Air Emissions
Clean Air Act
In response to a number of air quality incidents across the country, the Clean Air Act (CAA) was first created in 1963 and has been revised a number of times since.
The five basic goals of the CAA are:
- Control ambient levels of criteria pollutants
- Limit exposure to hazardous air pollutants
- Protect and improve visibility in natural areas
- Reduce emissions that cause acid rain
- Curb the use of chemicals that deplete stratospheric ozone
Oklahoma State University is subject to a number of regulations from the CAA and its revisions.
Title V Permit Compliance
An innovative program under Title V of the Clean Air Act Amendments, the operating process streamlines the way authorities regulate air pollution by consolidating all air pollution control requirements into a single, comprehensive operating permit that covers all aspects of a source's year-to-year air pollution activities.
One of the major initiatives Congress added to the CAA in 1990 is an operating permit program for larger industrial and commercial sources that release pollutants into the air. Operating permits include information on which pollutants are being released, how much may be released, and what steps the source's owner or operator is required to take to reduce pollution. Permits must include plans to measure and report the air pollution emmitted.
Oklahoma State University operates under a Title V air permit that includes information on the emission source, which pollutants are being emitted and monitored, emission limitations, and any pollution prevention requirements. The permit also details the type and frequency of reports that must be submitted to the state.