Clean Air Act amendments of 1977

The 1977 amendments to the Clean Air Act are hailed as watershed legislation, the result of ferocious activity, which institutionalizes the Clean Air Act while allowing the world to continue its reliance on fossil fuels. Senator Domenici reviews the legislative debate between competing environmental philosophies and notes the differences between the Senate and House responses. He explains the basic elements of the non-degradation policy and its relationship to non-attainment and trade-off, or offset, policies. The 1977 amendments initiate the use of non-compliance fees as a supplement to environmental regulations, but only skirt the issue of carcinogens.