The unlawful release of contaminants, such as industrial emissions, particulate matter or hazardous gases, into the atmosphere in excess of the limits set by a jurisdiction's environmental protection law, or without the operating permit such a law requires. As with water pollution, it is prosecuted both as a regulatory offense against a permitting and emissions-limit regime and, where a discharge is deliberate, concealed, or falsified in required monitoring reports, as a more serious environmental crime carrying criminal penalties in addition to civil fines. Major legal frameworks addressing it include the United States Clean Air Act of 1970 and the European Union's Ambient Air Quality Directive, both of which authorities have used to bring criminal prosecutions against operators who deliberately exceeded or concealed violations of their permitted emissions.
Facts
Classification CodeAir pollution is chiefly regulated by dedicated national Clean Air Acts, beginning with Britain's Clean Air Act 1956 and the United States Clean Air Act of 1963; the American statute continues to be amended to reach new pollutants, most recently when the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 amended the Clean Air Act to define carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning explicitly as an air pollutant. 1 Typical PenaltyFederal Clean Air Act enforcement carries both civil and criminal tiers under 42 U.S.C. 7413: a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 per day is available for each violation, and a knowing violation is punished by a fine under Title 18 or by imprisonment of not more than five years, or both, with the maximum fine and imprisonment doubled for a subsequent conviction. 2 Elements of OffenseThe 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments direct the Environmental Protection Agency to apply a new source review process to determine whether a plant's maintenance or other activity amounts to a modification requiring the plant to meet New Source Performance Standards, the trigger that converts routine operation into a permitting violation if the plant proceeds without the required review. 3 Notable ExampleThe Great Smog of London, lasting from Friday, December 5 to Tuesday, December 9, 1952, was estimated at the time to have killed 4,000 people; more recent research puts the toll considerably higher, at between 10,000 and 12,000 deaths, and the disaster led directly to Britain's Clean Air Act 1956. 4 Jurisdiction VariationEnforcement runs through state implementation plans: the Clean Air Act assigns states responsibility for drafting plans that meet its requirements, which the Environmental Protection Agency then reviews, amends and approves, and while the law generally bars states from setting standards stricter than the federal ones, California carries a standing exemption because of its historical smog problem. 3 Classification
Offense Grade Sources
1. Air Pollution (Wikipedia)
WikipediaMajor pollutants section, CO2 subsectionQuote, Major pollutants section, CO2 subsection
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 amended the Clean Air Act to define CO2 from fossil fuel burning explicitly as an air pollutant.
2. 42 U.S. Code section 7413 (Cornell LII)
Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute42 U.S.C. 7413, civil penalty clause
civil penalty of not more than $25,000 per day for each violation
42 U.S.C. 7413, criminal penalty clause
punished by a fine pursuant to title 18 or by imprisonment for not to exceed 5 years, or both
View the Source 3. Clean Air Act, United States (Wikipedia)
WikipediaPolicy and regulation section, 1977 amendments new source review
Congress required EPA to conduct a 'new source review' process
State Implementation Plans section, California exemption
the law also prevents states from setting standards that are more strict than the federal standards, but carves out a special exemption for California due to its past issues with smog pollution.
View the Source 4. Great Smog of London (Wikipedia)
WikipediaGreat Smog of London, death toll estimatesQuote, Great Smog of London, death toll estimates
More recent research suggests that the total number of fatalities was considerably greater, with estimates of between 10,000 and 12,000 deaths.
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