Highlights:
- Enacted: 1999
- State Implementation Plans due: December 17, 2007
- FR notice signed: January 9, 2009
- Federal Implementation Plan issued: January 15, 2011
In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its Regional Haze Program, a major effort to improve visibility at 156 national parks and wilderness areas. EPA established five regional planning organizations to work with states and territories to develop implementation plans to improve visibility.
What is haze?
Haze is caused when sunlight encounters tiny pollution (both naturally occurring and man-made) particles in the air. The particles absorb some of the light. Other light is scattered before it becomes visible. The greater the number of pollutant particles, the more light is absorbed or scattered. The haze reduces the clarity and color of what can be seen.
What The overall goal of EPA’s Regional Haze Program is to reach natural background conditions in 60 years.
How - EPA determined that states should establish goals for improving visibility in national parks and wilderness areas and develop long-term strategies for reducing emissions of air pollutants that impair visibility. These State Implementation Plans (SIPs) were due December 17, 2007.
SIPs were to include identification of Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) for certain existing sources, expand monitoring, determine reasonable progress goals and develop long term strategies to ensure meeting the national goal by 2064.
Who - Because particles can be transported over long distances, EPA determined that its Regional Haze Rule includes all states. The rule requires states to work with EPA, the National Park Service, 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 impairs visibility.
When - SIPs were due in 2007. In January 2009, EPA published a notice in the Federal Register saying 37 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands failed to submit all or a portion of their regional haze SIPs.
According to EPA, 34 states/territories/districts failed to submit SIPs that meet Regional Haze Rule basic program requirements. AEP states in this group are Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Virginia. Five states, including Michigan, submitted SIPs that EPA said met some but not all basic requirements. Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana were among the 14 states that submitted complete plans.
Regional haze update: Citing insufficiencies in parts of Oklahoma’s Implementation Plan, on March 7, 2011, EPA issued a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for that state. EPA specified that three plants either install flue gas desulfurization (FGD or scrubber) systems to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, switch to natural gas or use a combination of these approaches. According to EPA, reducing SO2 will reduce other chemical reactions that produce particulates. Two of the three specified plants are owned by Oklahoma Gas and Electric, the third is AEP/PSO’s Northeastern Plant at Oologah. EPA gave the companies three years to complete these changes.
