4/25/02

PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE REGIONAL HAZE RULE 

 INCORPORATING KEY PROVISIONS FOR 

NINE WESTERN STATES AND ELIGIBLE INDIAN TRIBES 

FACT SHEET

TODAY’S ACTION

! The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend its regional haze rule to

incorporate additional provisions to address visibility impairment in the 16 Class I areas on

the Colorado Plateau. These provisions have been worked out by several western states that

are part of the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) and EPA is proposing to approve

the provisions of the WRAP Annex Plan. Class I areas are federally protected areas valued

for their scenic vistas and include national parks and wilderness areas. 

! In September 2000, the WRAP submitted to EPA a plan containing recommendations for

implementing the regional haze rule in the Western United States. Specifically, the plan

contains a set of recommended regional emissions reduction milestones for sulfur dioxide

(SO2

), a key compound in the formation of fine particles and regional haze. The plan, also

known as the Annex to the 1996 Report of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport

Commission, includes a description of an emissions trading program for nine Western states

and eligible Indian tribes within that geographic area. The trading program would be a

backstop to ensure that emission milestones would be met.

! EPA worked with major stakeholders, including affected states and tribes, representatives

from the utility, coal, and copper smelting industries, as well as environmental groups in

developing the proposal.

! EPA will accept comment on the proposal for 60 days after publication of the proposed rule

in the Federal Register. In addition to accepting written comments, the EPA plans to hold a

public hearing in Phoenix, Arizona to accept oral testimony from interested members of the

public. 

BACKGROUND

! Haze is caused when sunlight encounters very small pollution particles in the air. Some

light is absorbed by particles. Other light is scattered away before it reaches an observer. 

More pollutants mean more absorption and scattering of light, which reduces the clarity and

color of what we see. Some types of particles such as sulfates scatter more light, particularly

during humid conditions. 
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! To reduce haze, and to meet requirements of the Clean Air Act, EPA in April 1999 issued a

regional haze rule aimed at protecting visibility in 156 federal Class 1 areas. The rule seeks

to improve the visibility over a wide area. This would require reducing emissions from

many particulate sources. The EPA’s previous visibility regulation, issued in 1980,

addressed only local visibility impairment from local sources. 

! Under the 1999 regional haze rule, states are required to set periodic goals for improving

visibility in the 156 natural areas. As they work to reach these goals, states must develop

“implementation plans” that contain enforceable measures and strategies for reducing

visibility-impairing pollution.

! The same pollution that causes haze also poses serious health risks, especially for people

with chronic respiratory diseases.

! The 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act established the Grand Canyon Visibility

Transport Commission. The purpose of this commission was to advise EPA on strategies

for protecting visual air quality at national parks and wilderness areas on the Colorado

Plateau. In 1996, the Commission put a out report which contained long-term

recommendations for visibility improvements in 16 western scenic areas, including the

Grand Canyon.

! The WRAP, a collaborative effort of tribal governments, Western state governments, and

various federal agencies, was formed in 1997 - as a follow - on to the Commission. The

WRAP is divided into various technical and policy “forums” that develop technical and

policy tools needed by Western states and tribes to comply with the EPA's visibility

regulations. 

! WRAP participants include:

< Western states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South

Dakota, California, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. 

< Western tribes: Pueblo of Acoma, Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians, Cortina Indian

Rancheria, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Nation of the Grand Canyon, Northern Cheyenne Tribe,

Salish and Kootenai Confederated Tribes, Pueblo of San Felipe, and Shoshone-Bannock

Tribes of Fort Hall.

< Federal participants: U.S. Department of Agruculture, U.S. Department of the Interior

and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA is non-voting member of the WRAP

board).
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! At the request of several Western states (especially Utah and Arizona) and other State

Regional Air Partnership stakeholders (industry and environmentalists), EPA’s 1999

regional haze rule contained an optional program for Western states. This program,

developed by working closely with the WRAP, is a program for preserving and improving

Western visibility between 2003 and 2018. Western states choosing to follow the optional

program must submit plans to meet program goals by the end of 2003.

! When EPA finalized the regional haze rule, one issue was not resolved – long term emission

caps for stationary sources of sulfur dioxide, and details of a “backstop” emission trading

program to ensure that the caps will be met. The WRAP needed more time to develop its

approach. EPA gave the WRAP until October 2000 to develop that plan or “Annex” to the

Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission Report. The WRAP submitted the Annex

to EPA in September of 2000.

WHAT THE PROPOSED RULE INCLUDES

! Today’s rule proposes to approve the WRAP’s SO2

 emission reduction milestones for each

year between 2003 and 2018. In addition, it includes a description of an annual process to

determine if voluntary measures meet the milestones.

! Currently, sources in the region covered by the WRAP emit approximately 650,000 tons per

year of SO2. By 2018, this proposal would reduce emissions by nearly one third. 

! States and tribes would collect annual emission reports and process them to collect a

regional emissions total. If the regional total exceeds the annual milestone, a backstop

market trading program would be triggered to ensure that emission reduction milestones and

ultimately visibility goals are met.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

! To download a copy of today’s proposed rule from EPA’s Web site, go to “Recent Actions”

at http://www.epa.gov/oar/oarpg

! To read a copy of the Regional Haze Rule, go to:

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/fr_notices/rhfedreg.pdf

 

! For more information, call Mr. Tim Smith, 919-541-4718 at EPA’s Office of Air Quality

Planning & Standards.