DENVER – Environmental groups lined up in Denver on Wednesday to encourage federal regulators to strengthen clean air protections for national parks and wilderness areas.
The Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting comments on a proposal to revise the Regional Haze Rule, which requires states to submit plans and progress reports in an effort to protect clear views in national parks.
Colorado has some of the most treasured national parks and wilderness in the nation.
“As a mom who takes my daughter hiking for healthy, outdoor exercise, I was horrified to learn that loopholes in regional haze rules lead to harmful levels of air pollution in Rocky Mountain National Park and the other places we visit,” said Jen Clanahan with Colorado Moms Know Best, a group of mothers dedicated to environmental issues.
Vistas can become obscured by haze caused by emissions from industrial air pollution and transportation. The Regional Haze Rule aims to reduce visibility-impairing emissions.
The first state plans came in 2007, covering actions through 2018. The new proposal would extend requirements through 2028.
The rule would emphasize that every state has a responsibility to improve air quality in parks and wilderness areas, regardless of whether the state has the protected areas within its borders.
The proposal also would require states to support haze plans with a more robust technical analysis, thereby giving the EPA a stronger basis to evaluate whether states have met obligations.
Another aspect of the rule would require more stringent planning with federal land managers in an effort to catch problems early.
“Together, these updates will ensure that haze-forming pollution continues to be reduced, while providing states and industry the time, tools and flexibility they need to meet Clean Air Act requirements,” the EPA said of its proposal.
The meeting Wednesday in Denver follows a separate EPA haze meeting last month in Washington, D.C. Written comments concerning the proposal are being accepted through July 5.
Environmental groups have been concerned that the current rule includes loopholes that allow polluters to avoid responsibility, leaving some parks centuries away from clean air.
These environmental stakeholders – including groups such as the Sierra Club and Earthjustice – believe the revision is a step in the right direction, but they worry that it offers states too much time to submit cleanup plans and implement restoration actions.
Will Allison, director of the state’s Air Pollution Control Division told regulators on Wednesday that the rule should allow states to assess sources of visibility impairment, rather than leave it solely in the hands of federal land managers.
“It is important to ensure that these proposed rule revisions remain true to the intent and spirit of the national goal, namely, addressing visibility impairment, which results from man-made air pollution,” Allison said.
“Colorado fully supports remedying man-made air pollution, but we also want to ensure that the regional haze rule acknowledges that our modern society exists amidst these areas, and that some level of man-made impairment may exist even with the most stringent emission controls.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
