TABLE OF CONTENTS The issues of clean air and air pollution are inextricably linked to the electric utility industry. While there are numerous environmental rules and regulations imposed upon the industry, the focus here will be contained to a discussion of air quality standards. The purpose is not to point a finger at electric utilities for their almost inescapable part in these issues. Rather it is to discuss the history behind clean air rules and what the future may hold for the significant improvement of air quality.
Clean air and air pollution has been the subject of much public debate for centuries. In 1306, King Edward I of England issued a proclamation banning the use of sea coal in London due to the smoke it caused. Over the course of the next few centuries, several efforts were made in the Great Britain to reduce the amount of smoke in the air.
The first attempt at controlling air pollution in the United States occurred during the industrial revolution. Chicago and Cincinnati enacted clean air legislation in 1881. At one point, the Bureau of Mines, under the Department of the Interior, created an Office of Air Pollution to control smoke emissions. That office no longer exists. It was eliminated shortly after its creation due to inactivity.
During the late 1940s, serious smog incidents in Los Angeles and Donora, Pennsylvania raised public awareness and concern about air pollution. In 1955, the government deemed the issue worthy of being dealt with on a...
