The major responsibilities for assuring that the National Ambient Air 

 Quality Standards are attained and maintained is left up to the individual 

 states. These responsibilities are to be formulated and outlined in a plan 

 known as the State Implementation Plan (SIP) which is subject to the approval 

 of the EPA. Recently the Maine Department of Environmental Protection 

 issued a State Implementation Plan for Air Quality which details a comprehensive 

 strategy for achieving and maintaining clean air for the State of Maine 

 (see Attainment and Maintenance of Air Quality in Maine) 



The CAA created some 250 Air Quality Control (AQCR) such that local interests 

 could be maintained when dealing with air pollution control strategy. The 

 State of Maine is divided into five AQCR. Only three of these regions are 

 directly associated with the Coast of Maine Characterization Area; the 

 Metropolitan Portland, Androscoggin Vftlley (also referred to as Central Maine), 

 and Down East Air Quality Control Regions. 



The States are required to determine the compliance status for each AQCR 

 for each of the six ambient air quality standards. Using what air quality 

 data exists and by analyzing dispersion patterns and point sources, the 

 states have evaluated their own air quality and designated the regions as: 



Nonattainment : does not meet the national primary or secondary 

 ambient air quality standard for any pollutant. 



Attainment: has ambient air quality levels better than the national 

 primary or secondary ambient air quality standards. 



Unclassifiable: can not be classified as either attainment or 

 nonattainment on the basis of existing information. 



For nonattainment areas, detailed control strategies geared at improving 

 air quality to the minimum acceptable levels as defined by the NAAQS are 

 contained within the State Implementation Plans. Attainment areas are to be 

 monitored closely to assure the quality of the air remains healthy. 

 Finally, unclassified areas are to receive highest priority ambient air 

 monitoring to determine their appropriate designation. 



Section 111 of the Act provides for establishing New Source Performance 

 Standards (NSPS). The NSPS were to be stringent in order to avoid significant 

 air pollution problems from industrial expansion. The Clean Air Act requires 

 that a new source must be in compliance with the standard in order to operate. 

 At present, NSPS in the form of emissions limitations have been set for 19 

 industrial categories and five pollutants. The EPA, under Section 112 of 

 the Act has also set standards for asbestos, beryllium, mercury, and vinyl 

 chloride. These apply to all existing sources of pollutants and to all new 

 sources. The purpose of New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) is to 

 maintain existing air quality and to prevent new air pollution problems from 

 developing in the future. EPA will set NSPS for 200 source categories. 



The EPA set 1975 as a deadline for the attainment of the primary standards. 

 However, massive resistance to the timetable and strict standards promulgated 

 by EPA chiefly by large industrial pollutors caused delays and unacceptable 

 sip's. It was clear that the problems encountered in attempting to administer 



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