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| Regional Haze Rule | |
|---|---|
| Name | Regional Haze Rule |
| Caption | Visibility monitoring at a national park site |
| Enacted | 1999 |
| Jurisdiction | United States |
| Authority | Clean Air Act |
| Administered by | United States Environmental Protection Agency |
| Status | Active |
Regional Haze Rule
The Regional Haze Rule is a United States environmental law regulation addressing visibility impairment in federal lands such as Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Denali National Park and Preserve. Issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under authority of the Clean Air Act, it seeks long-term restoration of visibility through coordinated regional emissions reductions involving states, tribal governments, and stakeholders such as National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and industrial sectors. The Rule connects air-quality monitoring networks, emissions inventories, and planning mechanisms to protect vistas in Class I areas designated under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977.
The Rule emerged from a series of administrative and judicial events including decisions in American Lung Association v. EPA and development of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. It establishes a national goal of attaining natural visibility conditions by 2064 for 156 Class I areas represented by units like Everglades National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Bandelier National Monument. Implementation relies on technical tools such as the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) program, regional modeling efforts led by organizations like the Western Regional Air Partnership and the Regional Haze Coordination Network, and inventories drawing from data compiled by the National Emissions Inventory.
Statutory authority for the Rule derives from sections of the Clean Air Act directing the Environmental Protection Agency to protect visibility in Class I areas. The Rule was promulgated as part of the 1999 Federal Register actions and has been subject to subsequent amendments and guidance including the EPA Regional Haze State Implementation Plan Guidance. Judicial review and consent decrees involving parties such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and industry groups have shaped deadlines and scope. Interactions with other statutes and programs—most notably the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, and New Source Review—affect regulatory overlap and allocation of control obligations among sectors like electric power plants, cement manufacturing, and petroleum refineries.
States and tribes must prepare State Implementation Plans (SIPs) and tribal implementation plans (TIPs) that include baseline visibility conditions, reasonable progress goals, and long-term strategies. Required components include emissions inventories, Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) determinations for certain stationary sources, enforceable emissions limitations, and periodic progress reports. Technical analyses employ dispersion and receptor models such as CALPUFF and regional chemical transport models coordinated through entities like the Regional Planning Organizations. Stakeholders including National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state environmental agencies, and industrial permittees participate in visibility technical conferences, modeling consultations, and public notice periods mandated by the Administrative Procedure Act.
Empirical assessments reveal measurable improvements in visibility metrics at many Class I sites, with reductions in sulfate and organic carbon concentrations linked to controls on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from power plants. Studies by institutions like the National Academy of Sciences and the Environmental Defense Fund document contributions from emissions trading programs and facility retirements, while ongoing sources such as wildland fire and agricultural burning complicate attainment. Air quality monitoring by IMPROVE and satellite observations coordinated with agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration help quantify visibility trends and attribute sources through receptor modeling and chemical speciation.
States including California, Texas, Colorado, and New York have submitted SIPs establishing reasonable progress goals and control measures tailored to regional source sectors. SIP development often involves interstate compacts and coordination among entities like the Midwest Regional Planning Organization and the Southeast Air Quality Partnership. Where states fail to submit approvable plans, the Environmental Protection Agency has issued Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) for regions such as the Northeast and parts of the Midwest, invoking statutory deadlines and remedies defined in the Clean Air Act.
Compliance mechanisms include permit conditions, emissions monitoring, periodic reporting, and inspection authority exercised by state agencies such as the California Air Resources Board and federal oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement actions have been brought by the Department of Justice and citizen plaintiffs under provisions of the Clean Air Act citizen suit authority, leading to injunctions, settlements, and consent decrees that impose control technology installations and emissions limits on entities like utility companies and large industrial facilities. Civil penalties and mandated corrective measures serve as deterrents alongside collaborative voluntary programs promoted by agencies such as the Environmental Council of the States.
Critics argue the Rule’s timeline to reach natural visibility by 2064 is aspirational, with debates over the scope of BART, the role of cost-effectiveness in controls, and the treatment of exceptional events like wildfires and dust storms. Litigation has involved plaintiffs including environmental NGOs and industry associations, generating case law in circuits such as the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Contentious issues have included EPA’s discretion in approvability of SIPs, interaction with interstate transport requirements, and allocation of emissions reductions between stationary and mobile sources. Settlements and remands have prompted supplemental guidance and rulemakings addressing technical standards, modeling protocols, and compliance timelines.
Category:United States environmental law Category:Air pollution control