Chapter 10 Defining Air Quality The StandardSetting Process

Chapter 10 Defining Air Quality: The Standard-Setting Process © 2004 Thomson Learning/South-Western

Defining Air Quality: The Standard. Setting Process Natural pollutants – contaminates that come about through nonartificial processes in nature l Anthropogenic pollutants – contaminants associated with human activity including, polluting residuals from consumption and production l 2

Overview of Air Quality Legislation in the United States l In the Beginning ¡ ¡ No national air quality laws until the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 No truly comprehensive legislation until Clean Air Act of 1963 3

Overview of Air Quality Legislation in the United States l Current U. S. Policy ¡ 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments use some marketbased approaches, but underlying structure continues to be command-control oriented 4

Defining the Objectives of Air Quality Control l Identifying Major Air Pollutants ¡ ¡ ¡ Criteria documents – reports that present scientific evidence on the properties and effects of known or suspected pollutants Criteria pollutants – substances known to be hazardous to health and welfare, characterized as harmful by criteria documents Hazardous air pollutants – noncriteria pollutants that may cause or contribute to irreversible illness or increased mortality 5

Setting Standards As a National Definition of Air Quality Stationary source – a fixed-site producer of pollution, such as a building or manufacturing plant l Mobile source – any nonstationary polluting source, including all transport vehicles l 6

Setting Standards As a National Definition of Air Quality l Standards for Criteria Air Pollutants ¡ ¡ ¡ National ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) – maximum allowable concentrations of criteria air pollutants Primary NAAQS – set to protect public health from air pollution, with some margin of safety Secondary NAAQS – Set to protect public welfare from any adverse, nonhealth effects of air pollution 7

Setting Standards As a National Definition of Air Quality l Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants ¡ ¡ National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) – set to protect public health and the environment applicable to every major source of any identified hazardous air pollutant Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) – the control technology that achieves the degree of reduction to be accomplished by the NESHAP 8

Establishing an Infrastructure To Implement the Standards l State Implementation Plans ¡ l State Implementation Plan (SIP) – a procedure outlining how a state intends to implement, monitor, and enforce the NAAQS and the NESHAP Air Quality Control Regions ¡ Air Quality Control Regions (AQCR) – a geographic area designated by the federal government within which common air pollution problems are shared by several communities 9

Establishing an Infrastructure To Implement the Standards l Reclassification of AQCRs To Protect “Clean Air Areas” ¡ ¡ Prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) area – an AQCR meeting or exceeding the NAAQS Nonattainment area – an AQCR not in compliance with the NAAQS 10

Establishing an Infrastructure To Implement the Standards l 1990 Reclassification of Nonattainment Areas by Criteria Pollutant ¡ ¡ ¡ Monitoring Air Quality Across Regions Estimating pollutant emissions levels l Not feasible to measure actual pollutant emissions levels on a national scale, so instead they are estimated Measuring pollutant concentrations l Measured at air-monitoring station sites located throughout the country 11

Establishing an Infrastructure To Implement the Standards Figure 10. 1 Summary of Changes in U. S. Emissions of Criteria Pollutants, 1970 – 2000 12

Economic Analysis of U. S. Air Quality Policy has become more comprehensive over time l By systematically estimating and evaluating the cots and benefits associated with the Clean Air Act, one can determine whether the U. S. air control policy is allocatively efficient l ¡ Maximization of net benefits – the point where the associated marginal social costs and marginal social benefits are equal 13

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Clean Air Act l Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Pre-1990 Clean Air Act ¡ ¡ ¡ Total social costs Total social benefits Benefit-cost comparison 14

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Clean Air Act Figure 10. 2 Benefit-Cost Analysis of U. S. Air Quality Controls as of 1981 15

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Clean Air Act l Benefit-Cost Analysis to the 1990 Amendments ¡ ¡ Marginal Costs and Benefits Benefit-Cost Comparison 16

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Clean Air Act Figure 10. 3 Analyzing the Marginal and Total Social Costs and Social Benefits Associated with the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments 17

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Clean Air Act l EPA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis of the 1990 Amendments ¡ EPA’s quantitative results, though recognized as based on sound methods and data, are considered to be controversial on a number of fronts 18

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Air Quality Standards l Absence of Cost Considerations in the Standard-Setting Process ¡ ¡ Setting the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Setting the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) l Benefit-based decision rule – a guideline to improve society’s well-being with no allowance for a balancing of the associated costs 19

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Air Quality Standards l Uniformity of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) ¡ ¡ ¡ Since nationally based, NAAQS ignores any regionspecific cost or benefit differences associated with meeting them Benefit-Cost Analysis of Higher PSD Standards l Use of relatively higher standards for PSD areas can be efficient, but only under certain conditions Benefit-Cost Analysis of Progressively Regulated Nonattainment Areas 20

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Air Quality Standards Figure 10. 4(a) Economic Modeling of Higher Air Quality Standards in PSD Areas Relative to Nonattainment Areas 21

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Air Quality Standards Figure 10. 4(b) Economic Modeling of Higher Air Quality Standards in PSD Areas Relative to Nonattainment Areas 22

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Air Quality Standards Figure 10. 4(c) Economic Modeling of Higher Air Quality Standards in PSD Areas Relative to Nonattainment Areas 23