International Food Policy Research Institute, 1201 Eye St., NW, Washington, DC, 20005-3915, USA.
Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, 100 Jenkins Nanovic Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
Environ Manage. 2024 Sep;74(3):401-413. doi: 10.1007/s00267-024-02002-3. Epub 2024 Jun 19.
Air pollution is arguably the most pressing human health concern today, accounting for approximately 7-9 million premature deaths worldwide. In the United States, more than 40% of early deaths caused by air pollution are assessed to be caused by emissions produced by neighboring states. This article examines one of the governance mechanisms used by the U.S. to address this issue: section 126 of the Clean Air Act. Critical factors including case length, evidence used, and case outcome are compiled for the population of section 126 petitions submitted from 2000-2022. This evidence is assessed using comparative case analysis. The findings reinforce two issues with the petition process already identified in the literature-the use of cost as a proxy for significance and the excessive and unclear burden of proof placed on downwind states-adding texture to the latter issue by examining the modeling techniques used by downwind states. This analysis identifies lengthy response timelines as an additional issue and calls to attention the infrequency with which the EPA has formally accepted petitions. Collectively, these issues increase the cost, complexity, and unpredictability of filing a section 126 petition.
空气污染可说是当今对人类健康最紧迫的关注，据估计，全球每年有 700 万至 900 万人因空气污染而过早死亡。在美国，空气污染造成的早期死亡中，有超过 40%被评估为是由邻近州排放的污染物所致。本文探讨了美国用来解决这个问题的治理机制之一：《清洁空气法案》第 126 条。对 2000 年至 2022 年期间提交的第 126 条请愿书的人口，收集了案件长度、使用的证据和案件结果等关键因素。使用比较案例分析来评估这些证据。研究结果强化了文献中已经确定的请愿程序的两个问题，即使用成本作为重要性的代理，以及对下风州施加的过度和不明确的举证责任，并通过审查下风州使用的建模技术来阐述后者的问题。这种分析确定了冗长的回应时间表是另一个问题，并提请人们注意 EPA 正式受理请愿书的频率很低。这些问题加在一起增加了提交第 126 条请愿书的成本、复杂性和不可预测性。
