CAA Enforcement Programs

• Stationary Source Enforcement Programs
  • New Source Review/ Prevention of Significant Deterioration (NSR/PSD)
  • MACT Air Toxics Enforcement
  • State Implementation Plans/ State and Local Coordination
  • Title V
  • Ozone Protection
  • New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)
• Mobile Source Enforcement Programs
  • Fuels Enforcement Program
  • Motor Vehicle (On-highway) Defeat Device/ Misbuild/ Defect Reporting/ On-board Diagnosis
  • Nonroad (Off-road) Enforcement Program
  • Urban Bus Retrofit Enforcement

Stationary Source Enforcement Programs

New Source Review/ Prevention of Significant Deterioration (NSR/PSD)

The CAA requires all areas of the country to meet or strive to comply with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). One of the key programs designed to achieve compliance with the NAAQS is the New Source Review (NSR) program, a preconstruction review process for new and modified stationary sources. The NSR program has two component parts: the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program for attainment or "clean" areas typically requires new or modified sources to install state-of-the-art pollution controls to ensure that the ambient air quality will not degrade. The non-attainment area NSR program is designed to ensure that any new industrial growth in a non-attainment area will comply with stringent emission limitations (by requiring the most protective pollution controls and emission offsets), with the goal of improving air quality overall to meet the NAAQS. The NSR program requires companies to obtain a permit for new construction or major modifications that substantially increase a facility's emissions of the NAAQS.

The Air Enforcement Division (AED, Office of Regulatory Enforcement), is responsible for implementing the U.S. EPA's judicial and administrative enforcement activities under the NSR program. The U.S. EPA has broad authority under the Clean Air Act to pursue alleged violators of the NSR permitting requirements. The Act grants EPA expansive and sweeping authority to: request information from individuals and companies, inspect facilities, conduct investigations, and pursue judicial and administrative enforcement actions for injunctive relief and civil penalties. Since 1999, EPA has made enforcement of the NSR requirements a national priority, targeting industries such as wood products, coal-fired utilities, and petroleum refineries.

MACT Air Toxics Enforcement

Section 112 of the Clean Air Act was amended in 1990 to require EPA to issue emission standards and requirements for 189 toxic air pollutants to curb the emission of cancer causing air toxins. This was a massive undertaking, which has resulted in over 100 new rules for industrial and commercial sources of air pollution, from neighborhood dry cleaners to petrochemical complexes. These new rules, called NESHAPs or National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, apply mostly to larger sources, but also some smaller sources of air pollution. The rules require existing and new sources to install controls that are the Maximum Achievable Control Technology or MACT and install certain monitors, keep records and report to the agency that is overseeing them.

For the first several years that these new rules were in place, EPA mostly conducted outreach and compliance assistance to the regulated community, but now has begun a standard enforcement process of identifying priority violators and taking enforcement actions, including seeking penalties. Since 1997, EPA has brought enforcement actions for Section 112 air toxics violations in over 500 administrative penalty cases and nearly 100 judicial enforcement cases, some involving penalties and environmental projects over $1 million each.

State Implementation Plans/ State and Local Coordination

Under the Clean Air Act, the primary responsibility for planning for attainment and maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) rests with the state and local agencies. Accordingly, state and local air quality agencies are also designated as the primary permitting and enforcement authorities for most Clean Air Act requirements. EPA has oversight authority over state and local actions to ensure national consistency and adherence to Clean Air Act legal principles.

Title V

Under the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990, states were required to establish programs to issue, review and renew permits to operate for their most important or "major" sources of air pollution. These permits would encompass all Clean Air Act requirements that apply to a source, but impose no new requirements. The primary purpose of these permits is to encourage sources to self examine for compliance. States are in the process of finalizing the issuance of Title V permits, and many sources have completed annual certification processes inherent in the program.

Ozone Protection

Stratospheric ozone is constantly being created and destroyed through natural cycles. Various ozone-depleting substances (ODS), however, accelerate the destruction processes, resulting in lower than normal ozone levels. ODS include CFCs, HCFCs, halons, methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform. To implement the Montreal Protocol and protect the ozone layer from further destruction, the United States enacted Title VI of the Clean Air Act, which was added in 1990. Title VI includes Sections 601 to 618 of the CAA. Sections 604 and 605 phase out the production and consumption of Class I and II ozone depleting substances, Section 608 requires recycling of CFCs, prevents venting and other excessive leaks from certain equipment, Section 609 restricts motor vehicle air conditioning repair activities, and other sections handle other ancillary functions.

Most of the enforcement action taken by EPA has been enforcement of Section 608, such as the Meyer's Bakery and Air Liquide cases, and Section 609. In addition, EPA encourages companies to self-audit for illegal releases of ODS and report the findings to EPA in exchange for reduced penalties (this approach is implemented for targeted industries such as in the Bakery Partnership Program). The regulations implementing these statutory sections are found at 40 CFR Part 82.

New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)

The Clean Air Act required EPA to create a list of the important categories of stationary sources of air pollution, and to establish Federal standards of performance for new sources within these categories. These standards are known as New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), and apply to newly constructed sources or those that undergo major upgrades or modifications. The standards include both equipment specifications as well as operation and measurement requirements.

EPA and the state or local air quality agencies are responsible for ensuring that new stationary sources will meet the NSPS, and that existing sources subject to these standards continue to comply with them.

Mobile Source Enforcement Programs

Fuels Enforcement Program

EPA enforces the motor vehicle fuels provisions of Title II of the Clean Air Act and regulations promulgated thereunder at 40 CFR Parts 79 and 80. These provisions include certain requirements and prohibitions regarding the quality of motor vehicle fuels and are designed to reduce harmful emissions from all motor vehicles including passenger cars, light trucks and heavy duty trucks. These provisions apply to both gasoline and diesel fuel; and they apply to all parties in the distribution system, including refiners, importers, distributors, carriers, oxygenate blenders, retailers and wholesale-purchaser-consumers (fleet operators with their own dispensing pumps). EPA enforces these provisions through environmental audits and inspections (including sampling and testing of fuels), and through various recordkeeping and reporting requirements. EPA may seek civil penalties or injunctive relief (remediation of the violations and projects to offset illegal emissions) for violations of the Act or regulations, and may bring actions in federal district court or through administrative actions. Our enforcement activities include cases against all parties in the fuel distribution system described above.

Motor Vehicle (On-highway) Defeat Device/ Misbuild/ Defect Reporting/ On-board Diagnosis

EPA enforces the provisions governing motor vehicles and engines under Title II of the Clean Air Act (Act), and regulations promulgated thereunder at 40 CFR Parts 85 and 86. These provisions include emissions standards for manufacturers of new motor vehicles, including passenger cars and light trucks, and heavy duty motor vehicle engines. The requirements are designed to limit harmful emissions from these vehicles when they are running, and evaporative emissions when they are not. Before sale, manufacturers must apply for an EPA Certificate of Conformity and demonstrate that the emissions standards will be met for the prescribed "useful life". The useful life period, for example, could be 10 years or 100,000 miles for passenger cars and up to 365,000 miles for heavy truck engines.

If EPA determines that a vehicle is not built in accordance with the description in the application, the vehicle is deemed "misbuilt" and not covered by the Certificate of Conformity and thus in violation of the Act. Manufacturers must also generally ensure that vehicle emission control systems operate in-use as they do during the test which demonstrates compliance with standards. If, without properly informing EPA, an emission control system operates differently, the emission control system is considered "defeated", and a "defeat device" is present.

EPA also monitors compliance with new on-board diagnostic system requirements for most cars and trucks which are designed to detect and alert the operator to certain emissions systems failures. In addition, manufacturers must notify EPA when substantial numbers of defects occur in a vehicle's emissions control system.

EPA may seek judicial penalties for each vehicle sold which is misbuilt, or which contains a defeat device. EPA may also seek penalties when a manufacturer fails to notify EPA of an emissions defect on a timely basis. In addition to penalties, EPA may seek recall of vehicles (where a notice is sent to vehicle owners to bring their vehicles in for free repair), or other measures if vehicles are misbuilt or found to be exceeding the applicable emissions standards. EPA usually discovers violations of the requirements discussed above by spot testing vehicles, notifications from the manufacturers or information from a variety of other sources such as state inspection stations.

Nonroad (Off-road) Enforcement Program

EPA enforces the motor vehicle nonroad provisions of Title II of the Clean Air Act and regulations promulgated thereunder at 40 CFR Parts 89, 90, 91, 92, and 94. These provisions include certain requirements and prohibitions regarding the importation and manufacturing of only certified and properly labeled nonroad engines which are designed to reduce harmful air emissions. These provisions may apply to either gasoline or diesel engines used in construction and agricultural equipment, lawn and garden equipment, marine engines, and locomotives. We enforce these provisions through the U. S. Customs Service, EPA, and EPA Contractor environmental audits and inspections, and through various recordkeeping and reporting requirements such as the EPA Nonroad Declaration Form. EPA, in coordination with Customs, may seek civil or administrative penalties, forfeiture/remission of bonds, or injunctive relief for violations of the Act or regulations, and may bring actions in federal district court or through administrative actions. Our enforcement activities include cases against importers and manufacturers of nonroad engines. The provisions discussed above for defect reporting, misbuilds, emission compliance over the full useful life, and prohibition against defeat devices also apply to Nonroad engines.

Urban Bus Retrofit Enforcement

The Air Enforcement Division enforces the Urban Bus Retrofit provisions of Title II, Section 219(d) of the Clean Air Act, and regulations promulgated thereunder at 40 CFR Part 85. The retrofit/rebuild program is intended to reduce the ambient levels of particulate matter (PM) in urban areas and applies to 1993 and earlier model year (MY) urban buses operating in metropolitan areas with 1980 populations of 750,000 or more, whose engines are rebuilt or replaced after January 1, 1995. Operators of the affected buses are required to choose between two compliance options: Program 1 sets particulate matter emissions requirements for each urban bus engine in an operator's fleet which is rebuilt or replaced; Program 2 is a fleet averaging program that establishes specific annual target levels for average PM emissions from urban buses in an operator's fleet. Operators must use certified kits in urban bus engines rebuilt or replaced after January 1, 1995 unless Program 2 fleet averaging is selected. Failure to comply with the requirements subjects the operator to fines of up to $27,500 per urban bus. Air Enforcement Division develops cases by conducting audits of urban bus operators, and by investigating tips.

 

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