Air Quality Standards: The Decisionmaking Process (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
April 9, 2002 |
| Report Number |
97-722 |
| Authors |
John E. Blodgett and Larry B. Parker, Resources, Science and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The decisions by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in July 1997 to revise ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone and particulate matter refocused attention on the criteria and the process by which these decisions are made. The new standards were the subject of numerous oversight hearings as well as litigation, which culminated in a Supreme Court ruling February 27, 2001. The court upheld the NAAQS-setting procedures at question, in particular definitively rejecting the consideration of costs in setting NAAQS.
However, the court's ruling also raised questions concerning the implementation of the EPA's new ozone standard. With continuing controversy over the PM and ozone standards, along with other concerns about the Clean Air Act (CAA), the expiration in 1998 of the authorizations for appropriations in the statute, and the Bush Administration's proposal for amendments, it is possible that the Congress may take up amendments to the CAA. If so, the NAAQS decisionmaking process may command attention, especially with respect to how scientific evidence is used. Because of the role NAAQS might play in bringing amendments onto the legislative agenda, this report provides background on the processes and procedures for setting and revising NAAQS. The basic steps are as follows:
EPA identifies a pollutant that is emitted from numerous or diverse mobile or stationary sources and that endangers public health or welfare.
EPA prepares a "criteria document" that summarizes the scientific information relevant to the pollutant; this document is formally reviewed by a Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
EPA prepares a "staff paper" that summarizes the criteria document and lays out policy options for the Administrator; it is also reviewed by CASAC.
Based on the criteria document, the staff paper, and CASAC's "closure letters," the Administrator proposes a NAAQS; this proposal is published in the Federal Register, a "docket" created, and an opportunity for public review and comment provided. And,
The Administrator's final decision, "which, in the judgment of the Admin-istrator, ... [is] requisite to protect the public health ... or public welfare."
The CAA spells out requirements for the criteria document, the CASAC review, the basis on which the Administrator chooses the standard, and the procedural process for promulgating the standard. EPA administratively added the preparation of a "staff paper"; in addition, Executive Order 12866 requires a Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), although the economic analysis is essentially irrelevant to the decision a NAAQS. Other laws also raise regulatory assessment issues. The Act requires EPA to revisit each NAAQS every 5 years, following the same process.
Several aspects in the NAAQS-setting process have been the foci of attention in the past and might be revisited: these include the Act's requirement that NAAQS be set to protect health with an adequate margin of safety, without consideration of costs; the process for verifying the scientific underpinnings of a proposed standard; the boundaries on the Administrator's judgment in accounting for risk and uncertainty in setting NAAQS; EPA's responsiveness to public comments; and the extent to which EPA must respond to requirements exogenous to the CAA that direct EPA to consider impacts of its regulations.
