37 states failed to comply with rule to protect parks — EPA
Posted on January 13th, 2009By Robin Bravender
Greenwire: More than three dozen states have failed to submit adequate Clean Air Act plans for reducing air pollution drifting into national parks and wilderness areas, according to a new U.S. EPA assessment.
In a Federal Register notice Friday, EPA said 37 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands failed to submit all or a portion of state implementation plans (SIPs) for regional haze, which are required under a national program aimed at restoring parks and wilderness areas to their natural conditions by 2064.
The program required states to submit plans to clean up existing air pollution and prevent future visibility impairment in 156 Class 1 national parks and wilderness areas by Dec. 17, 2007.
EPA failed to enforce the rule, and several advocacy groups — Earthjustice, the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Parks Conservation Association — sued in October to compel states to submit their clean air plans.
“EPA’s action is good news for anyone who enjoys visiting our nation’s magnificent national parks,” said Earthjustice attorney Jennifer Chavez in a statement. “We look forward to working with EPA and the states to achieve clean air vistas in the parks.”
The 1999 regional haze rule is aimed at reducing pollution that decreases visibility in parks and other areas with pristine air. Under the program, states are required to include determinations of best available retrofit technology for 26 different types of major industrial facilities built between 1962 and 1977, including coal-fired power plants, petroleum refiners and pulp and paper mills.
In Western states, the average distance a person can see is between 60 and 100 miles, about one-half to two-thirds of what it would be without man-made air pollution, according to the National Park Service. In Eastern states, it is less than 30 miles, or about a fifth of what it would be under natural conditions.
The 32 states that have not submitted plans on time are Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Thirteen of those states have submitted clean air blueprints, which are now subject to EPA review.
Five states submitted SIPs that satisfy some requirements: Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Those states and regions that have not fully satisfied the SIP requirements will have two years to complete a federally approved program to combat regional haze before EPA is required to issue a federal implementation plan to tackle pollution.