What Lawmakers are Doing to Reduce PM Levels

With the passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990, Congress granted the U.S. EPA the authority to set standards limiting the amount of certain pollutants in the air. 

The U.S. EPA has developed several regulatory actions related to the reduction of PM.  These actions include the Clean Air Interstate Rule, the Clean Air Visibility Rule and the Clean Air Non-Road Diesel Rule.

On July 17, 1997, the U.S. EPA proposed new standards for PM_2.5.  These new measures came about after research suggested that the existing standards were not adequately protecting public health from the effects of PM₁₀.  From 1999 to 2001, a lawsuit challenging the new standards traveled from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to the U.S. Supreme Court.  In February of 2001, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the PM_2.5 standard introduced in 1997.

In December of 2005, the U.S. EPA proposed revisions to its National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particle pollution.  The U.S. EPA writes that these amendments “would strengthen a fine particle standard, and would improve and refocus the coarse particle standards on those particles that are associated with public health concerns.”  The official new standard must be announced by September 27, 2006.

Please contact your local representative of Congress to share your thoughts on future clean air legislation.