AIChE Centennial: ChE Research and Technology - Past and Future

Session 254 - One Hundred Years of Environmental Law and Policy: Air (Cosponsored by the Environmental Division and A&WMA)
Efforts have been in place since the dawn of the industrial revolution (or earlier!) to address industrial air pollution. However, it was not until the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 2, 1970 and passage of PL 91-604, the Clean Air Act Extension in 1970 that major efforts got underway in the United States to address this issue. In keeping with the Centennial celebration, this session will blend a bit of science and technology with some historical information to provide a retrospective and "crystal ball" view of programs to improve air quality, especially here in the United States. We will to go back to English common law, trespass, nuisance, negligence, toxic tort and injuries to workers, resources and the public that resulted in case law, then tortured statutory interpretation, then the drafting of the initial Clean Air Act. A critical review of the history of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards will also be provided. We will examine the Clean Air Act from the perspective of what has worked, what hasn't and where there is room for improvement in both its legislative and regulatory framework. Finally we will look to the future, knowing that regulation of greenhouse gases will be a key legislative issue in the next Administration. We will examine programs in place at this time through the individual states, various voluntary initiatives, and speculate over what direction we expect the future Federal program to take.
Chair: Richard D. Siegel
Cochairs: Kurt Rindfusz
Mary Ellen Ternes
CoSponsor(s): Air
  Development of Air Pollution Law Over the Past 100 Years
Mary Ellen Ternes, Lee Paddock
  The 100 Year War: A History of U.S. Air Pollution Science and Policy
John Bachmann
  Clean Air Act "Good, Bad, and Room for Improvement"
John Dege
  Preparing for Potential Greenhouse Gas Legislation
Sunil P. Hangal
  Panel Discussion

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