EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency's) Delegation of Responsibilities to Prevent Significant Deterioration of Air Quality: How Is It Working

摘要

The Clean Air Act of 1963, as amended, authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to delegate operational responsibilities for national air pollution prevention and control programs to state and local governments whenever possible. GAO reviewed EPA's delegation of the Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program to six states within three EPA regions and found that EPA had taken steps to ensure that those state agencies had the legal authority, technical capabilities, and resources needed to administer the program before delegating responsibilities to them. GAO also found no significant differences in levels of effort between EPA and those states in carrying out the program activities before and after delegation. GAO noted that the three EPA regions it reviewed had not consistently maintained EPA's Compliance Data System and, as a result, the status of air pollution control program activities may not be current. GAO recommends that the EPA Administrator reevaluate the importance of the system as an oversight tool.