The EPA in March announced it’s reconsidering its implementation of the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Regional Haze Program as part of its historic deregulation plans.
“The way EPA has historically implemented this program has imposed significant costs on power plants and other sectors, calling into question the supply of affordable energy for American families,” states an Agency news release. “EPA intends to review its regulations implementing the Regional Haze Program to ensure that it fulfills Congressional intent, is based on current scientific information, and reflects recent improvements in air quality.”
“The United States has made significant gains in improving visibility in national parks and other wildlife areas. The Regional Haze Program was never intended to be the justification for shutting down every power plant and industrial sector in the country. It’s time to restore sanity and purpose to the program,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says in the release.
“The EPA estimates that between 2007 and 2018 the rule has cut 500,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 300,000 tons of nitrous oxides annually,” according to the Harvard program and The Seattle Times. “The average visual range has increased from 90 miles to 120 miles (144 kilometers to 193 kilometers) in some western parks and from 50 to 70 miles (80 kilometers to 112 kilometers) in some eastern parks.”
Regional Haze Program
Section 169A of the CAA was enacted by Congress to increase and protect visibility in national parks and wilderness areas. The EPA promulgated the regulation for the Regional Haze Program in 1999.
The Regional Haze Rule calls for state and federal agencies to work together to improve visibility in 156 national parks and wilderness areas, such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the Great Smokies, and Shenandoah.
The rule requires the states, in coordination with the EPA, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and other interested parties, to develop and implement air quality protection plans to reduce the pollution that causes visibility impairment. The first state plans for regional haze were due in December 2007. States, tribes, and five multi-jurisdictional regional planning organizations worked together to develop the technical basis for these plans. Comprehensive periodic revisions to these initial plans were due in 2021, and future revisions are due in 2028 and every 10 years thereafter.
An EPA Fact Sheet on Restructuring the Regional Haze Program through the development of new regulations lists the following reasons for the reconsideration of this rule:
- Ensure states have the tools they need to effectively protect visibility and better account for non-U.S. and non-anthropogenic impacts on visibility in Class I areas.
- Significant improvements in visibility have occurred over the past 20 years because of the CAA and state actions.
- The federal program must evolve to allow for demonstrated improvements that avoid unnecessary burdens for states and industry.
“The rule calls for attaining natural visibility conditions by the year 2064 and mandates that states come up with plans that include limitations on emissions, compliance schedules and monitoring strategies,” reports ABC News. “The states’ plans have been plagued with delays as the EPA approves parts of them and rejects others. For example, two big oil- and coal-producing states, North Dakota and Wyoming, and industry groups filed petitions in federal court in January seeking review of EPA decisions rejecting their plans, according to the Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program.
“Asked for comment on the regional haze rule, the EPA said they want to better account for pollution from outside the U.S. and from natural sources and avoid unnecessary burdens for states and industry.”