INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AND CLEAN-AIR POLICY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

In 1989, California adopted a bold and comprehensive Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) to bring southern California into compliance with federal air-quality standards by 2007. California's effort to control air pollution, as outlined in the AQMP, significantly influenced the formulation of the 1990 federal Clean Air Act. This article analyzes the nature of this influence as well as the way the new federal legislation bolsters specific provisions of the AQMP. Also examined is whether the AQMP and the Clean Air Act are likely to bring southern California into compliance with federal air-quality standards.