Chet W.

EPA’s role in implementing the Clean Air Act 

When I first joined EPA in 1991, the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments had just been finalized, and we were taking on the task of implementing those amendments.  Since that time, many people have stated that the Clean Air Act and especially the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments have been some of the most successful pieces of legislation ever written.  It is hard to argue that point when you look at air pollution levels from the 1970s compared to today and contrast that to the growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the same period.  But as a new EPA employee, one of the things that I did not appreciate until I worked at EPA for a while was that all of that success does not come just from EPA writing rules and publishing them in the Federal Register.  That is only the very beginning of the process.  It is the implementation of those rules that actually gets the air quality benefits, and that implementation process is one that includes a multitude of participants, all of whom engage with EPA staff on a regular basis to make it work. 

State, local and tribal air agencies are on the front lines for implementing most of the clean air rules and the regulated entities carry much of the burden for reducing the emissions under those rules.  But what really makes all this work so well is the engagement of all the players working together to get the emissions reductions that yield cleaner air in a way that is both beneficial to the environment while also minimizing the impact on the regulated entity.  Most of my career was spent interacting with state, local, tribal air agency partners to listen to their concerns, work together to find solutions to challenging problems and to use their input to make rules as implementable as possible.  In the same way, I spent an equal amount of time engaging with stakeholders in the regulated community as they were most knowledgeable about their facilities and often had excellent suggestions on how best to implement various regulations in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.  They also had ideas how we could improve many of the implementation tools they needed and used. 

I realized that throughout my career that not only do EPA staff care deeply about the mission of the Agency and protecting public health and the environment, but they also have a deep respect for those they work with in both government and the private sector.  They appreciate that the role of a civil servant is to serve… to serve the people of this country and that includes all the people.  Those that work for state, local and tribal air agencies, those in the regulated community, as well as all of the people that live and breathe air in this country.   

When rules are written, they are not done haphazardly, but with great care to consider all input provided during public comment periods.  They are developed to be as cost-effective as possible, to consider the impacts on the regulated community while also fulfilling the mission of the Agency to protect public health and the environment.   EPA civil servants bring their technical and policy knowledge to every issue to make sure that everyone is heard, and all aspects of the solution are studied to make sure the best possible outcome is achieved.  The expertise of these scientists and engineers and the many years of experience is critical to making the best decisions possible and with that expertise, unnecessary consequences of an action can be avoided.  

When people in this country take a deep breath, they want to have confidence that the air they inhale is clean and not harmful to them.  They expect that and they deserve that as citizens of the United States.   The most important thing I learned during my 30+ year career is that the civil servants in the EPA air office care deeply about providing clean air for everyone and doing it in the most efficient and effective way possible.  Across government, that is what civil servants do… they serve.  They serve the American people every day. 

Chet Wayland 
Retired 
Former Director of the Air Quality Assessment Division, Office of Air & Radiation  
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency