---
title: "Clean Air Act"
type: Legal Term
source: https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/clean-air-act
---

# Clean Air Act

The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), originally enacted in 1963 and substantially amended in 1970 and 1990, is the comprehensive federal statute regulating air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. The Act directs the EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria pollutants, requires states to develop State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to achieve those standards, and imposes New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and hazardous air pollutant regulations. In Whitman v. American Trucking Associations (2001), the Supreme Court held that the EPA may not consider implementation costs when setting NAAQS, and that the Act's delegation of authority to EPA did not violate the nondelegation doctrine. The 1990 amendments introduced the Title IV acid rain cap-and-trade program, which became a model for market-based environmental regulation.

## Related Terms

- cap-and-trade
- best-available-technology
- citizen-suit
- nepa

## Related Cases

- american-trucking-associations-v-epa
- american-electric-power-co-v-connecticut
- alaska-department-of-environmental-conservation-v-epa

## Example

When a coal-fired power plant seeks to expand operations, it must obtain a permit under the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program demonstrating compliance with applicable NAAQS and installing required pollution controls.

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Source: [Clean Air Act — CaseBriefly](https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/clean-air-act)