Regional Haze in Hawaii 

Proposed Federal Implementation Plan 
Regional Haze Overview 

The EPA’s Regional Haze Rule set a goal of 2064 

to eliminate human-made visibility impairment at 

Class I areas such as the Haleakala National Park 

and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. 

.The first phase of the Regional Haze program has 

three key requirements: 

• Application of Best Available Retrofit Technology 

at certain facilities, 

• Setting of a Reasonable Progress Goal for each 

Class I area, and 

• Development of a long-term strategy to meet the 

Reasonable Progress Goals. 
Hawaii Volcanoes Good Visibility Day 

4 deciviews 
Hawaii Volcanoes Bad Visibility Day 

19 deciviews 
Hawaii Volcanoes Visibility Progress Chart 
Best Available Retrofit Technology 

Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) is required 

on certain sources built between 1962 and 1977. 

BART determinations are made on a case-by-case 

basis considering five factors. 

Sources may be exempted from BART if they do not 

cause or contribute to visibility impairment at any 

Class I area. 

The EPA is proposing that any source with an 

computer-modeled impact less than 0.5 deciviews does 

not cause or contribute to visibility impairment at any 

Class I area. 
Results of BART Modeling 

Source	and	Unit	 Class	I	Area	

Model	Results	for	

Visibility	Impact	

(deciview)	

Subject	to	

BART	or	

Exempt	

HC&S	Puunene	facility	

(Bagasse)	

Haleakala	

Hawaii	Volcanoes		

0.059	

0.008	

Exempt	

HC&S	Puunene	facility	

(Coal)	

Haleakala	

Hawaii	Volcanoes	

0.133	

0.039	

Exempt	

Chevron	Refinery	 Haleakala	

Hawaii	Volcanoes	

0.021	

0.016	

Exempt	

Tesoro	Refinery	 Haleakala	

Hawaii	Volcanoes	

0.025	

0.017	

Exempt	

Hu	Honua	Bioenergy	–Pepeekeo	

facility		

Haleakala	

Hawaii	Volcanoes	

0.323	

0.540	

Exempt	due	to	

biofuel	

conversion.	

MECO	–	Kahului	facility,	 Haleakala

Hawaii	Volcanoes	

0.232	

0.108	

Exempt	

HELCO	Kanoelehua	Hill		 Haleakala	

Hawaii	Volcanoes	

0.808	

2.334	

Subject	to	

BART	

HECO	–	Waiau	facility	 Haleakala	

Hawaii	Volcanoes	

0.083	

0.038	

Exempt	

HECO	–	Kahe	facility	 Haleakala	

Hawaii	Volcanoes	

0.221	

0.132	

Exempt	

[1] CalPuff model, maximum 24-hour 98th percentile visibility impact
Reasonable Progress 

• The EPA must ensure reasonable progress is made 

reducing haze on the worst days and that haze does 

not increase on the best days. 

• In determining what would constitute reasonable 

progress, the Clean Air Act requires consideration of 

the following four factors: 

– The costs of compliance; 

– The time necessary for compliance; 

– energy and non-air quality environmental impacts of compliance; 

and 

– The remaining useful life of existing sources that contribute to 

visibility impairment. 
Hawaii (Big Island) Human-Made Emissions 

2005	Inventory 2018	Inventory

Source	Category NOx SO2 NOx SO2

Industrial	sources		 	1,036		 	4,551		 	1,736		 	5,266		

Household	and	small	industrial	 	1,849		 	808		 	1,882		 	872		

On-Road	Mobile	 	3,217		 	53		 	839		 	11		

Non-Road	Mobile	 	784		 	95		 	428		 	1		

Aircra]	 	177		 	18		 	207		 	21		

Agricultural	Burning	 	2		 	0		 	2		 	0		

Wildfires	 	1,712		 	469		 	1,712		 	469		

in/near	port	Marine	 	537		 	418		 	546		 	20		

Total 	9,314	 	6,412	 	7,352	 	6,661	
Proposed Reasonable Progress Controls 

• Human-made emissions of SO2 on the Big Island are projected 

to increase by nearly 4% between 2005 and 2018. 

• EPA has identified the fuel oil-fired boilers at Hill, Shipman and 

Puna because 

– They are upwind of the Hawaii Volcanoes NP, 

– They have high SO2 emissions and lack modern pollution 

controls. 

• EPA is proposing to cap total emissions at the fuel oil-fired 

boilers at Hill, Shipman and Puna at 3,550 tons of SO2 per year, 

beginning in January 1, 2018. 

• Once this control measure is in place, total SO2 emissions on 

Big Island will decrease by at least 17% by 2018. 
Topic of Comments 

Comments should address the EPA’s 

proposed Regional Haze Plan for Hawaii, 

including, but not limited to, such 

matters as: 

• Best Available Retrofit Technology 

determinations 

• Causes of Haze at Class I areas 

• Reasonable Progress Goals 

• Proposed Controls for Reasonable Progress