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Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · United States · 1990–2022

US power-plant sulfur emissions fell over 95%, EPA says

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

The 1990 Clean Air Act amendments capped power-plant sulfur dioxide emissions and let companies trade allowances. EPA reports that emissions fell more than 95 percent and that the number of monitored lakes and streams above the critical acid threshold improved by 81 percent.

What?
EPA reports that the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments capped power-plant sulfur dioxide emissions with tradable allowances, and that annual emissions fell more than 95 percent. US Environmental Protection Agency
Where?
United States US Environmental Protection Agency
When?
Programme in force since 1990; EPA results measured to 2022 US Environmental Protection Agency
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Power plants and electricity customers — Paid for the reduction
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
A cap on total sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants, divided into allowances that could be bought and sold.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

EPA reports that annual sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants fell by more than 95 percent after the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, which set a binding cap and allowed allowances to be traded.

EPA reports that wet sulfate deposition fell by more than 70 percent between 1989-1991 and 2020-2022, and that the number of monitored lakes and streams above the critical threshold improved by 81 percent.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Disputed Reported but not verified: that programme costs came in well below 1990 estimates, with allowance prices of about 100 dollars per ton against forecasts of 1,000 to 2,000 dollars; a forecast of 6.1 billion dollars against actual costs of 1.1 to 1.7 billion dollars is also reported, and the method of that comparison is disputed.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: that the allowance market collapsed after court rulings, according to a 2013 Journal of Economic Perspectives article by Schmalensee and Stavins.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: how much of the lake recovery came from the sulfur reductions rather than other factors.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. Acid Rain Program results
      US Environmental Protection Agency · 2026-02-19

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Institutions

    EPA
    The US Environmental Protection Agency.

    Science and environment

    PFOA (C8) and PFAS
    PFAS are a large family of human-made chemicals that persist in the environment and the body; PFOA, also called C8, is one of them and was used to make Teflon.

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Cap-and-trade
    A legally binding scheme that limits total emissions and lets companies trade allowances; some schemes accept a share of offset credits, called compliance offsets.
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