Clean Air Act
Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets limits on how much of a pollutant can be in the air anywhere in the United States. This ensures that all Americans have the same basic health and environmental protections. The Act allows individual states to have stronger pollution controls, but states are not allowed to have weaker pollution controls than those set for the entire country.
The Act recognizes that it makes sense for states to take the lead in carrying out the Clean Air Act, because pollution control problems often require special understanding of local factors such as nearby industries, geography, and housing.
States have to develop state implementation plans (SIPs) that explain how each state will do its job under the Clean Air Act. Each SIP is a collection of the regulations a state will use to clean up polluted areas. The states must involve the public, through hearings and opportunities to comment, in the development of each SIP. EPA must approve each SIP, and if a SIP isn't acceptable, EPA can take over enforcing the Clean Air Act in that state.
California state law appoints the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB) the lead agency for the State’s SIPs.
