![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090511120846im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Planning for Clean Air
State Implementation Plans
States have to develop state implementation plans (SIPs) that explain how each state will do its job under the Clean Air Act. A state implementation plan is a collection of the regulations a state will use to clean up polluted areas. The states must involve the public, through hearings and opportunities to comment, in the development of each state implementation plan. It may be helpful to view a SIP as a state's blueprint for clean air.
- EPA Processing of State Air Quality Plans in Region 2
- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: State Implementation Plan
- New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: Bureau of Air Quality Planning
Permitting
Each year in the U.S., industrial operations emit nearly 100 million tons of pollutants into the air. These include pollutants that make breathing difficult, form urban smog, impair visibility, and attack ecosystems. Some of these pollutants can cause cancer or other serious health effects. Some of the many pollutants emitted into the air each year are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxides, carbon monoxide, benzene, mercury and dioxin. Many of the sources of this air pollution are large facilities, such as petroleum refineries and chemical plants, that can have literally thousands of potential emission points. Other pollution sources can be smaller, such as gasoline filling stations, dry cleaning operations, and paint spray booths. Several of these air pollution sources, particularly the larger sources, are required by federal measures to reduce emissions and to obtain air pollution permits to ensure compliance.
- Permit Program Overview
- Permitting FAQs
- Title V Permit Petition Database
- New Source Review (NSR) Policy and Guidance Database
- Customer Service Policy
- New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: Air Quality Permitting Program
- New York Department of Environmental Conservation: Air Facility Permits and Registrations
- Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board: Title V Permits
Emission Inventories
EPA's Emission Inventory and Analysis Group prepares a national database of air emissions information with input from numerous State and local air agencies, from tribes, and from industry. The NEI Input Format (NIF) is the format most widely used by state and local agencies to transfer data to the EPA's National Emission Inventory (NEI).
Air Quality Modeling
EPA's Air Quality Modeling Group conducts modeling analyses to support policy and regulatory decisions in the Office of Air and Radiation and provides leadership and direction on the full range of air quality models and other mathematical simulation techniques used in assessing air pollution control strategies. Documentation and guidance for these air quality models can be found on the Support Center for Regulatory Air Models (SCRAM) website, including downloadable computer code, input data, and model processors.
Air Quality Conformity
Established under the Clean Air Act (section 176), conformity plays an important role in helping states and tribal regions improve air quality in those areas that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Under the separate general and transportation conformity rules, federal agencies must work with State, Tribal and local governments in nonattainment and maintenance areas to ensure that federal actions, including highway and transit projects, conform to the initiatives established in the applicable state or tribal implementation plan.
- General Conformity
- Transportation Conformity
- For information on transportation conformity and highway and transit projects in your area, contact your local metropolitan planning organization listed below
