The Federal Clean Air Act contemplates three lines of defense if air pollution control plans or measures are not being implemented.  First, the local air district and transportation planning organizations are charged with coming up with plans to control air pollution and then implementing those plans and specific control measures.  Next, the California Air Resources Board is required to ensure that such pollution control plans and measures are adequate.  If pollution control fails at that level, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is required to step in to bring enforcement actions as needed to compel implementation of plans and measures.  If even EPA fails to uphold and enforce the Clean Air Act, Section 304(a) of the Act provides a "last resort," authorizing citizens to stand in the shoes of the federal government to enforce the federal air quality law through the citizen lawsuit.

Over the years, many of the local agencies responsible for protecting our air quality, unwilling to take the tough measures necessary, have devised one inadequate plan after another in unsuccessful efforts to improve air quality.  Compounding the inadequacy of these plans has been the agencies' failure to implement them, and EPA's failure to force those agencies to do their jobs. When neither the local agency nor the EPA has fulfilled their duties under the Clean Air Act to ensure clean and healthy air, community groups have begun to successfully step in to enforce the laws themselves and each success can be logged as a victory for the breathing public.