Law Commons^™

California’S Fight For Clean Air, Laura Tracey

Environmental Law Journal blog

Visible air pollution, known colloquially as “smog,” is responsible for clouding the horizons of cities all over the world. Smog forms when nitrous oxides react with sunlight, creating airborne particles which contribute to global warming and harm the health of humans, animals, and plant life. Car exhaust is one of the biggest contributors of nitrous oxide, and specific geographic and climate patterns can exacerbate the effects of the resulting smog. With approximately 14.5 million registered vehicles in the state and a climate perfect for harboring air pollution, most Californians have seen the telltale hazy skyline at some point in their …

Concrete Manufacturers And The Regulatory Role Of The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

This report discusses the results of an investigation into concrete manufacturers in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) handling of the concrete plants’ air pollution violations and the agency’s failure to follow its own enforcement guidelines.

The investigation focused on three concrete manufacturers operating in the City of San Francisco and around the Bay Area because they generate harmful particulate matter: Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC (Cemex), Central Concrete Supply Co., Inc. (Central), and Hanson Aggregates Mid-Pacific, Inc. (Hanson). Because asthma is prevalent in the Bayview Hunters-Point community, particulate matter pollution is of …

Federal Air Pollution Requirements, Helen Kang

Publications

The Clean Air Act is notoriously difficult to navigate and enforce. The difficulty is in part due to the act's regulatory scheme, which is inferior in critical ways to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). Unlike the Waste Discharge Requirements covering discharges of pollution into water bodies issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, which contain both federal and state requirements in a single permit, the Clean Air Act does not require a single permit for all facilities that pollute the air. Also significant, the Clean Air Act does not require self-reporting …

Environmental Law And Justice Clinic Fall 2011 Report, Eljc

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

Founded in 1994, the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic serves the dual mission of training law students to be effective and ethical advocates and assisting low-income communities and communities of color to reduce the disparities of pollution. The clinic is staffed by ten to twelve law students, two full-time professors, a part-time staff scientist, and a Graduate Fellow. The State Bar certifies the law students to perform lawyerly tasks under the supervision of their professors.

The clinic’s 2011 work focused primarily on reducing the disparities of air pollution. This Fall 2011 report highlights some of the clinic’s work and accomplishments …

Air Pollution & Environmental Inequity In The San Francisco Bay Area, Ken Kloc

Publications

Environmental justice advocates have long been concerned about the health impact of elevated air pollution levels found in disadvantaged communities across the country. Sustained public pressure on this issue has motivated regulators to initiate a variety of programs to better characterize the combined or “cumulative” air pollution exposure in localities with multiple pollution sources. In the last decade, local and state agencies have completed a number of relevant San Francisco Bay Area studies and the results are now being used to develop new pollution control policies. The goal of the present paper is to review this air quality research and …

Examining The Air We Breathe: Epa Should Evaluate Cumulative Impacts When It Promulgates National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Deborah N. Behles

Publications

Inhaling air pollutants can lead to a variety of adverse respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. This potential risk for health impacts is likely greater when the mixture of pollutants that exists in ambient air, rather than isolated pollutants, are inhaled. Despite the evidence of potential cumulative impacts, EPA has continued to focus its analysis of health impacts on isolated pollutants instead of the actual mixture we breathe. This article proposes that EPA should evaluate and consider cumulative health impacts when it sets national ambient air quality standards under the Clean Air Act. EPA is considering two pollutants together to determine …