National recourses for international pollution: towards a United States, Canada solution

Journal Article · Wed Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1984 · J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/00022470.1984.10465731· OSTI ID:7099403

Wetstone, G S

The most prominent transboundary concern is, of course, acid rain, caused by the long-range transport of industrial and automotive pollution. But long-range air pollution transport also results in several other serious but less publicized transboundary problems such as the movement across national boundaries of oxidant pollution, which is impairing agricultural productivity in southern Ontario and elsewhere, and the transboundary flow of toxic air pollutants, a phenomenon which may already be affecting the Great Lakes. The Environmental Law Institute has conducted a series of studies of the institutional framework governing control of international pollution problems. A major conclusion of this research effort is that current national and international legal structures are poorly suited to the effective control of transboundary pollution. The international legal structure offers useful principles of environmental responsibility, but they are neither sufficiently defined nor sufficiently enforceable to support effective application to specific controversies. Despite the recent increase in the number and severity of international environmental problems, governments continue to make energy policy, pollution control, and land use decisions without explicit consideration of transboundary impact. There are forward-looking provisions in the Clean Air Acts of both the U.S. and Canada requiring control of emissions causing transboundary problems (U.S. Clean Air Act Section 115 and Canadian Clean Air Act Section 21.1). A recently completed ELI study focused on a new approach which would make the largely ignored U.S. and Canadian Clean Air Act provisions for control of international air pollution work more effectively, and in concert.

• Research Organization: Environmental Law Inst., Washington, DC
• OSTI ID: 7099403
• Journal Information: J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States) Vol. 31:2; ISSN JPCAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACID RAIN
AGREEMENTS
AIR POLLUTION
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
CANADA
CLEAN AIR ACT
COOPERATION
ENERGY POLICY
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
LAND USE
LAWS
LEGAL ASPECTS
LONG-RANGE TRANSPORT
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDIZERS
POLLUTION
POLLUTION LAWS
RAIN
TRANSFRONTIER POLLUTION
USA