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Lead Implementation - Programs and Requirements for Reducing Lead
The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants; lead is one of these. EPA works with partners at state, local, and tribal air quality agencies to meet these standards.
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), as amended in 1990, each state must develop a plan describing how it will attain and maintain the NAAQS. In other words, how it plans to clean up polluted areas and keep them clean. This plan is called the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and is required under Section 110 of the CAA (40 CFR Part 51, Subparts F & G). In general, the SIP is a collection of programs, including:
- a monitoring program, which is a collection of monitoring devices throughout the country which provide actual measurements of the concentrations in the air, to identify whether an area is meeting the air quality standards, and if not, how much reductions are needed to meet those standards;
- air quality calculations and computer modeling, which are used to predict future trends and the effects of emissions reduction strategies;
- emissions inventories, which describe the sources and categories of emissions to the air for a given pollutant, and how much is emitted by each source or source category;
- control strategy studies whose goal is finding the best way to reduce emissions in order to meet air quality standards;
- formal adoption of measures (enforceable by EPA, States and citizens) which ensure that we will achieve the reductions deemed necessary in the planning process;
- periodic review to evaluate whether those needed reductions were achieved in reality, and whether they had the predicted result.
The air quality agency responsible for the State Implementation Plan, (usually a state agency) must provide the public an opportunity to review the plan before sending it to EPA for approval.
In cases where the EPA fails to approve a state implementation plan, the Agency can issue and enforce a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to ensure attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS. In addition, the Clean Air Act contains penalties, referred to as "sanctions" which EPA can impose in areas not satisfying the State Implementation Plan requirements.
Implementation Resources
- Guidance on Infrastructure State Implementation Plan (SIP) Elements Required Under Sections 110(a)(1) and 110(a)(2) for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (PDF) (21pp, 442k) - Oct 14, 2011
- Guidance to States for Meeting Conflict of Interest Requirements of Section 128 (PDF) (7pp, 352k) - Mar 2, 1978
- The Estimated Contribution of Ambient Lead (Pb) to Class I Area Visibility Impairment (PDF) (3pp, 125k) - Nov 7, 2011
- 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Implementation Questions and Answers (PDF) (9pp, 561k) July 8, 2011
- Implementation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Pb - recorded webinar - April 5, 2011
- EPA Air Pollution Control Cost Manual Sixth Edition (PDF) (752pp, 3.4 MB) January 2002
- Appendix 1 - Available Fugitive Lead Bearing Dust Control (PDF) (3pp, 473k) December 22, 1993
- Fugitive Dust Background Document and Technical Information Document for Best Available Control Measures (PDF) (194pp, 7.4 MB) September 1992
- Procedures for Estimating Probability of Nonattainment of a PM10 NAAQS Using Total Suspended Particulate or PM10 Data (PDF) (66pp, 1.7 MB) December 1986
- Part 51 Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of Implementation Plans – Sec. 51.117 Additional Provisions for Lead (PDF) (2pp, 103k) July 2007