Acid Rain: Emissions Trends and Effects in the Eastern United States

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on acid rain emissions trends in the eastern United States, focusing on: (1) sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted into the air at the national level; (2) deposition in the eastern United States and in three environmentally sensitive areas; (3) sulfates and nitrates in lakes in the Adirondack Mountains and the prospects for the lakes' recovery from the damage caused by acid rain; and (4) the extent to which utilities in 11 midwestern states used sulfur dioxide allowances originally assigned to utilities in their states, compared with allowances that originated in other states from 1995 through 1998.