Federal, state, and local air pollution agencies work in partnership to regulate certain greenhouse gas emissions, for example through the issuance of operating permits pursuant to the Clean Air Act.
With one exception, regulating mobile sources of air pollution, e.g., motor vehicles, is the sole responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The one exception is California, which can obtain waivers to establish its own motor vehicle emission standards. In contrast, permits to construct or modify major stationary sources of air pollution, e.g., power plants and refineries, can be issued by the EPA, a state, or a local agency.
The EPA began regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs) from both mobile and stationary sources in 2011 pursuant to the then-effective Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule (known as the GHG Tailoring Rule). More recently, Congress passed legislation as part of the omnibus Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 confirming that carbon dioxide and certain other GHGs are regulated pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Current EPA regulations pursuant to Section 111 of the Clean Air Act require certain stationary sources (as of September 2024, new natural gas plants and new and existing coal plants) to employ measures such as carbon capture technology and sequestration (CCS) to reduce GHG emissions. The EPA also continues to establish and revise standards for GHG emissions from mobile sources such as passenger cars and light trucks.
Here is the Clean Air Act Overview at the EPA’s website, which is a useful resource: https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview.
And here is a link to EPA’s summary of how the Clean Air Act can be used to limit Greenhouse Gas emissions: https://www.epa.gov/nsr/clean-air-act-permitting-greenhouse-gases
The text of the formerly effective GHG Tailoring Rule may be found here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2010-06-03/pdf/2010-11974.pdf
And the text of the EPA’s latest GHG stationary source and mobile source regulations may be found here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-05-09/pdf/2024-09233.pdf (stationary sources)
https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/regulations-greenhouse-gas-ghg-emissions (mobile sources)
Each state can develop and implement plans (known as SIPs, or state implementation plans) to comply with clean air standards established by federal legislation or regulation. (https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act). Thus, by establishing rules and issuing permits, states regulate emissions from businesses and stationary facilities, ranging from oil refineries to auto body shops and dry cleaners.
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