Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act
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To ensure careful consideration of all aspects of regulations under the Clean Air Act, Congress added to the 1990 Amendments a requirement under section 812 that EPA conduct periodic, scientifically reviewed, studies to assess the benefits and the costs of the entire Clean Air Act. Since this requirement was established, EPA has conducted three comprehensive studies on the benefits and costs of the Clean Air Act, which are explained below. These studies ask:
""How do the overall health, welfare, ecological, and economic benefits of Clean Air Act programs compare to the costs of these programs? "
To address this question, Congress added to the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments a requirement under section 812 that EPA conduct periodic, scientifically reviewed studies to assess the benefits and the costs of the entire Clean Air Act.
More than forty years of experience with the Clean Air Act has shown that America can build its economy and create jobs while cutting pollution to protect the health of our citizens and our workforce.
Retrospective Study, 1970 to 1990 - On October 15, 1997, EPA issued the first in this series of reports, entitled "The Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act, 1970 to 1990," following completion of a six-year process of study development and outside expert review. The report shows that the public health protection and environmental benefits of the Clean Air Act exceeded the costs of its programs by a large margin.
First Prospective Study, 1990 to 2010 - On November 15, 1999, EPA issued the second in this series of reports, "The Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act, 1990 to 2010" This second study, the first of an ongoing series of prospective analyses, was also issued after a six-year process of study development and outside expert review. This first prospective study also finds that the benefits of the programs and standards required by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments significantly exceed costs.
Second Prospective Study, 1990 to 2020 - On March 1, 2011, EPA issued the third in this series of reports, "The Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act, 1990 to 2020" This third study updates and expands the First Prospective Study by using new and better data and modeling tools. The new study also looks further out into the future by evaluating the costs and benefits of 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment programs through the year 2020. The second prospective study also finds that the benefits of the programs and standards required by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments significantly exceed costs.