When the department was created, New York had only rudimentary air pollution controls. Soon afterward, DEC used newly-passed national air quality standards as a basis for a tough air pollution control program that today includes sophisticated air quality planning , permitting , statewide air quality monitoring , strict enforcement and research on pollution control. Sulfur dioxide shows the most pronounced downward trend of all the major air pollutants, remaining consistently below the federal standard in New York s air. In three decades, New York has built one of the nation's most comprehensive air quality monitoring networks , with plans today for further expansion. The map to the left shows a sampling of current monitoring stations.
Scientific techniques measure clean air progress.