Regional Air Quality Partnerships - The Great Lakes challenge

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:617697

Hauge, E R ^[1]

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1. National Park Service, Denver, CO (United States)

Air pollution is a regional problem. The 1967 Clean Air Act Amendments (the Air Quality Act) divided the United States into air quality control regions (AQCRs) and required intergovernmental cooperation to deal with the problem. The 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments established a program to prevent significant deterioration of air quality in clean air areas, a major purpose of which is to preserve, protect, and enhance the air quality in nationally or regionally significant lands ({open_quotes}Class I areas{close_quotes}). Federal land managers (FLMs) are given an {open_quotes}affirmative responsibility{close_quotes} to protect Class I resources from adverse air pollution impacts. The National Park Service and other FLMs initiated air quality programs in response to the Clean Air Act mandates. However, the case-by-case permit review process is not necessarily the best way to deal with regional air pollution. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments refocussed on regional air pollution. The first regional air quality partnership (RAQP) was organized that same year. In 1991, the US-Canada Air Quality Agreement was signed, requiring cooperation on transboundary air pollution issues. Several additional RAQPs have been organized, including the first international partnership in New England and Atlantic Canada. Establishing a Great Lakes partnership is the biggest challenge to date.

• OSTI ID: 617697
• Report Number(s): CONF-9610359--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
AIR QUALITY
CLEAN AIR ACTS
DEPOSITION
GREAT LAKES BASIN
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
REGIONAL ANALYSIS