Question

Discuss ways in which the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 address the failures of previous legislation.

Short answer

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 strengthened and expanded the original Clean Air Act of 1970. They improved on the previous act by using market-based approaches for reducing air pollution, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, adopting a comprehensive approach to reducing acid rain, establishing a program to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals and requiring stringent controls on toxic pollutant emissions.

Step-by-step solution

Understand Previous Legislation

The first action is to review the previous legislation as a basis of comparison. The Clean Air Act of 1970 which was the initial comprehensive federal air pollution legislation in the US had several issues. Issues include ambiguous enforcement mechanisms and inadequate measures to contain acid rain, urban air pollution, and toxic air emissions.

Explore the Amendments in 1990

Next, examine the amendments made in 1990 to the Clean Air Act. They significantly expanded the scope and strengthened the provisions of the act. Key changes were in five main areas: air quality standards, motor vehicle emissions and alternative fuels, toxic air pollutants, acid rain, and stratospheric ozone protection.

Compare and Point Out The Improvements

It is key to display the amendments in a clear comparison to the previous laws. The 1990 Amendments instituted market-based approaches for reducing air pollution, strengthened enforcement mechanisms, adopted a comprehensive approach to reducing acid rain, established a program to phase out the use of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, and required stringent controls on emissions of 189 toxic pollutants.