Air Pollution: Progress and Problems in Implementing Selected Aspects of
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Testimony, 10/29/93, GAO/T-RCED-94-68).

Implementing the Clean Air Act has been a tremendous undertaking,
requiring the commitment of major resources at the federal, state, and
local levels.  Since the act's passage, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has issued more than 150 proposed and final rules and
guidance documents.  Some of the delays and problems in the programs GAO
has reviewed, however, suggest that the public health and environmental
benefits anticipated when the act was passed may not be fully realized.
State implementation plans--the key mechanism for controlling air
pollution, as well as the foundation for federal-state partnerships--are
not being submitted, reviewed, or approved promptly.  These delays may
worsen as the number of plans that states must submit rises. Similarly,
uncertainties and delays in the vehicle-emissions-testing program, as
well as the operating permit and air toxics programs, suggest that
resources and priorities continue to be fundamental issues that EPA
needs to address.  The administration's recent emphasis on reinventing
government only underscores the need for EPA and other agencies with
growing responsibilities, but flat or shrinking budgets, to explain to
Congress how funding shortfalls have affected their ability to do their
work.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-RCED-94-68
     TITLE:  Air Pollution: Progress and Problems in Implementing 
             Selected Aspects of Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
      DATE:  10/29/93
   SUBJECT:  Air pollution control
             Industrial pollution
             Motor vehicle pollution control
             Regulatory agencies
             Environmental legislation
             Planning
             Pollution monitoring
             Motor vehicle repairs
             Federal/state relations
             Motor vehicle pollution
IDENTIFIER:  EPA State Implementation Plan
             
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