ES-1 Executive Summary

As required by 40 CFR Section 51.308 of t he Regional Haze Rule, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Division of Air Resources has prepared this State Implementation Plan (SIP) revi sion demonstrating how reductions in the emissions of visibility impai ring pollutants will result in a decrease in the degree of visibility impairment in Class I areas in the northeastern United States.

The overall goal of the Federal Haze Progr am (64 FR 35714) is to reduce haze to natural, pre-industrial conditions in these areas by 2064. This SIP, however, as required by the Regional Haze Rule deals wi th the first planning period that ends in

2018. The decrease in New York State emissi ons, in concert with the efforts of other states, is focused on attaining this goal, decreasing visibility impairment to the necessary degree by 2018 to be on a “glide pat h” to meet the ultimate 2064 goal.

Although New York State has no Class I areas , emissions in the State contribute to visibility degradation in downwind Class I areas in several other states. These include: the Lye Brook Wilderness Area, VT, Brigantine Wildlife Ref uge, NJ, Presidential RangeDry River Wilderness Area and Great Gulf Wilderness Area, NH, RooseveltCampobello International Park, Acadia Natio nal Park, Moosehorn Wildlife Refuge, ME,

and the Shenandoah National Park in VA. Thes e emissions include sulfates, nitrates, particulate matter, ammonia, and volat ile organic compounds (i.e., VOC).

Since emissions must be addressed on a regi on-wide basis, the Mi d-Atlantic Northeast Visibility Union (MANE-VU) wa s formed by the states, tribes , and federal agencies in

the mid-Atlantic and northeast areas to coor dinate regional haze planning activities for the region and with the four other Regional Planning Or ganizations (RPOs) covering other areas of the country. MANE-VU has provided technical analyses and other assistance to the member organizations in affiliation with the No rtheast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA).

This SIP revision satisfies the requirement s of the federal haze program found in 40 CFR Section 51.308 by evaluating the current and future projec ted inventory of sources, assessing the progress necessary to reduce emissions to meet the 2018 goal, providing for consultation with other states, tri bes and federal land managers (FLMs) in establishing progress goals, and establishing a strategy by which New York’s share of regional emission reductions wi ll be implemented. This stra tegy was arrived at through a consultation process with other states and tribes, FL Ms and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). T he State of New York agrees and commits to implement this strategy as described in this document.

40 CFR Section 51.308(f) requires a State to revise its regional haze implementation plan and submit it to the EPA by July 31, 2018 and every ten years thereafter. Additionally, Section 51.308(g) requires peri odic reports evaluating progress toward theES-2 reasonable progress goals established for eac h mandatory Class I area. In accordance with the requirements listed in Section 51.308(g) of the federal rule for regional haze, New York also commits to submitting both t he SIP revision and the periodic report on reasonable progress to the EPA every five years.