Meeting the Future Challenges of Air Quality Management in the United States

Abstract

The U.S. Clean Air Act (CAA, or the Act) and its amendments has achieved substantial progress in cleaning up the nation's air. Over the past 30 years, the CAA reduced emissions of the 6 principal (“criteria”) pollutants by over 25%, even while gross domestic product (GDP) has increased over 150% and population and energy consumption rose by nearly 40%. However, despite the tremendous gains the Act has brought, the country's air quality management (AQM) system still faces substantial challenges. In response to a congressional request for an independent evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the CAA, the National Research Council formed the Committee on Air Quality Management. Composed of 25 members with diverse areas of air quality expertise, the committee was charged with developing scientific and technical recommendations for strengthening the nation's AQM system. In 2004, the National Academies published their recommendations in a text entitled Air Quality Management in the United States (National Research Council, 2004).