Working Paper: How Environmental Laws Work: An Analysis of the Utility Sector's Response to Regulation of Nitrogen Oxides and Sulfur Dioxide under the Clean Air Act

This study is designed to examine the actual performance of environmental regulations and the compliance behavior of regulated business in a real-world setting. It focuses on business compliance with regulatory standards for nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide in the electric power industry from 1995 through 1999. The selected time period permits evaluation of Phase I of Title IV of the Federal Clean Air Act, enacted in 1990 to regulate utility emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. This allows comparison of the two contrasting approaches Title IV imposed on electricity-generating facilities: an emissions cap and allowance trading program for sulfur dioxide, the most ambitious such program operating in the United States, and a more traditional technology-based emission rate standard to control nitrogen oxides emissions. The study also compares these standards to the new source standards for nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide in effect during the 1995-99 period, providing findings about business behavior in the face of varied regulatory standards.

Keywords
Subject:	4. Economic Incentives and Other Innovative Approaches	Media:	Air
Paper Information
Author(s):	Byron Swift	Institution Issuing Paper:	Environmental Law Institute
Status:	Accepted by journal	Institution Funding Paper:	Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
		Primary Content:	Empirical
Paper Date:	07/01/2001	Journal:	Tulane Environmental Law Journal
		Pages:	117
Electronic Copy Paper #: File Description: Word for Windows, 1.17MB File Attachment:

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