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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a court ordered schedule to review and act on more than 40 state pollution reduction plans that will improve visibility in national parks and wilderness areas. By doing so, the pollution reduction will protect public health from the damaging effects of regional haze.
EPA initially issued a rule in 1999 requiring states to submit regional haze plans. These plans were due in December 2007. National Parks Conservation Association and other environmental groups sued the agency in August 2011 to take action on these plans.Today’s consent decree resolves the litigation.
Haze-forming pollution, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particles, reduces visibility and poses health risks including increased asthma symptoms and premature death. All of these pollutants are components of auto exhaust emissions, notably diesel engines, which have been greatly reduced since the Clean Air Act.
In a statement EPA said that today’s action by itself does not establish control requirements. Regional haze plans approved by EPA over the coming year will lay out how Clean Air Act visibility goals that Congress mandated more than 30 years ago will be met.
EPA maintains that states are well on their way to having plans in place. Under the terms of a consent decree, if a state plan cannot be approved, EPA, with input from the state, industry and other stakeholders, will determine an appropriate federal plan.
In many cases, these controls have already been or are being installed to meet other state and federal requirements, including the recently issued Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which is expected to cut millions of tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in 27 states by 2014, meaning additional action may not be necessary. (See EPA Tells Pennsylvania to Improve Air Quality in New Jersey)
In addition, EPA intends to propose and finalize a rule by Spring 2012 that addresses the determination that—for powerplants—meeting the requirements in the cross-state rule will fulfill the best available retrofit technology requirements under the regional haze program.
Rules that reduce emissions from motor vehicles, including a variety of “clean diesel” rules that cover a wide range of heavy-duty vehicles and equipment, will also go a long way to help improve visibility, EPA said
Regional haze plans focus on reducing harmful pollution from large, older stationary sources, including power plants, cement plants and large industrial boilers. Facilities covered by the plans, those from 35 to 50 years old, will rely on widely available pollution control methods if emissions from those facilities are found to cause haze at national parks or wilderness areas.
