Like Oxygen - Innovations in the Clean Air Act
"Haaretz", Managers MagazineTzvi Levinnson and Gil Dror, Advocates March 2009
The Clean Air Act introduced dramatic changes in environmental legislation in general and in legislation engaged in air pollution in particular. Among other things, the law introduced the following innovations:
The inclusion of the precautionary principle as a guiding principle and setting broad targets including the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity;
The inclusion of substances that cause climate change in the definition of pollutant;
Preparation of a national plan to reduce air pollution and its implementation;
Increasing the public's ability to influence decision-making;
Expanding the public's ability to file civil actions - both individual and class actions;
The need to submit an application for a permit to emissions;
Applying the law in some cases on workplace area;
Imposing direct liability on directors of a corporation;
The article reviews these and other innovations.