Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
New Orleans, LA - Following a lawsuit from a coalition of environmental organizations in April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued notices late last week to fifteen states that failed to submit plans to reduce regional haze pollution required by the Clean Air Act. Regional Haze plans should require pollution reductions from large industrial sources like coal plants, oil refineries, and gas facilities that contribute to haze at 90 percent of our national parks and wilderness areas. The largest sources of pollution in Louisiana are potentially impacting nineteen protected areas that are required by law to reach natural visibility by 2064.
The “finding of failure to submit” starts a two-year deadline for the EPA to issue its own federal plan for each state or approve a tardy state plan. Whether timely or tardy, the EPA must review state implementation plans that are submitted to ensure state plans result in meaningful haze pollution reductions. The EPA can create a federal implementation plan for states that submit inadequate plans or fail to submit plans altogether. Additionally, the EPA can approve state plans the agency determines are sufficient and meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act. The EPA amended the Regional Haze Rule in 2017, giving states until July 31, 2021 to complete their plans. States have had ample time to prepare for compliance.
The fifteen states in noncompliance include: Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. The Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Defense Fund, National Parks Conservation Association, and Sierra Club filed the lawsuit and are represented by Sierra Club.
Statement from Darryl Malek-Wiley, Senior Organizing Representative for Sierra Club in Louisiana:
“Air pollution that causes haze in our national parks originates from sources along Cancer Alley and Lake Charles, two places where big industry moved into near majority Black communities. EPA Administrator Regan saw these facilities and heard from these communities during his Journey to Justice. Enforcing environmental laws, and stepping in where states like Louisiana have failed to step up, is an important way for Administrator Regan to keep his commitment to these communities.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.