1990 Clean Air Act Amendments

On 15 November 1990, the President signed the amendments to the CAA, referred to as the 1990 CAAA. Embodied in these amendments were several progressive and creative new themes deemed appropriate for effectively achieving the air quality goals and for reforming the air quality control regulatory process (USEPA 1990). Specifically, the amendments:

1. Encouraged the use of market‐based principles and other innovative approaches similar to performance‐based standards and emission banking and trading.
2. Promoted the use of clean low‐sulfur coal and natural gas, as well as innovative technologies to clean high‐sulfur coal through the acid rain program.
3. Reduced energy waste and created enough of a market for clean fuels derived from grain and natural gas to cut dependency on oil imports by over million barrels per day.
4. Promoted energy conservation through an acid rain program that gave utilities flexibility to obtain needed emission reductions through programs that encouraged customers to conserve energy.