Scope and Methodology

To determine whether EPA’s planned state emissions reporting requirements exceeded the agency’s actual program needs, we reviewed the Clean Air Act, and we analyzed various information reporting requirements of the 1990 amendments and EPA documents interpreting requirements of the amendments. Proposed Reporting Requirements Exceeded EPA Minimum Program Needs

EPA’s draft regulation on states’ reporting of air pollution emissions exceeded what was needed by EPA to meet minimum agency air pollution program needs. EPA has suspended its promulgation of the regulation and has recently begun studying alternative reporting options. The states noted that additional resources to develop these databases were not available. When AIRS was originally designed, states were expected to be one of its primary users; however, most heavy emission states now use their own systems because these systems are more efficient and easier to use than AIRS. This is incorrect.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO reviewed selected data collection and reporting requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, focusing on whether: (1) the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) planned state emissions reporting requirements exceed its program needs; and (2) states use the EPA Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS) to monitor emissions data.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) EPA draft regulation would have required states to submit emissions data that exceeded its minimum air pollution program needs and to develop complicated pollutant databases that they could not afford; (2) EPA has since suspended the regulation and is considering alternative reporting options; (3) despite EPA intentions, 9 of the 10 heavy emission states use their own independently developed systems to track air pollution emissions; and (4) the state tracking systems are more efficient and easier to use than AIRS.