Clean Air Act - Overview

Description

Participants in this workshop will learn the history of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and how the Act applies to Federal, State, and local governments, as well as private companies and citizens.  Participants will also learn the terminology associated with the Act, and review case law that guided its implementation. In addition, participants will gain an understanding of the relationship between the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) oversight of the Act and the role played by States. Lastly, participants will study important aspects of the Act, such as how the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are determined, when permits are required, and the processes for obtaining permits. 

Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to do the following:

  • Know the important terms and definitions of the CAA.

  • Identify where, when, and how the CAA is implemented.

  • Understand the specific roles and responsibilities of the EPA and States in setting and enforcing the requirements of the CAA.

  • Understand how the CAA affects the ocean environment and the international MARPOL Annex VI requirements.

  • Recognize how and when to obtain appropriate permits for designated attainment, maintenance, and non-attainment areas.

  • Know the current issues surrounding implementation of the CAA, including control of green-house gases and newer toxic pollutants.

Content

The basic format of the short workshop includes the following components:

  • The history and context for the CAA.

  • What the various permits required by the CAA are (e.g.,  New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), New Source Review (NSR), and Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)), and how they work.

  • State Implementation Plans (SIPs), how they are created, maintained, and implemented.

  • The requirements for consultation and permitting in non-conformity areas and hot-spot analyses.

  • Case studies that explore unique and difficult dilemmas for implementation.

 

Audience

Participants for this training generally include environmental managers, NEPA practitioners, and other subject matter experts that need a general overview and understanding of the CAA to enable integration with other environmental statues, research studies, and policy formulation.

Process

This workshop is intended to introduce environmental practitioners and managers to the CAA requirements. Case studies are presented that require thinking on the part of workshop participants. However, an in-depth understanding of the CAA, NEPA, or related environmental statutes is not required. For optimal learning, class size is limited to 30 participants. This one-day workshop consists of a carefully designed combination of the following components:

  • 50% Lecture

  • 20% Group Discussion

  • 30% Exercises

Materials

Participants receive the following:

  • Workshop manual of materials presented

  • Case study exercises

  • Workshop resources workbook