The regulation of toxic air pollutants under the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act and the North Carolina air toxics program

The 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act adopted a new approach to the federal regulation of toxic air pollutants under Section 112. Rather than providing EPA with the discretion to select and regulate toxic air pollutants in a manner to provide an ample margin or safety'' to protect public health--as under the pre 1990 Clean Air Act--the Amendments specifically list 189 compounds that EPA must regulate according to a rigorous rulemaking timetable through a combinations of technology-based standards and risk-based standards. As a result of these changes, many affected sources will be required to address emission of toxic air pollutants through the installation of control technology according to a short time table. However many states, including North Carolina, currently control emissions of toxic air pollutants from new and existing stationary sources through ambient air standards or guidelines. Rather than regulating sources through technological requirements, these standards require that a source's impact on the ambient air not exceed established acceptable levels off-site. This paper addresses the technology-based regulatory requirements of the new Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, as well as the risk-based requirements of North Carolina's air toxics program. Areas where these programs conflict will be discussed asmore » well as proposed changes to the North Carolina program.« less