And if a State misses any of the myriad of Clean Air requirements, the Act mandates EPA to withhold all federal highway funds as an automatic sanction. EPA cannot reduce or eliminate natural airborne particulates. EPA's standards, according to their own press releases, are intended to reduce or eliminate the effects that air pollutants have on people with lung ailments such as asthma. Asthma is an allergic reaction to various substances. Many people are allergic to grass, dust mites, dogs, cats, birds, weeds, trees, flowers, carpet, perfume, etc.
Some studies show that the incidence of asthma actually increases as the air gets cleaner.
However, there are no scientific studies that indicate that the incidence of asthma related deaths would be reduced by the new air quality standards. In addition, EPA is forced to control only man made sources of emissions. There are periods of times when the pollen count from grass and trees are high enough to trigger an EPA action day. As a result, EPA has said they would be forced to shut down construction sites, ban lawn mowing, shut down power plants and force car pooling. In the long range, coal and fossil fuel fired plants would not be permitted to exist.