Cleanup Enforcement

The Clean Air Act (CAA) gives EPA the authority to:

• prevent and reduce air pollution by setting limits on how much pollutant can be emitted to the air, and
• take action when an imminent and substantial endangerment (ISE) is caused by the emission of air pollutants. The ISE authority is found in Section 303.

Background of Section 303

Section 303 of the Clean Air Act lets EPA bring an action for injunctive relief to abate imminent and substantial endangerments to public health, welfare, or the environment caused by the emissions of air pollutants. Actions include issuing judicial or administrative orders to stop the emissions or require other measures as necessary to abate the endangerment.

This "gap-filling" authority lets EPA obtain injunctive relief in a wide range of endangerment scenarios, regardless of a pollution source's compliance or noncompliance with any provision of the Clean Air Act. It also provides for injunctive relief when an air pollutant(s) is not otherwise regulated under the statute.

CAA Cleanup Enforcement Case Examples

EPA has used its Section 303 authority to decontaminate surfaces. For example, a Section 303 order was issued to a demolition firm that was dismantling an old oil refinery. Friable asbestos, used for insulating parts of the refinery, was scattered around the site. An endangerment existed because children were seen playing with the asbestos and wind could blow the material into neighboring communities. The order required, in part, that the demolition firm cease all demolition activities until the site was cleaned up in accordance with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (See, In Re: Shallow Water Refinery , EPA Docket No. VII-97-CAA-120, June 12, 1997).

In another case, EPA used its Section 303 authority, along with authority under CERCLA Section 106 and RCRA Section 7003, to seek an injunction against the owners of a site to address endangerment from asbestos contamination in a residential area. An asbestos mill operated at the site until 1974. Prior to closing the mill, asbestos-containing mill tailings were used to grade the property for mobile home lots; 50 lots were sold. The Court found that, under section 303, the residential subdivision and a second, nearby mill that was still in operation were "pollution sources or a combination of sources" and that the past owners of the site "caused or are contributing to such pollution." The Court ordered them to abate the releases and threatened releases of asbestos in the area. (See, U.S. v. Metate Asbestos Corp. , 584 F Supp. 1143, D.C. Az. 1984).

Section 303 is not limited to endangerment scenarios involving asbestos. Other air pollutants could potentially be involved where their dispersion into the air raises concerns about the risk to public health, welfare or the environment.

Information about the non-cleanup enforcement activities is available on the Office of Civil Enforcement's Clean Air Act Enforcement page.

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