National Parks Clean Air Program Partially Overturned

Goal Of Program Affirmed; Ruling At Odds With National Academy Of Sciences

Posted: 24-May-2002; Updated: 24-May-2002

Today a three-judge panel of the United States Federal Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) program to clean up haze air pollution in national parks and wilderness areas is in part unlawful. At the same time, the court affirmed the fundamental goal of the program, which is to eliminate visibility impairment due to pollution in these premier natural areas, and suggested that the timetable for implementing the program should be expedited.

The rules, adopted in 1999, require state programs to curb haze air pollution in premier national parks and wilderness areas including the Grand Canyon, Great Smokies, Acadia, Mount Rainier, Shenandoah, Yosemite, Canyonlands, Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone National Parks.

"EPA should respond to the court's decision as quickly as possible so that the nation does not lose precious time addressing air pollution problems in our revered national parks," said Environmental Defense senior attorney Vickie Patton. "The court expressly held that EPA had ample legal authority to fix the rule in a way that would not change the effectiveness of the program. It is troubling that on the issue the court found most problematic, EPA did exactly what the National Academy of Sciences advised it to do," added Patton.

The rule requires power plants and other major industrial sources to install the "best available retrofit technology," dubbed "BART." The court held that in determining the BART, EPA unduly constrained the states' discretion by requiring that the visibility impact of sources be considered collectively. The court also ruled that in reconsidering the rule, EPA must expedite the schedule for states to submit their haze pollution reduction plans. Finally, the rules at issue call on states to improve visibility by 15% each decade and restore natural conditions to these areas by 2064. The court firmly rejected industry's claim that EPA acted unlawfully in requiring state programs to eventually eliminate human-caused air pollution in premier national parks.

The principal industrial challenges to the rule were brought by a coalition of utilities and mining interests. Sierra Club brought a legal challenge to the implementation schedule under the rules. Environmental Defense and the Clean Air Task Force led a coalition of environmental organizations in defending the regional haze program before the court.