Editors' Summary: In this second of a three-part series on the Clean Air Act and the 1990 amendments, the authors analyze the background of several key Clean Air Act sections, including the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program, new and modified source review, the national emission standard for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) program, acid deposition control provisions, and mobile source controls. The authors explore the evolution of the PSD program from its origins in Sierra Club v. Ruckelshaus, 2 ELR 20656, to its current focus on requiring preconstruction review of major sources and modifications to ensure that deterioration is prevented and appropriate control technology is used. The authors next analyze how the Clean Air Act utilizes the review and permitting of new and modified sources as basic planning and control features for regulating such sources and their impact on attainment and maintenance of the national air quality standards. The authors next explore the regulation of hazardous emissions, from the pre-1990 NESHAP program to the ramifications of the 1990 amendments. Finally, the authors analyze the new acid deposition control provisions added by the 1990 amendments, including the new allowance program, and how the amendments impact Title II of the Clean Air Act, which governs emissions from mobile sources.
Theodore L. Garrett is a partner in the law firm of Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C. Mr. Garrett has coordinated the firm's environmental practice and has been extensively involved in litigation and administrative proceedings. A former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk to Chief Justice Burger, Mr. Garrett has served as a featured speaker at numerous environmental law and litigation programs, and has written widely in the environmental area. He is a coauthor of the ALI-ABA book A Practical Guide to Environmental Law and the ABA book Environmental Litigation. Mr. Garrett is vice-chairman of the Solid and Hazardous Waste Committee of the ABA Section of Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law; a member of the Steering Committee of the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Section of the District of Columbia Bar; a member of the Editorial Board of the Environmental Law Reporter, and a member of the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Waste of the Center for Public Resources.
Sonya D. Winner is a partner in the law firm of Covington and Burling, where she practices in the areas of environmental law, international trade, and antitrust. She is a graduate of Michigan State University (B.A. 1979) and Harvard Law School (J.D., magna cum laude, 1982). After graduation, she served as a law clerk to Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She is a member of the adjunct faculty at the American University Washington College of Law, where she has taught courses in international commercial arbitration and legal ethics.
