Air Pollution: Legal Perspectives on the "Routine Maintenance" Exception to New Source Review

Publication Date: February 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

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Abstract:

A major Clean Air Act issue is the extent to which an existing power plant or factory may be altered without effecting a "modification." A "modification" of an existing air pollution source is subject to the Act's stringent air pollution control requirements for new sources.

The topic of this report is a widely used exemption to "modification" allowing changes that constitute "routine maintenance, repair, and replacement" without triggering such stringent requirements. The report surveys the original legal landscape surrounding this exemption ­ in the contexts of determining applicability of New Source Performance Standards, and New Source Review in Prevention of Significant Deterioration and nonattainment areas. It then summarizes the many significant developments during the current Bush Administration, both in the Federal Register and in the courts. This report will be updated as events warrant.