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This article analyzes the early years of 20th-century air pollution control in Los Angeles. In both scholarship and public memory, mid-century efforts at the regional level were overshadowed by major federal developments, namely the Clean Air Act and creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. Yet the mid-century local experience was highly consequential and presaged many subsequent challenges that persist today. The article begins with an exploration of the existential, on-the-ground misery of smog in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s. The article examines the role that scientific evidence on smog did and did not play in regulation, the reasons smog control galvanized support across various constituencies in the region, and, finally, some of mid-century air pollution's limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the alternative air pollution control based on well-defined emission rights for each parcel of land in a region. The move is due to the vague and unevenly applied control strategy under a general smoke ordinance. An alternative approach to the development of air pollution control plans for stationary sources of sulfur dioxide and particulates is based on the integration of air resource management with urban and regional planning. It insures that the desired long-range regional air quality goals are attained by control plans which have an inherent economic optimal which are not sensitive to detailed inputs required in a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Air pollution is a major global environmental problem, with various adverse effects on health and the environment. This introductory article provides an overview of related global and regional legal instruments. The article evaluates the legal landscape in terms of its coverage, geographic scope and effectiveness, and concludes that the legal measures currently in place fall far short of providing an adequate response to the problem of air pollution. Thus, there is a clear need to strengthen global and regional cooperation to improve air quality. Such cooperation is likely to take non-binding and flexible forms and involve both wider participation among States and broader engagement of various stakeholders. The informal character of cooperation also makes it possible to experiment with new governance approaches that are difficult to implement within the context of traditional international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution still represents a major environmental hazard in urban areas in the European Union ( EU). This article argues that the EU's regulatory framework in this policy area for the past decade contributed to a series of unintended consequences. The increasing influence of climate change objectives on the air pollution agenda led to a shift in the regulatory approach to emissions from vehicles by focusing solely on the overriding interest of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and developing individual policies to that effect. This resulted in a disconnect between regulatory approaches to urban air quality and vehicle emissions standards with the effect of producing unintended consequences of unlawful levels of air pollution, in particular nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions as well as unintended consequences for the car industry and consumers. The article applies Merton's framework of unintended consequences, which provides a useful explanatory model of the EU's multi-level governance process in the complex area of environmental law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses environmental regulations in Los Angeles, California. The former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, William Ruckelshaus, proposed the reduction of automobile traffic for the smog season so that the city could meet the air standard that was imposed by the Clean Air Act of 1970. All regulations related to environmental degradation preserve will be under the jurisdiction of the L. A. Degradation Preserve Economic Quality Control which would be consist of 12 members from the executive ranks of several industries such as petroleum, automobile, and highway construction.

Using dendroisotopic techniques, we show the recovery of Juniperus virginiana L. (eastern red cedar) trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains from decades of acidic pollution. Acid deposition over much of the 20th century reduced stomatal conductance of leaves, thereby increasing intrinsic water-use efficiency of the Juniperus trees. These data indicate that the stomata of Juniperus may be more sensitive to acid deposition than to increasing atmospheric CO2. A breakpoint in the 100-y δ13C tree ring chronology occurred around 1980, as the legacy of sulfur dioxide emissions declined following the enactment of the Clean Air Act in 1970, indicating a gradual increase in stomatal conductance (despite rising levels of atmospheric CO2) and a concurrent increase in photosynthesis related to decreasing acid deposition and increasing atmospheric CO2. Tree ring δ34S shows a synchronous change in the sources of sulfur used at the whole-tree level that indicates a reduced anthropogenic influence. The increase in growth and the δ13C and δ34S trends in the tree ring chronology of these Juniperus trees provide evidence for a distinct physiological response to changes in atmospheric SO2 emissions since ∼1980 and signify the positive impacts of landmark environmental legislation to facilitate recovery of forest ecosystems from acid deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines three environmental laws in Florida that the attorney general can use to protect the environment. The article provides details about the Environmental Protection Act of 1971, the Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Act, and the F.S. §60.05 which allows for action to abate a nuisance. It is suggested that the attorney general can use these laws to protect against the pollution of air and water in Florida.

The 40 years that have passed since the beginning of the 'environmental revolution' has seen a large increase in development of policies for the protection of environmental media and a recognition by the public of the importance of environmental quality. There has been a shift from policy in reaction to high profile events, then to control of releases to single environmental media, and to the present position of moving toward integrated management of all environmental media at present. This development has moved away from classical chemical risk assessment toward environmental holism, including recognition of the ecological value of these media. This work details how policy developments have taken place for air and water, with examples from the USA and EU, in order to compare this with policy development regarding soil. Soil, with quite different policy frameworks and distinct uses, understanding, and threats compared to other environmental media, is currently attracting attention regarding the need for its protection independent of use. Challenges for soil policy are identified and evaluated, and recommendations on how these challenges can be overcome are discussed with relevance to water and air protection policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Following the meteorological evaluation in Part I, this Part II paper presents the statistical evaluation of air quality predictions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)’s Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (Models-3/CMAQ) model for the four simulated months in the base year 2005. The surface predictions were evaluated using the Air Pollution Index (API) data published by the China Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) for 31 capital cities and daily fine particulate matter (PM2.5, particles with aerodiameter less than or equal to 2.5μm) observations of an individual site in Tsinghua University (THU). To overcome the shortage in surface observations, satellite data are used to assess the column predictions including tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) column abundance and aerosol optical depth (AOD). The result shows that CMAQ gives reasonably good predictions for the air quality. The air quality improvement that would result from the targeted sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission controls in China were assessed for the objective year 2010. The results show that the emission controls can lead to significant air quality benefits. SO2 concentrations in highly polluted areas of East China in 2010 are estimated to be decreased by 30–60% compared to the levels in the 2010 Business-As-Usual (BAU) case. The annual PM2.5 can also decline by 3–15μgm−3 (4–25%) due to the lower SO2 and sulfate concentrations. If similar controls are implemented for NOx emissions, NOx concentrations are estimated to decrease by 30–60% as compared with the 2010 BAU scenario. The annual mean PM2.5 concentrations will also decline by 2–14μgm−3 (3–12%). In addition, the number of ozone (O3) non-attainment areas in the northern China is projected to be much lower, with the maximum 1-h average O3 concentrations in the summer reduced by 8–30ppb. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Which is the best standard for protecting plants from ozone? To answer this question, we must validate the standards by testing biological responses vs. ambient data in the field. A validation is missing for European and USA standards, because the networks for ozone, meteorology and plant responses are spatially independent. We proposed geostatistics as validation tool, and used durum wheat in central Italy as a test. The standards summarized ozone impact on yield better than hourly averages. Although USA criteria explained ozone-induced yield losses better than European criteria, USA legal level (75 ppb) protected only 39% of sites. European exposure-based standards protected ≥90%. Reducing the USA level to the Canadian 65 ppb or using W126 protected 91% and 97%, respectively. For a no-threshold accumulated stomatal flux, 22 mmol m−2 was suggested to protect 97% of sites. In a multiple regression, precipitation explained 22% and ozone explained <0.9% of yield variability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Airborne pollutants from electricity generation, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, may travel long distances from their sources and routinely cross state boundaries. It is difficult for individual states to control the harmful health and environmental effects of these emissions, and often they are unable to meet ozone and particulate matter national ambient air quality standards mandated by the Clean Air Act. The US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempted to resolve this interstate pollution problem by promulgating the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which established a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions originating in many eastern states. However, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, in its recent decision North Carolina v. EPA, found the rule inconsistent with the Clean Air Act and surprised all interested parties by vacating the rule. In this Note, I first discuss the regulatory history behind CAIR, including previous sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions reductions programs established by Congress, EPA, and a group of northeastern states, respectively. I then explain the relevant aspects of CAIR and summarize why the D.C. Circuit invalidated it. Next, I explore the theory of using market-based approaches-such as cap-and-trade systems-as compared to traditional command-and-control approaches to achieve emissions reductions, focusing on the context of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions. Finally, I recommend design features for the future revision of EPA rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal is not only an important energy source in China but also a major source of air pollution. Because of this, China’s national sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions have been the highest in the world for many years, and since the 1990s, the territory of China’s south and southwest has become the third largest acid-rain-prone region in the world. In order to control SO2 emissions, the Chinese government has formulated and promulgated a series of policies and regulations, but it faces great difficulties in putting them into practice. In this retrospective look at the history of SO2 control in China, we found that Chinese SO2 control policies have become increasingly strict and rigid. We also found that the environmental policies and regulations are more effective when central officials consistently give environmental protection top priority. Achieving China’s environmental goals, however, has been made difficult by China’s economic growth. Part of this is due to the practice of environmental protection appearing in the form of an ideological “campaign” or “storm” that lacks effective economic measures. More recently, better enforcement of environmental laws and regulations has been achieved by adding environmental quality to the performance assessment metrics for leaders at all levels. To continue making advances, China needs to reinforce the economic and environmental assessments for pollution control projects and work harder to integrate economic measures into environmental protection. Nonetheless, China has a long way to go before economic growth and environmental protection are balanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the emission limits and monitoring requirements under the permit program of Title V of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in the U.S. It mentions that the program is subject to approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wherein they would ensure strict compliance rather than individual permit. It discusses the court case Sierra Club v. EPA, wherein Sierra Club requests for the evaluation of the monitoring requirements of Part 70 of CAA claiming that the requirements must be vacated.

Canada's approach to air quality management is one that has brought with it opportunities for the development of unique approaches to risk management. Even with Canada's relatively low levels of pollution, science has demonstrated clearly that air quality and ecosystem improvements are worthwhile. To achieve change and address air quality in Canada, Canadian governments work together since, under the constitution, they share responsibility for the environment. At the same time, because air pollution knows no boundaries, working with the governments of other nations is essential to get results. International cooperation at all levels provides opportunities with potential for real change. Cooperation within transboundary airsheds is proving a fruitful source of innovative opportunities to reduce cross-border barriers to air quality improvements. In relation to the NERAM Colloquium objective to establish principles for air quality management based on the identification of international best practice in air quality policy development and implementation, Canada has developed, both at home and with the United States, interesting air management strategies and initiatives from which certain lessons may be taken that could be useful in other countries with similar situations. In particular, the Canada-wide strategies for smog and acid rain were developed by Canadian governments, strategies that improve and protect air quality at home, while Canada-U.S. transboundary airshed projects provide examples of international initiatives to improve air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several significant program and policy measures have been implemented in Mexico over the past 15 yr to improve air quality. This article provides an overview of air quality management strategies in Mexico, including (1) policy initiatives such as vehicle use restrictions, air quality standards, vehicle emissions, and fuel quality standards, and (2) supporting programs including establishment of a national emission inventory, an air pollution episodes program, and the implementation of exposure and health effects studies. Trends in air pollution episodes and ambient air pollutant concentrations are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to review approaches to air quality management (AQM) in the United States. To characterize AQM in the United States, four examples that addressed local, regional, and global scale air pollution are described. These examples include: (1) the Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) program, (2) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program, (3) "Cap & Trade" programs, and (4) U.S. global pollution control efforts. These four examples were chosen because each presents a different approach to AQM. This was not intended to be a comprehensive description of U.S. AQM programs, but rather representative of selected examples that highlight the themes of this program. Some general principles that are illustrated in the article and are considered important characteristics of U.S. AQM are:Ensure open access to information and transparency in decision making. Develop and sustain a well-trained workforce. Facilitate training, networking, and technology transfer among air quality managers. Integrate planning and coordination of efforts across jurisdictions (across federal, state, and local agencies). Educate and encourage participation of stakeholders. Balance of societal benefits and costs. Apply innovative approaches, where possible. Fund research to improve the scientific basis for problem identification and effective AQM strategy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is never enough money, time, or resources to do all the things that need to be done - a statement that is true both for governments and individuals. For governments, this fact implies that (1) priorities need to be established; (2) goals are essential to be set to address these priorities, partly with an eye toward maximizing the net benefits to society; and (3) policies need to be implemented to reach those goals efficiently and effectively. In this article, major challenges of managing air pollution in each of these areas are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides (1) a synthesis of the literature on the linkages between air pollution and human health, (2) an overview of quality management approaches in Canada, the United States, and the European Union (EU), and (3) future directions for air quality research. Numerous studies examining short-term effects of air pollution show significant associations between ambient levels of particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants and increases in premature mortality and hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. Several well-designed epidemiological studies confirmed the adverse long-term effects of PM on both mortality and morbidity. Epidemiological studies also document significant associations between ozone (O3), sulfur (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) and adverse health outcomes; however, the effects of gaseous pollutants are less well documented. Subpopulations that are more susceptible to air pollution include children, the elderly, those with cardiorespiratory disease, and socioeconomically deprived individuals. Canada-wide standards for ambient air concentrations of PM2.5 and O3 were set in 2000, providing air quality targets to be achieved by 2010. In the United States, the Clean Air Act provides the framework for the establishment and review of National Ambient Air Quality Standards for criteria air pollutants and the establishment of emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants. The 1996 European Union's enactment of the Framework Directive for Air Quality established the process for setting Europe-wide limit values for a series of pollutants. The Clean Air for Europe program was established by the European Union to review existing limit values, emission ceilings, and abatement protocols, as set out in the current legislation. These initiatives serve as the legislative framework for air quality management in North America and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution has been one of the main ways of protecting the environment in Europe from air pollution. This convention has successfully bridged different political systems even through times of political change, and is a prime example of what can be achieved through intergovernmental cooperation. Through creating an effective framework for controlling and reducing the damage to human health and the environment from transboundary air pollution, this convention has proved successful. This article considers the development of the convention and its work on adverse air pollution effects, in particular on activities related to quantifying effects on human health as carried out by the convention's joint (with WHO) Task Force on the Health Effects of Air Pollution (Task Force on Health), and concludes with some indications of the convention's future priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the WHO Air Quality Guidelines and highlights two projects that were initiated to update the risk assessment of the main air pollutants: "Systematic Review of Health Aspects of Air Quality in Europe" and the "Global Update of WHO Air Quality Guidelines." The report of the Systematic Review emphasizes that the accumulated evidence is sufficient to require actions reducing the health impacts of air pollution in Europe. The global update of the air quality guidelines focuses on particulate matter (PM), ozone, NO2, and SO2 and addresses issues associated with the practical feasibility of attaining the guidelines in developing countries. The article illustrates WHO's activities toward gathering the best available international scientific evidence to support air quality policy development in all regions of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1990 Clean Air Act established a sulfur emissions-trading program among utilities. This was the first large scale adoption of this type of emissions-trading program and the program’s success has attracted international attention. An interesting aspect of this program is that in addition to trades among the polluting firms and brokers or investors, individuals and groups have been participants, buying allowances to retire them and reduce sulfur emissions. This provides a relatively unique way to examine the “willingness to pay” for further reductions of sulfur emissions. I examine environmental participation in the sulfur allowances market, focusing on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowance auctions which have been conducted annually since 1993. The existence of groups purchasing these allowances in order to retire them suggests that the overall cap on sulfur emissions may be higher than the optimal emissions level. The marginal benefits from the first ton of emissions reduction appear to be significantly larger than marginal abatement costs. Total spending to retire sulfur emissions allowances, while small in relation to the total market, is sizeable in terms of the alternate purchases these groups and individuals could have made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how the U.S. government enforced the amended Clean Air Act upon grandfathered plants which predated it. Under the 1970 amendment to the Clean Air Act, the Congress decided to subject new sources of air pollution to emission control standards. In the succeeding years, the government required grandfathered plant, which predates the amendment, to be subjected to the same federal standards applied to new sources if a modification caused the plant to emit more pollutants. The desirability of expanded grandfathering of existing sources as a form of transition relief is examined.

Rights-based approaches to environmental protection are on the increase as the public become more aware of both the environment around them and of their other civil and political rights. Whilst methods for combining environmental protection and rights-based regulation still allude to a large conflict of anthropocentric versus ecocentric interests, one approach increasingly stands out as a potential effective solution: ‘procedural rights’. More commonly, this concerns rights to be heard, rights to information, to participation and the right of access to justice. Such perspectives are increasingly finding purchase within international environmental agendas, indeed, several national jurisdictions have progressed from mere principles into more formal ‘hard law’. In order to follow this progression and to assess the influence of international procedural rights in national jurisdictions, this article looks in particular at the environmental law of Finland as an example, and seeks to illustrate the formation of one facet of internationally accepted procedural rights: that of public participation, within national environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the prosecution of cases related to the Clean Air Act (CAA) asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (asbestos NESHAP) bulk test methods by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. According to the author, the federal district court and the state appellate court has concluded that the EPA's asbestos NESHAP enforcement program has raised profound administrative law and constitutional due process complications. He added that it is not the 1990 NESHAP regulation as currently written that bears blame for the government's enforcement transgressions. Rather, it is the EPA's calculated departure from the enumerated 1990 NESHAP regulation.

Ukraine, when part of the former Soviet Union, was responsible for about 25% of its overall industrial production. This aging industrial infrastructure continues to emit enormous volumes of air and water pollution and wastes. The National Report on the State of Environment in Ukraine 1999 (Ukraine Ministry of Environmental Protection [MEP], 2000) shows significant air pollution. There are numerous emissions that have been associated with developmental effects, chronic long-term health effects, and cancer. Ukraine also has been identified as a major source of transboundary air pollution for the eastern Mediterranean region. Ukraine's Environment Ministry is not currently able to strategically target high-priority emissions and lacks the resources to address all these problems. For these reasons, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set up a partnership with Ukraine's Ministry of Environmental Protection to strengthen its capacity to set environmental priorities through the use of comparative environmental risk assessment and economic analysis—the Capacity Building Project. The project is also addressing improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of its National Environmental Protection Fund. The project consists of a series of workshops with Ukrainian MEP officials in comparative risk assessment of air pollutant emissions in several heavily industrialized oblasts; cost–benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis; and environmental finance. Pilot risk assessment analyses have been completed. At the end of the Capacity Building Project it is expected that the use of the National Environmental Protection fund and the regional level oblast environmental protection funds will begin to target and identify the highest health and environmental risk emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the climate change policy and the Clean Air Act (CAA) in the U.S. It examines the case between the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) and other several environmental groups against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The petitioners argue that the CAA allows the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles, however, the EPA denied their petition. The court has agreed that the EPA is authorized to regulate GHG emissions. It also examines the history of the climate change policy as well as other environmental laws in the country that deals on the issue. Moreover, it explores the impact of the CAA on public welfare.

I argue that although international law is state centric in nature, there is a growing body of international environmental law that allows at least some input from public actors in implementing key substantive and procedural obligations. The evolution of these environmental entitlements is linked to the global diffusion of democratic norms of civic participation, the application of the nondiscrimination principle in both public and private international law, and the cosmopolitan reach of human rights claims. It is at the intersection of individual and nongovernmental organization (NGO) rights with interstate obligations that transnational citizenship entitlements are emerging—notably equal opportunities for access and redress for affected publics. I critically survey relevant multilateral environmental agreements to gauge the significance of rule making bestowing entitlements on publics affected by transboundary and global environmental harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to assess the likely allocation effects of the current climate protection strategy as it is laid out in the National Allocation Plans (NAPs) for the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The multi-regional, multi-sectoral CGE-model DART is used to simulate the effects of the current policies in the year 2012 when the Kyoto targets need to be met. Different scenarios are simulated in order to highlight the effects of the grandfathering of permits to energy-intensive installations, the use of the project-based mechanisms (CDM and JI), and the restriction imposed by the supplementarity criterion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Are we being effective?’ has become an increasingly central question in policy evaluation research. This article defends the position that this question can only be answered by employing a methodology that is adapted and can stand scrutiny in the policy field in which the evaluation occurs. In our experience the evaluation of environmental policy requires a renewed effort to develop methodologies that take into account the key characteristics of that policy area. The ‘modus narrandi’, based on causal narrative story reconstruction, is our contribution to these efforts. It is a methodology for effect evaluation that looks at effectiveness and side effects within contexts characterized by causal uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the developments in environmental law in Indiana covering the periodical October 2003 through September 2004. Explanation that the search for solutions to environmental problems stemming from Indiana's long industrial history was the subject of a number of significant legal developments during the period; Information on cases reinforcing government's power to use redevelopment zones, setting the proper scope of citizens' suits and citizens' objections to environmental permits and affirming the powers of solid waste management districts; Brownfields problem in the state.

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) introduced tradable permits for controlling sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal-burning power plants and forced scrubbers to compete with other SO2 abatement options. While the flexibility of permits reduced overall compliance costs, a secondary benefit would exist if there were resulting advances in scrubber technology. A hedonic model is used to estimate the effect of changing regulatory regimes on scrubber costs. While scrubbers installed under the 1990 CAAA are cheaper to purchase and operate than older scrubbers, these cost reductions seem to be a one-time drop rather than a continual decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on developments in environmental law in Great Britain during the period of March 2002-July 2002. In the area of agri-environment, updates are presented on plant protection products and pesticides. In atmospheric pollution, changes concerning the recovery of ozone-depleting substances from waste refrigeration equipment, fire extinguishers, and other items are discussed. Also covered in this category are the climate change levy, the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from non-road mobile machinery, and vehicle emission penalties. In addition, the article discusses laws concerning chemicals, energy, nature conservation, and laws on income tax and pollution prevention and control.

Focuses on the final rule, Equipment Replacement Provision released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on August 27, 2003. Impact of the provision on the implementation of the Clean Air Act in the country; Criticisms against the shortcomings of the rule; Threats posed by the provision to industrial plants that remained subject to the increased cost of New Source Review.

In Sierra Club v. EPA the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the EPA had acted within the Clean Air Act's statutory mandate in promulgating the Mobile Source Air Toxics Rule despite the fact that the rule did not actual require any reduction in emission levels. By allowing an excessive consideration of cost, a continued deferral of rulemaking, and a perpetual search for more information, the court failed to ensure that emissions be reduced through technological innovation as the statue directs. The decision is insufficient in its scrutiny of the rule's relation to the statutory mandate, and thereby establishes a dangerous erosion of technology forcing standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive decentralization and devolution efforts among industrialized nations throughout the 1980s and 1990s call for a closer look at the effect these trends have on public policy. This article investigates the impact of these trends on the environmental performance of industrialized countries. There are two competing hypotheses as to how federalism and other multilevel governance structures affect the environmental performance of countries. The first stresses that the resulting institutional fragmentation and regulatory unpredictability is detrimental to the protection of the environment. An alternative hypothesis emphasizes that multilevel systems fare better regarding environmental performance because they can effectively respond to local needs and encourage innovation at the sub-national level. Based on OECD air pollution data, the study finds that multilevel structures affect the way in which important determinants of environmental performance work. Thus, corporatist accommodation structures, which are known to enhance environmental policy, do so primarily in multi-tiered systems. A high level of economic development, on the other hand, which has also been shown to contribute to environmental performance, does so mainly in countries that are characterized by weak multilevel structures. The article discusses theoretical and practical implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the effect of flexible production on the Environmental Regulatory Reinvention initiative under former U.S. President Bill Clinton and on the New Source Review Reform Rule under President George W. Bush. Key components of flexible production; Overview of studies of flexible production and environmental performance; Analysis of the Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) and Title V Operating Permit programs; Incompatibility between flexible production and the NSR program.

Describes the existing national security exemptions in environmental laws in the U.S. and examples of their use. Regulatory requirements for biannual inventories of hazardous wastes generated; Concerns for national security at Department of Defense facilities; Presidential exemption for Clean Air Act requirements.

This article presents news briefs related to environmental laws of the European Union as of November 2003. The areas of discussion include atmospheric pollution, chemicals imports and energy. The European Commission has issued a notice to importers in the European Community of controlled and new substances that deplete the ozone layer. The European Parliament has adopted a multiannual programme for action in the field of energy. This programme will support sustainable development in the energy context, making a balanced contribution to the achievement of the following general objectives: security of energy supply, competitiveness, and environmental protection.

Reports on developments regarding environmental law in the European Union. Emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants; Public access to environmental information; Environmental tax measures; Aid granted to fishermen and shellfish producers; Energy Star Agreement.

Examines the effect of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of the United States on the pollution emissions of the iron and steel industry into all media during 1987-1997. Provisions of the CAAA; Methods of steel and iron manufacturing; Data sources and descriptive statistics.

Part I. Offers general information related to air dispersion modeling and related concepts. Background on air dispersion modeling; Details on regulation requirements for air dispersion modeling under the Clean Air Act in the U.S.; Information resources on air dispersion modeling; Explanation on some of the theoretical background on air dispersion modeling; Trends in air dispersion modeling.

Objectives. To expand scholarly attention to a neglected area of environmental policy and politics, I attempt to test several empirical propositions drawn from the small body of existing research on the politics of market-based environmental regulation. Methods. I analyze public comments on a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulatory action guiding states on the design of various market-based air pollution control programs. I focus on the types of commenting organizations and the nature, extent, and foundations of their support or opposition to market-based regulatory instruments. Results. I find more support for than opposition to the use of economic incentive programs in air pollution control. The support from business commenters is not surprising, but the level of support expressed by state regulators departs from previous research findings. Environmental groups are the principal dissenters. Overall, the findings suggest both change and continuity in the politics of air pollution control policymaking, with some possibility of a shift in the contours of the advocacy coalitions in the pollution control policy network. Conclusions. Market-based environmental regulation is still an evolving phenomenon in American public policy. Further research on the politics of its development is in order, and the opportunities to pursue such research are substantial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines how the concept of 'excessive costs' has been interpreted in the implementation of industrial pollution control in the UK. Since 1984, industrial air pollution regulation in the EU has been guided by the framework concept of Best Available Technology Not Entailing Excessive Costs (BATNEEC). With the introduction of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive in 1996, this has been replaced by the concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT). Despite the absence of the NEEC qualification, IPPC BAT includes excessive costs in its definition of 'available'. Both concepts require interpretation and both devolve potentially controversial decisions to the level of the individual site regulator. A central issue in interpreting 'excessive costs' is the relative importance of environmental cost-benefit analysis versus the ability of a sector to 'afford' environmental improvements. Also important is how such concepts can be operationalized by regulators who lack resources and depend upon industry for information. The paper provides a historical account of how these issues have been dealt with in the UK and argues that the key difficulties are far from being resolved. The paper concludes by assessing the implications for the future implementation of IPPC. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the challenges of environmental regulation in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government, like many countries, faces significant conflicts between developmental goals and environmental protection. Although the government has proclaimed a commitment to protecting the country's ecosystems, workers and urban environments and has recently created national environmental institutions and provincial enforcement agencies, Vietnam continues to experience problems in the implementation of its environmental laws. Local environmental bodies remain weak and conflicted. These agencies are rarely proactive, seldom technically competent, and even less often carry much weight in internal government debates. Agencies have inspectors who virtually refuse to leave their offices, staff who are getting rich off of kick-backs and personnel who lack the basic technical capacities to conduct the inspections for which they are responsible. This paper both confirms the constraints and contradictions of state environmental enforcement in a developing country, and shows that certain processes can motivate state actors to take measures to control pollution.

The article presents a discussion on legal issues related to air pollution. Health risk from air pollutants is well recognized, as is the need to reduce pollutant emissions through governmental regulation. State governments carry the main burden of implementing federal anti-pollution laws. The Clean Air Act (CAA), for example requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue national standards for air quality, but the EPA then delegates responsibility for control to each state that demonstrates its ability to administer the program. There are large differences among the states in pollution controls, reflecting differences in need, resources and political will. Smog-plagued California has the nation's strongest air quality program. Apart from industrial activity, researchers agree that a state's citizenry provides more or less public support for pollution control. Attempts have been made to measure this public support by such background indicators as personal income, membership in environmental organizations, voter turnout, and political liberalism. The CAA gives priority for reduction to six "criteria" air pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulates and lead.

Evaluates U.S. air and water pollution control policies. Concerns over ambient environmental conditions since the end of World War II; Evolution of a so-called command-and-control environmental management; Role of states and standard-setting and enforcement; Cost of environmental management; Criteria for assessing the country's experience in controlling air and water quality; Provisions of key air and water pollution control laws.

The large scale air pollution episode due to the out-of-control biomass burning for agricultural purposes in Indonesia, which started in June 1997, has become a severe environmental problem for the neighbouring countries. Its impact on the health of the residents and ecology in the affected areas is expected to be substantial, costly and possibly long lasting. In this paper, NOAA/AVHRR images of the fire in September are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]