A Primer on New Source Review and Strategies for Success

September 2002
Citation:
32
ELR 11091
Issue
9
Author
Rolf R. von Oppenfeld, Eric L. Hiser, Mark E. Freeze

New Source Review for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration

Air pollutants affect both human health and the health of ecosystems. The U.S. Congress enacted the Clean Air Act (CAA) to try to reduce harmful air pollutants and protect health. While enacting the 1977 CAA Amendments, Congress recognized, based on a court case, that something must be done to keep clean air clean, rather than allow it to deteriorate and then attempt to clean it. Hence, the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program was developed. The PSD program places stringent limitations and restrictions on sources located in areas designated as "in attainment" with the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), which set limits on the amount of certain pollutants that may be emitted in a given area.

Rolf R. von Oppenfeld is Managing Partner with the Team for Environmental Science and Technology Law (TESTLaw) Practice Group, operating under the law firm von Oppenfeld, Hiser & Freeze, P.C., with western regional offices in Phoenix, Arizona, and eastern regional offices in Columbia, South Carolina. The firm has been listed in the 2001 Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of preeminent lawyers for environmental law. Eric L. Hiser heads the regulatory practice for the TESTLaw Practice Group. Mr. Hiser clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit after graduating with honors from Duke University Law School and acting as Managing Editor on Duke Law Journal, 1988-1989. Mark E. Freeze heads the litigation practice for the TESTLaw Practice Group, and graduated law school from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988.

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