Caught in the Act

For the last decade or-so, Americans have been bombarded by the news media with information and misinformation about the environment. Publicity and the consequent public agitation prompted a rash of environmental legislation, culminating in the Clean Air Act amendments of 1970. The philosophy of establishing air quality standards first and then developing plans to meet those standards —as most states have done—was retained in the amendments. This time, however, national air quality standards had to be set by the Federal Government and achieved by each state through an implementation plan that had to be approved by EPA. In addition, the 1970 legislation gave the Environmental Protection Agency authority to set emission standards for new manufacturing plants and establish tight nationwide standards for auto emissions.

Predictably, a massive federal bureaucracy has been created to administer the environmental legislation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an annual operating budget of about half a billion dollars and more than 9,000 employees. The many activities of EPA have had a profound effect on America, and particularly on the shape of things to come. For instance, the EPA has banned DDT (much to the pleasure of tussock and gypsy moths) and issued regulations on indirect sources of pollution, such as parking facilities. The pervasiveness of EPA can be judged by the fact that in one twenty-day period alone it initiated 109 official actions. Above all, the Guidelines and Regulations of EPA and the resultant state emission standards are requiring vast and often unnecessary expenditures by industry, which ultimately will be borne by the public in higher prices.

RC

About the Author

Richard B. Carroll

Featured Tags

For the last decade or-so, Americans have been bombarded by the news media with information and misinformation about the environment. Publicity and the consequent public agitation prompted a rash of environmental legislation, culminating in the Clean Air Act amendments of 1970. The philosophy of establishing air quality standards first and then developing plans to meet those standards —as most states have done—was retained in the amendments. This time, however, national air quality standards had to be set by the Federal Government and achieved by each state through an implementation plan that had to be approved by EPA. In addition, the 1970 legislation gave the Environmental Protection Agency authority to set emission standards for new manufacturing plants and establish tight nationwide standards for auto emissions.

Predictably, a massive federal bureaucracy has been created to administer the environmental legislation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an annual operating budget of about half a billion dollars and more than 9,000 employees. The many activities of EPA have had a profound effect on America, and particularly on the shape of things to come. For instance, the EPA has banned DDT (much to the pleasure of tussock and gypsy moths) and issued regulations on indirect sources of pollution, such as parking facilities. The pervasiveness of EPA can be judged by the fact that in one twenty-day period alone it initiated 109 official actions. Above all, the Guidelines and Regulations of EPA and the resultant state emission standards are requiring vast and often unnecessary expenditures by industry, which ultimately will be borne by the public in higher prices.