Lee Ziesche, lee.ziesche@sierraclub.org
Frankfort, KY – In response to legal action by environmental and conservation groups, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia signed a final consent decree Friday that requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to speed up action on haze pollution plans from 32 states that have submitted proposals.
Kentucky is one of only three states that has not submitted a regional haze plan to EPA as of May 2023. The Kentucky Division for Air Quality, which is responsible for submitting the plan, recently accepted public comments on its delayed proposal and held a public hearing last week. Community members and clean air advocates urged the state to submit a stronger plan that actually reduces haze pollution.
Haze pollution, which largely comes from coal power plant emissions, degrades air quality and visibility at many public lands, including Mammoth Cave, the most haze-polluted National Park in the country, and also results in seriously unhealthy air for the communities living near the coal plants.
With 600,000 visitors per year, tourism to Mammoth Cave National Park creates $69.2 million in economic benefits for Kentucky, according to a 2021 National Park Service report. Studies show that park visitation drops when air pollution is high.
The Tennessee Valley Authority's Shawnee coal-burning power plant, located 10 miles northwest of Paducah, Kentucky, at the confluence of the Ohio and Cumberland rivers, is the number one contributor of haze pollution in national parks and wilderness areas in the state. Seven out of nine of the coal-burning electric generating units at the plant lack modern, industry-standard pollution controls.
STATEMENT
“Without strong safeguards protecting the air we breathe, we cannot keep our parks and local economies healthy, let alone people,” said Julia Finch, Director of Sierra Club Kentucky Chapter. “With the current proposed plan more than 82,000 tons of haze pollution will continue to be released into the air every year, harming our parks and our health. Regulators must listen to Kentuckians calling on them to submit a stronger plan that meaningfully reduces air pollution from dirty coal-burning power plants like the Tennessee Valley Authority's Shawnee facility.”
Background: Haze is a major concern for 98 percent of national parks in the United States. The same pollutants responsible for the widespread air pollution also harm public health, particularly in communities experiencing targeted, systemic racism from polluting industries. Air pollution from burning fossil fuels and other sources worsens community health, increases healthcare costs, and harms nature and sensitive ecosystems on public lands.
EPA’s Regional Haze Rule was established in 1999 to address air pollution, primarily from coal-fired power plants and industrial sources, that harm visibility in designated national parks and wilderness areas, otherwise known as Class I areas. Under the Clean Air Act and the Regional Haze Rule, every ten years, states must submit and update plans, which include pollution reductions that ensure progress towards eliminating human-caused pollution in Class I areas. EPA is required to approve or reject these State Implementation Plans (SIPs) within 18 months, but EPA has failed to act on Regional Haze SIPs submitted by 32 states.
In June 2023, the Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, and Environmental Integrity Project, represented by Earthjustice and Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, filed a lawsuit against EPA for the agency’s failure to issue decisions on the state SIPs. The consent decree establishes a timeline for EPA to approve, deny, or partially approve the outstanding state plans at assigned dates between 2024 and 2026, beginning with Kansas. If EPA rejects a SIP, the agency must issue a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) detailing how the state must address haze pollution.
Earthjustice, National Parks Conservation Association, Environmental Integrity Project, and Sierra Club, alongside communities relying on parks and wilderness areas for their livelihoods and health continue to underscore the need for not only stronger protections against haze, but a stronger consideration of environmental justice factors.
This interactive dashboard shows where EPA will take action on Regional Haze plans, and which coal plants contribute the most haze pollution.
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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.
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.