As requested, this report addresses EPA’s actions related to Titles I,  III, and IV: Title I establishes a detailed and graduated program for the attainment  and maintenance of the national ambient air quality standards;  Title III expands and modifies regulations of hazardous air pollutant  emissions and establishes a list of 189 hazardous air pollutants to be  regulated;  Title IV establishes the acid deposition control program to reduce the  adverse effects of acid rain by reducing the annual emissions of  pollutants that contribute to it. The numerous actions required to meet the objectives of Titles I, III, and IV  of the 1990 amendments vary in scope and complexity. In contrast, under Title III, EPA is  required to implement technology-based standards for 174 separate  categories of sources of hazardous air pollutants, involving many  industries. Of the  256 requirements that EPA met late, 162 were met within 2 years of their  statutory deadline and 94 were completed more than 2 years after their  deadlines (see table 3). Consequently, improvements in air quality  associated with some of these requirements may have been delayed. EPA officials cited several factors to explain why the agency missed  deadlines for so many requirements. Among these factors was an emphasis  on stakeholders’ review and involvement during regulatory development,  which added to the time needed to issue regulations. In addition, EPA  officials mentioned the need to set priorities among the tremendous  number of new requirements for EPA resulting from the 1990 amendments,  which meant that some of these actions had to be delayed. Moreover,  competing demands caused by the workload associated with EPA’s  responses to lawsuits challenging some of its rules caused additional  delays. Thus, any  improvements in air quality that would result from EPA meeting these  requirements remain unrealized. The majority of the unmet requirements  related to Title I are activities involving promulgating regulations that limit  the emissions of volatile organic compounds from different groups of  consumer and commercial products. According to EPA officials, these  rules were never completed because EPA shifted its priorities toward  issuing the Title III technology-based standards. EPA completed its  first review and issued the first set of these risk-based amendments in  March 2005. Observations

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 constituted a significant overhaul  of the Clean Air Act, and notable reductions in emissions of air pollutants  have been attained as a result of the many actions these amendments  required of EPA, states, and other parties. EPA generally agreed with the findings presented in the report and  provided supplemental information about the air quality, public health, and  environmental benefits associated with implementation of the Clean Air  Act Amendments of 1990 and comments related to its future challenges. There are 21 requirements under Title III that EPA had not met as of April  2005, most of which involve the residual risk reviews required after EPA  has set technology-based standards (see table 9). Specifically, EPA has not  yet reviewed residual risk for 19 MACT standards with deadlines prior to  April 2005. As of April 2005, EPA had completed 42 of the 44 requirements to meet the  objectives of Title IV. These titles, which respectively address national  ambient air quality standards, hazardous air pollutants, and acid deposition  control, are the most relevant to proposed legislation and recently finalized  regulations that address emissions of air pollutants by power plants. To obtain information on the status of EPA’s implementation of  requirements related to Titles I, III, and IV of the Clean Air Act  Amendments of 1990—both those with and without statutory deadlines— we obtained lists of these requirements used for GAO’s 2000 report, Air  Pollution: Status of Implementation and Issues of the Clean Air Act  Amendments of 1990 (GAO/RCED-00-72) and held discussions with EPA  officials knowledgeable about EPA’s workload required to meet the  objectives of these titles. As background, our report states that while air quality in the United  States has steadily improved over the last few decades, more than a  hundred million Americans continue to live in communities where  pollution causes the air to be unhealthy at times, according to EPA.
Why GAO Did This Study

While air quality in the United States has steadily improved over the last few decades, more than a hundred million Americans continue to live in communities where pollution causes the air to be unhealthy at times, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Clean Air Act, first passed in 1963, was last reauthorized and amended in 1990, when new programs were created and changes were made to the ways in which air pollution is controlled. The 1990 amendments included hundreds of requirements for EPA, as well as other parties, to take steps that will ultimately reduce air pollution. The amendments also established deadlines for many of these requirements. Since the 1990 amendments, various actions have been proposed to either amend the Clean Air Act or implement its provisions in new ways. GAO was asked to report on the current status of EPA's implementation of requirements under Titles I, III, and IV of the 1990 amendments. These titles, which address national ambient air quality standards, hazardous air pollutants, and acid deposition control, respectively, are the most relevant to proposed legislation and recently finalized regulations addressing emissions of air pollutants by power plants.

What GAO Found

As of April 2005, EPA had completed 404 of the 452 actions required to meet the objectives of Titles I, III, and IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Of the 338 requirements that had statutory deadlines prior to April 2005, EPA completed 256 late: many (162) 2 years or less after the required date, but others (94) more than 2 years after their deadlines. Consequently, improvements in air quality associated with some of these requirements may have been delayed. The numerous actions required to implement these titles varied in scope and complexity. For example, these actions included reviewing numerous state plans to comply with national health- and welfare-based air quality standards for six major pollutants, setting technology-based standards to reduce emissions from sources of hazardous air pollutants, and developing a new program to reduce acid rain. EPA officials cited several reasons for the missed deadlines, including the emphasis on stakeholders' involvement during regulatory development, which added to the time needed to issue regulations; the need to set priorities among the tremendous number of new responsibilities EPA assumed as a result of the 1990 amendments, which meant that some actions had to be delayed; and competing demands caused by the workload associated with EPA's response to lawsuits challenging some of its rules. Of the 48 requirements EPA had not met as of April 2005, 45 had associated deadlines, and 3 did not. The unmet requirements include 15 Title I requirements to promulgate regulations to limit the emissions of volatile organic compounds from a number of consumer and commercial products, such as household cleaners and pesticides. According to EPA officials, these rules were not completed because EPA shifted its priorities toward issuing standards related to the emissions of hazardous air pollutants regulated under Title III. However, the unmet requirements also include actions under Title III to periodically assess whether EPA's emissions standards for sources that emit significant amounts of hazardous air pollutants appropriately protect public health. These "residual risk" assessments are to be made within 8 years of the setting of each of the emissions standards, and 19 of these assessments are now past the 8-year mark. EPA completed the first of these residual risk assessments in March 2005. Any improvements in air quality that would result from EPA meeting these requirements remain unrealized. In commenting on a draft of this report, EPA generally agreed with our findings and provided supplemental information, primarily on the benefits of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and the reasons for implementation delays.