Maximum Achievable Control Technology Compliance, or MACT Compliance, is an issue that affects many industries in the United States. MACT Compliance began after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced measures to combat Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPS), as required by the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are air-borne contaminants known or suspected to cause a serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness.
Each industry achieves compliance by staying within the MACT standards for their industry. MACT standards are specific emissions limits that are based on the emissions levels already achieved by the best-performing similar facilities.
The term "control technology" actually means measures, processes, methods, systems or techniques that are used to limit the emissions of hazardous air pollutants. It is a common misperception that "control technology" is limited to expensive control devices like scrubbers, oxidizers, filters etc.
The standards that were developed by this MACT approach for each industry became known as the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, or NESHAPs. Each industry then had a NESHAP rule drafted and published for it.
MACT Compliance is different for each specific industry that it applies to. But MACT Compliance only applies to those industries that produce one or more pollutants that feature on the list of HAPs in significant quantities.
Each industry has to submit an annual MACT report that is based around that industry's specific NESHAP rule. These reports are also known as NESHAP reports.
For a more detailed explanation of industry related MACTs and why they exist, download a copy of our MACT-NESHAP fact sheet.