Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Following the passage of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be making significant investments in the health, equity, and resilience of American communities. With unprecedented funding to support our national infrastructure, EPA will improve people’s health and safety, help create good-paying jobs, and increase climate resilience throughout the country.
The law includes $5 billion for decarbonizing the nation’s school bus fleet.
Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act invests $1 billion to replace existing Class 6 and Class 7 non-zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission models.
Through the new 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program, the EPA will improve the lives of millions of Americans by reducing pollution in neighborhoods where people live, work, play, and go to school. The program will accelerate environmental justice efforts in communities overburdened by pollution, help tackle our biggest climate challenges, and create high-quality clean energy jobs.
The Clean Air Act
Congress established much of the basic structure of the Clean Air Act in 1970, and made major revisions in 1977 and 1990. Dense, visible smog in many of the nation’s cities and industrial centers helped to prompt passage of the 1970 legislation at the height of the national environmental movement. The subsequent revisions were designed to improve its effectiveness and to target newly recognized air pollution problems such as acid rain and damage to the stratospheric ozone layer.
The Clean Air Act aims to do several things:
- Control Criteria Air Pollutants
- Hazardous Air Pollutants
- Regional Haze
- and Acid Rain