United States Code

42 U.S.C. § 7409

National primary and secondary ambient air quality standards

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Bills that would change it 21

  • HR 9083 State Emissions Authority Act of 2026 Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
  • HR 4214 Clean Air and Building Infrastructure Improvement Act Amends · introduced · 119th Congress
  • HR 6409 FENCES Act Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
  • HR 4218 CLEAR Act Amends 7409(d), 7409(b)(1) · introduced · 119th Congress
  • HR 6918 Climate Pollution Standard and Community Investment Act of 2025 Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
  • HR 6179 Clean Cloud Act of 2025 Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
  • S 1475 Clean Cloud Act of 2025 Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
  • HR 2177 Tradeable Energy Performance Standards Act Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
  • HR 903 Smoke and Heat Ready Communities Act of 2025 Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
  • S 341 Smoke and Heat Ready Communities Act of 2025 Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
  • HR 7650 Air Quality Standards Implementation Act of 2024 Amends 7409(d), 7409(b)(1) · introduced · 118th Congress
  • S 3826 Modernizing Clean Air Permitting Act of 2024 Amends 7409(d) · introduced · 118th Congress
  • HR 4733 Smoke and Heat Ready Communities Act of 2023 Amends its part · introduced · 118th Congress
  • S 2383 Smoke and Heat Ready Communities Act of 2023 Amends its part · introduced · 118th Congress
  • S 2125 National Ambient Air Quality Standards Implementation Act of 2023 Amends 7409(b), 7409(d) · introduced · 118th Congress
  • S 2661 Smoke-Ready Communities Act of 2021 Amends its part · introduced · 117th Congress
  • HR 1512 CLEAN Future Act Amends its part · introduced · 117th Congress
  • HR 806 Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 Amends 7409(d), 7409(b)(1) · introduced · 115th Congress
  • S 452 ORDEAL Act of 2017 Amends 7409(d) · introduced · 115th Congress
  • S 263 Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 Amends 7409(b), 7409(d) · introduced · 115th Congress
  • HR 2438 Fighting Against Imbalanced Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017 Amends its part · introduced · 115th Congress

The law today

From the official United States Code, current through Public Law 119-121.

(a) Promulgation (1) The Administrator— (A) within 30 days after December 31, 1970, shall publish proposed regulations prescribing a national primary ambient air quality standard and a national secondary ambient air quality standard for each air pollutant for which air quality criteria have been issued prior to such date; and (B) after a reasonable time for interested persons to submit written comments thereon (but no later than 90 days after the initial publication of such proposed standards) shall by regulation promulgate such proposed national primary and secondary ambient air quality standards with such modifications as he deems appropriate. (2) With respect to any air pollutant for which air quality criteria are issued after December 31, 1970, the Administrator shall publish, simultaneously with the issuance of such criteria and information, proposed national primary and secondary ambient air quality standards for any such pollutant. The procedure provided for in paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection shall apply to the promulgation of such standards. (b) Protection of public health and welfare (1) National primary ambient air quality standards, prescribed under subsection (a) shall be ambient air quality standards the attainment and maintenance of which in the judgment of the Administrator, based on such criteria and allowing an adequate margin of safety, are requisite to protect the public health. Such primary standards may be revised in the same manner as promulgated. (2) Any national secondary ambient air quality standard prescribed under subsection (a) shall specify a level of air quality the attainment and maintenance of which in the judgment of the Administrator, based on such criteria, is requisite to protect the public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with the presence of such air pollutant in the ambient air. Such secondary standards may be revised in the same manner as promulgated. (c) National primary ambient air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide The Administrator shall, not later than one year after August 7, 1977, promulgate a national primary ambient air quality standard for NO2 concentrations over a period of not more than 3 hours unless, based on the criteria issued under section 7408(c) of this title, he finds that there is no significant evidence that such a standard for such a period is requisite to protect public health. (d) Review and revision of criteria and standards; independent scientific review committee; appointment; advisory functions (1) Not later than December 31, 1980, and at five-year intervals thereafter, the Administrator shall complete a thorough review of the criteria published under section 7408 of this title and the national ambient air quality standards promulgated under this section and shall make such revisions in such criteria and standards and promulgate such new standards as may be appropriate in accordance with section 7408 of this title and subsection (b) of this section. The Administrator may review and revise criteria or promulgate new standards earlier or more frequently than required under this paragraph. (2) (A) The Administrator shall appoint an independent scientific review committee composed of seven members including at least one member of the National Academy of Sciences, one physician, and one person representing State air pollution control agencies. (B) Not later than January 1, 1980, and at five-year intervals thereafter, the committee referred to in subparagraph (A) shall complete a review of the criteria published under section 7408 of this title and the national primary and secondary ambient air quality standards promulgated under this section and shall recommend to the Administrator any new national ambient air quality standards and revisions of existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate under section 7408 of this title and subsection (b) of this section. (C) Such committee shall also (i) advise the Administrator of areas in which additional knowledge is required to appraise the adequacy and basis of existing, new, or revised national ambient air quality standards, (ii) describe the research efforts necessary to provide the required information, (iii) advise the Administrator on the relative contribution to air pollution concentrations of natural as well as anthropogenic activity, and (iv) advise the Administrator of any adverse public health, welfare, social, economic, or energy effects which may result from various strategies for attainment and maintenance of such national ambient air quality standards.
Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗