When it comes to air quality, there are a few objectives:

 

Since the mid-1990's, the Environmental Protection Agency has pushed aggressively to expand the reach of its air quality regulations.  In 1997, EPA revised the national air quality standards for soot and smog, making the requirements much more difficult for businesses and communities to meet.  EPA claimed that new research showed tighter standards were necessary to protect public health.  However, the agency refused to make the research data available for public review.  Although the U.S. Chamber successfully challenged the new standards in court, the EPA has continued its push to impose the tougher standards and other sweeping new air quality rules.

 

EPA responded to additional court setbacks in late 1999 by arbitrarily ordering drastic emission reductions from hundreds of facilities in the Midwest and Southeast, and suing several electric utility companies for allegedly avoiding air quality requirements.  In reality, EPA changed its interpretation of a key Clean Air Act permitting requirement in 1997.  EPA now seeks to retroactively penalize companies who did not share that interpretation in the permitting decisions made over the last two decades.  If EPA is successful in imposing these new air quality requirements, or if the agency prevails in its current lawsuits, business and communities will be required to meet stringent and costly new air requirements that have not been shown to carry any real health or environmental benefits.