[19971022]97-959ENR_违反《清洁空气法》的公路基金制裁.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS Web97-959 ENROctober 22, 1997Highway Fund Sanctions for Clean Air Act ViolationsJames E. McCarthySpecialist in Environmental PolicyEnvironment and Natural Resources Policy DivisionSummaryUnder the Clean Air Act, the Administrator of the Environmental ProtectionAgency is required to impose highway fund and other sanctions on areas that shedetermines not to have submitted or not to have implemented adequate plans to attainair quality standards. The threat of sanctions is a powerful tool that Congress gave EPAto encourage state compliance with the Acts objectives. EPA has formally notified thestates of its intent to use this tool 855 times since 1990. Actual imposition of sanctions,which cannot occur until 18 months after formal notification, is a relatively rare event,however. The Agency has imposed sanctions 14 times since 1990; they are currently ineffect for only one small area in Montana.This report provides information concerning the authority to impose sanctions, liststhe 14 areas that have been subject to sanctions since 1990, describes their status as ofOctober 1997, and disc