The Making of the Clean Air Act

59 Pages Posted: 22 Oct 2019 Last revised: 1 May 2020

See all articles by Brigham Daniels

Brigham Daniels

Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School

Andrew Follett

Yale Law School, Students

Joshua Davis

Brigham Young University, Students

Date Written: October 22, 2019

Abstract

The 1970 Clean Air Act is arguably Congress’ most important environmental enactment. Since it became law fifty years ago, much could be and has been said about how it has changed both the physical environment and the contours of environmental law. Much less, however, has been written on the genesis of the Act itself. Where its history is discussed, it is often segmented or heavily summarized. In this Article, we take on the story of how the Act came to be as well as how early enforcement practices cemented its importance in the legal landscape. To do so, we rely upon an unprecedented analysis and synthesis of previously underexplored strands of the story, incorporating many unmined sources and original research. This story weaves together the contributions of officials and staff in the Nixon Administration, Congress, and the judiciary to provide what is hoped to be an integrated, meaningful, and readable account of the making of the Clean Air Act.

Keywords: environmental law, environmentalism, Clean Air Act

Suggested Citation

Daniels, Brigham and Follett, Andrew and Davis, Joshua, The Making of the Clean Air Act (October 22, 2019). 71 Hastings Law Journal 101 (2020), BYU Law Research Paper No. 19-16, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3473939

Brigham Daniels (Contact Author)

Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School ( email )

410 JRCB
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
United States

Andrew Follett

Yale Law School, Students ( email )

127 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06510
United States

Joshua Davis

Brigham Young University, Students ( email )

United States

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