Origins of Modern Air Pollution Regulations

We sometimes have the misconception that attempts to regulate air pollution in the United States began within the last few decades. In fact, air pollution laws of various types have existed for at least a century. What is new is the widespread realization by the public that air pollution is a serious health threat and the leading role the federal government has taken in controlling air pollution. Out of these concerns and initiatives have come the creation of the most comprehensive air pollution control laws in the history of the United States.

Air pollution control efforts can trace their origin back to the efforts to control water pollution. The effects of water pollution on human health were recognized as early as the Middle Ages. Because of this, laws and regulations protecting water supplies were enacted much earlier than those aimed at protecting the air we breathe.

Air pollution initially was recognized more as a nuisance than as a threat to human health. Some laws, however, were enacted to prevent air pollution as early as 1306. In that year, Edward I of England ordered that the burning of sea coal in craftsman's furnaces be prohibited because of the foul-smelling fumes produced. Centuries later, Elizabeth I banned, for similar aesthetic reasons, the burning of coal in London while Parliament was in session.

As the years passed, air pollution got worse, and yet it was still not widely recognized as a threat to human health. Although there were some scientists and health professionals who recognized air pollution as a public health problem, most of the early control efforts were targeted at the aesthetic or welfare effects of air pollution. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many smoke control ordinances were enacted in England and the United States. These laws were some of the first uniform statutes enacted for the control of air pollution. Our modern air pollution control program can be said to have evolved from these early ordinances.

The delay in recognizing air pollution as a health risk was partly a result of the nature of air pollution. Air pollution is usually not recognizable as is water pollution; therefore, it can be ignored as a health threat until the problem reaches crisis proportions. Air pollution episodes from the buildup of pollutants in the air influenced the development of air pollution programs in the United States.

In the 1940s, air pollution received greater attention in the United States when smog was noticed in Los Angeles. Visibility was only three blocks and people suffered from smarting eyes, respiratory discomfort, nausea, and vomiting. California passed the first state air pollution law in 1947, and the first National Air Pollution Symposium in the United States was held in 1949. Initially, municipal governments were responsible for the passage and enforcement of such legislation.

The federal government of the United States began efforts to control air pollution in the 1950s with the passage of the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955. This was the first federal air pollution law, and it mandated federal research programs to investigate the health and welfare effects of air pollution. It also authorized the federal government to provide technical assistance to state government. Additional legislation was passed in 1963 with the purpose of empowering the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to define air quality criteria based on scientific studies and provide grants to state and local air pollution control agencies. This Clean Air Act (CAA) replace the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955. In 1965 the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act was directed to establish auto emission standards. In 1967 the Federal Air Quality Act was enacted and established framework for defining "air quality control regions" based on meteorological and topographical factors of air pollution.

In 1970 President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by Executive Order. An executive order is an order issued by a government's chief executive, intended to give attention to a certain law or body of laws and directs federal agencies how to implement them. The formation of EPA marked a dramatic change in national policy regarding the control of air pollution. Whereas previous federal involvement had been mostly in advisory and educational roles, the new EPA emphasized stringent enforcement of air pollution laws. The EPA was assigned the daunting task of repairing the damage already done to the natural environment and establishing new criteria to guide Americans in making a cleaner environment a reality. A few weeks later the United States Congress passed the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1970. The passage of the CAAA of 1970 marked the beginning of modern efforts to control air pollution.