Permits and Enforcement
Congress added an operating permit program to the 1990 Clean Air Act for larger industries and commercial sources that release toxins into the air. These permits have information about which pollutants are emitted, how much may be emitted, and what actions the person in charge is taking to minimize the pollution. Permits must also state plans to measure and report the air pollution produced. The EPA is also responsible for making sure each state and tribe abides by the permits. For businesses that qualify for more than one thing under the Clean Air Act, operating permits are helpful because the information is all there. These permits tell them exactly what they need to do to prevent pollution. Now the EPA is more powerful in being able to enforce the rules instead of having to handle everything in court. The EPA can either "issue an order requiring the violator to comply, issue and administrative penalty order, or bring a civil judicial action".
Read more about this topic: National Emissions Standards Act
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“But the wise know that foolish legislation is a rope of sand, which perishes in the twisting; that the State must follow, and not lead the character and progress of the citizen; the strongest usurper is quickly got rid of; and they only who build on Ideas, build for eternity; and that the form of government which prevails, is the expression of what cultivation exists in the population which permits it.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)