Governor Kate Brown launched the Cleaner Air Oregon
rulemaking process in April 2016 after communities around the state raised
concerns about their exposure to potentially harmful heavy metals, chemicals
and other pollutants from factories and other industrial sources. Oregon's
existing rules were based on federal law. These existing rules allowed
industrial facilities to release potentially harmful amounts of air toxics, but
still operate within legal requirements.
The
Environmental Quality Commission adopted Cleaner Air Oregon rules in November
2018 to close the regulatory gaps left after the implementation of federal air
toxics regulations. Cleaner Air Oregon is a state health risk-based air toxics
regulatory program that adds requirements to DEQ’s existing air permitting
framework.
The following fact sheets provide an overview on the Cleaner Air Oregon program.