum concentration above which adverse effects on human health may occur. These threshold concentrations are called National Ambient Air Quality Standards or NAAQS. They are termed "criteria pollutants" because the EPA based each NAAQS on health-based criteria from scientific studies. Areas of the country where air pollution levels persistently exceed the NAAQS are designated "nonattainment." The Clean Air Act further classifies ozone, carbon monoxide, and some particulate matter nonattainment areas based on the magnitude of an area's problem. Nonattainment classifications may be used to specify what air pollution reduction measures an area must adopt, and when the area must reach attainment. Areas that do meet the applicable NAAQS are called “attainment areas.” The regulations that an area is subject to are found in the relevant state implementation plan. For this discussion, start by reading the American Lung Association’s most recent report on air pollution of the six most common air pollutants in the United States. Make sure you find the closest metropolitan area to where you are located and evaluate and report the following information to your classmates: the ranking of the area in terms of cleanliness or dirtiness, the pollutants of concern, the health effects from those pollutants, and the populations at risk. Then answer the following questions: What surprised you the most about your area? Is your area cleaner or dirtier than your classmates’? What surprised you the most about your classmates’ areas? What recommendations do you have to clean up the air in your area?

9. Discussion Board Topic 2: Nasties in the Air - Toxics Now that you know the state of the air in your area as it relates to the six most common air pollutants in the United States, it is time to find out what air toxics or hazardous air pollutants are emitting into the air where you might live or work. Hazardous air pollutants are governed under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act and are controlled using the “maximum achievable control technology” or MACT. Like criteria pollutants, hazardous air pollutants are subject to a series of regulations to reduce the air emissions. But, unlike criteria pollutants, which are subject to an ambient-based approach to reduce pollution, hazardous air pollutants are subject to a “technology-based” approach to reduce pollution. In setting MACT standards, the EPA does not generally prescribe a specific control technology. Instead, whenever feasible, the Agency sets a performance level based on technology or other practices already used by the industry. Facilities are free to achieve these performance levels in whatever way is most cost-effective for them. The MACT standards issued by the EPA over the past 10 years have proven extremely successful. Once fully implemented, these standards will cut emissions of toxic air pollutants by nearly 1.5 million tons per year. Go to the Toxics Release Inventory or TRI. TRI is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities reported annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities. To find information about where you work or live, type in the zip code and the TRI database will identify the facility, the toxic releases, and their quantities released into the environment. For this exercise, focus only on the air releases into the environment. Then consider the following information and report it to your classmates: the air toxins or hazardous air pollutants that you have identified, the quantities that were released into the air, and the health effects from those pollutants. Then answer the following questions: What surprised you the most about your area and those of your classmates? How are these pollutants different than criteria pollutants? What types of measures do you recommend to reduce these pollutants? Are the recommendations different than the ones you have made for criteria pollutants?

10. Discussion Board Topic 3: The British Are Coming! – Citizen Suit Enforcement The Clean Air Act is the first, but not the only, environmental law that authorizes citizens to enforce compliance with environmental laws. Because environmental agencies do not catch and prosecute all violators of environmental statutes, citizen suits can be extremely useful, empowering anyone with an interest in environmental protection to demand that laws be enforced. In addition, citizen suits can also force the environmental agencies to comply with the law as well. Citizens must be adversely affected by the violation and normally must give 60-days notice of the alleged violation to the alleged violator, state, and the EPA prior to filing suit. This notice and delay period are intended to allow the violator an opportunity to correct his violation and to give the EPA or state an opportunity to enforce compliance, thus making citizen enforcement unnecessary. A citizen suit may not be commenced if the EPA or the state is already diligently prosecuting a civil action in a court to enforce compliance. In a citizen suit, the court may grant an injunction, impose penalties, and award attorney fees and litigation costs to any prevailing or partially prevailing party whenever the court determines such an award is appropriate. Attorney fees will not be assessed against a citizen unless the court determines the suit is frivolous. Natural Resources Defense Council v. TrainNatural Resources Defense Council v. Train, 411 F.Supp. 864 (1976). In this case an environmental group used the citizen suit provisions under the Clean Air Act to force the EPA to establish a National Ambient Air Quality Standard for lead. Read this case and then answer the following questions – What did the Natural Resources Defense Council contend in this case? What was the EPA’s defense in this case? What was the court’s rationale? After you have answered these questions, read Citizen Suits: The Teeth in Public Participation and answer the following questions:Citizen Suits: The Teeth in Public Participation Why did Congress enact citizen suit provisions? Why are citizen suits an important part of the public participation process? What are some of the factors that make citizen suits successful?

11. UNIT THREE KEY TERMS Criteria Pollutants: Particulate matter, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead are called "criteria" air pollutants by the EPA because it regulates them by developing human health-based and/or environmentally based criteria (science-based guidelines) for setting permissible levels. National Ambient Air Quality Standards: The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to establish standards for six criteria pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment. The Clean Air Act established two types of national air quality standards. Primary standards are intended 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 decreased visibility and damage to animals, crops, vegetation, and buildings. State Implementation Plans: Regulations and other materials for meeting clean air standards and associated Clean Air Act requirements, which include state regulations that EPA has approved; state-issued, EPA-approved orders requiring pollution control at individual companies, and planning documents such as area-specific compilations of emissions estimates and computer simulations (modeling analyses) demonstrating that the regulatory limits assure that the air will meet air quality standards. New Source Review: Places preconstruction review and permitting requirements on certain new and modified sources of air pollution to protect public health and air quality. The nature of the requirements depends on whether the source is to be located in an area that attains or does not attain the NAAQS for the pollutant in question. A source in an area that attains the NAAQS is given a prevention of significant deterioration permit and a source in an area located in an area that does not attain the NAAQS is given a nonattainment new source review permit. Hazardous Air Pollutants: Chemicals that can cause adverse effects to human health or the environment. Congress has identified over 188 of these pollutants, including substances that cause cancer, neurological, respiratory, and reproductive effects.