# State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

State Implementation Plan (SIP) For Regional Haze

Final

Appendix A : Background and History of the Regional Haze Rule and the Clean Air Act Amendments

July 20092 Appendix A Background and Overview of the Regional Haze Regulations

History of the Federal Regional Haze Rule and 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments

In amendments to the Clean Air Act in 1977, Congress added 42 U.S.C. § 7491 (Section 169A) setting forth the following national visibility goal:

Congress hereby declares as a national goal the prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing, impairment of vi sibility in mandatory Class I Federal areas which impairment results from man-m ade air pollution.

The USEPA addressed the problem of visibility impairment in two phases. The 1980 USEPA regulations (40 C.F.R. §§ 51.300 – 307) addresse d what was termed ``reasonably attributable'' visibility impairment or “plume blight.” This re asonably attributable visibi lity impairment is the

result of emissions from one or a few sources th at are generally located in close proximity to a specific Class I area. “Plume blight” is a term us ed when one sees a discrete or coherent plume of pollution moving across the horizon or across one’s scenic view.

In accordance with 40 C.F.R. §§ 51.300-307, the USEPA incorporated the needed requirements

of 40 C.F.R. §§ 52.26 and 52.28 into the Prevention of Si gnificant Deterioration permit review process by requiring in its rule at 42 C.F.R. §52.21 an analysis of the impact on visibility in any Class I area from any new or modified source lo cating within an attainment and nonattainment

area.

When it amended the Clean Air Act in 1990, Congress added 42 U.S.C. § 7492 (Section 169B) to strengthen and reaffirm the national visibility goal. Section 169B(e) calls for the USEPA “to carry out the Administrator’s regulatory respons ibilities under [Sec tion 169A], including criteria for measuring ‘reasonable progres s’ toward the national goal.” Congress also added to Section

169B authorization for further res earch and regular assessments of the progress made so far. In 1993, the National Academy of Sc iences concluded that “curre nt scientific knowledge is adequate and control technologies are available for taking regu latory action to improve and protect visibility.”

The second phase of the USEPA’s attempts to re duce visibility impairment in national parks and wilderness areas was the adoption of the Fede ral Regional Haze Rule in 1999. The Regional Haze Rule slightly modified 40 C.F.R. §§ 51.300 - 307, including the addition of a few

definitions in 40 C.F.R. § 51.301, and added new 40 C.F.R. §§ 51.308 and 51.309 to address regional haze visibility impairment on a national level and to specifically address visibility impairment in the Grand Canyon area of the United States.

This federal rule-making for regional haze wa s controversial. On May 24, 2002 the United States Court of Appeals, Wash ington D.C. District Court rule d on the American Corn Growers Association’s challenge of th e USEPA’s Regional Haze Rule. The Court remanded to the

USEPA the Best Available Retr ofit Technology (BART) provisions of the rule and denied3 industry’s challenge to the haze rule goals of natu ral visibility and no-degradation requirements. The Court found that, while returning visibility c onditions to their natura l state in all Class I areas with an absence of all manmade pollution by the year 2064, was challenging, Congress was within its legal and Constitutional authority to set this as a goal to be achieved. The absence of all manmade pollution in all Cla ss I areas by the year 2064 is, ther efore, still th e legally binding goal that is the focus and impetus for this and all other states’ Regional Haze SIPs. The court agreed to the industry challenges in one area and remanded the BART section of the rule back to the USEPA, which subsequently re-issued that sec tion of the rule, as discussed in Section 6 of

this document. The outcome of this Court ru ling, upholding the majority of the Regional Haze rule, means that states – even t hose without Class I Areas – are requ ired to participate in regional

haze reduction efforts.

The goal of the Regional Haze Rule is to improve visibility to natura l background levels by the year 2064 in all federally desi gnated Class I areas (42 U.S.C. § 7492). This goal is to be achieved by requiring all states to periodically conduct an analysis of available reasonable measures and implement these measures. The analysis and measures must be included in a State Implementation Plan (SIP). States with Class I areas are further required to establish Reasonable Progress Goals for Class I areas within their bor ders, using the results of the analysis of reasonable measures, as a way to demonstrat e movement towards the national goal of the absence of all manmade pollution from our nationa l parks and wilderness areas by 2064. States are required to reassess the progr ess to the established 2064 goal in five- and 10-year increments with the first progress assessment occurring ar ound 2013 for the first milestone year 2018 (40 C.F.R. § 51.308 (f) and (g)). The five-year reas sessment of progress is intended to keep the States on-target to meeting the 10-ye ar goal established for the area.

The Federal rule at 40 C.F.R. § 51.308 (d) (1) (i) (B) requires each state with a Class I area to compare its projected rate of improvement with the steady, uniform, ra te to attain natural visibility conditions by the year 2064 with 10-ye ar incremental mid-term goals to be attained along the way. If the first progre ss goal can be attained at the steady (uniform) rate or faster,

based on the review of available reasonable m easures, the state should adopt these as the visibility goal for the area. If a slower-than-un iform rate to achieve th e first progress goal cannot

be made in the Class I area based on the review of available reasonable m easures and appropriate consultation with other states, th en the state may adopt a slowe r-than-uniform rate of progress for its Class I area in accordance with the Regional Haze Rule.