Conservation Groups Sue EPA Over Approved West Virginia Regional Haze Plan

Today, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, and Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenging the approved West Virginia Regional Haze State Implementation Plan.

The agency’s approval of the West Virginia Plan is a far departure from its long-standing interpretation of the Clean Air Act and regional haze regulations as well as a complete about-face from a previous full disapproval of West Virginia’s haze plan. Lasting approval of the plan would allow for the continued release of preventable haze-causing air pollution that harms public health and blurs scenic views of landscapes at prized national parks and wilderness areas across the East and beyond.

EPA’s approval of West Virginia’s Plan relies on a newly announced policy that would allow states to bypass the Clean Air Act’s foundational requirement to evaluate pollution controls using four specific statutory factors. This lawsuit marks the first challenge to EPA’s dangerous new policy, which the agency has already used to propose approvals of haze plans in nine other states, despite clear evidence that pollution reductions are both achievable and legally required.

West Virginia’s Plan, which fails to require additional controls for any of the state’s highest-polluting coal plants, threatens air quality in iconic parks like Shenandoah, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Mammoth Cave as well as special wilderness areas in West Virginia like Dolly Sods and Otter Creek, all of which routinely struggle with air pollution problems. On average, visitors to these three national parks are missing out on nearly 60 miles of scenic views, despite past improvements made from haze pollution reductions. Mammoth Cave is one of America’s most air polluted national parks, ranking 3rd among all parks in the country.

“Our national parks have some of the most amazing views in America, and visitors expect clean, healthy air when they come to experience those views,” said Ed Stierli, Senior Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region for National Parks Conservation Association. “Unfortunately, our parks have been suffering from high levels of haze pollution for decades. Instead of cleaning up the air for our parks and communities, the EPA is now letting West Virginia’s polluters off the hook. Families, communities, wildlife, and scenic views will feel the impacts at nearby national parks like Shenandoah and Mammoth Cave, as well as parks as far away as Everglades and Carlsbad Caverns. People who care about national parks should be outraged that EPA is shirking its duty to ensure that states and polluters follow the clear rules of the Clean Air Act.”

“By greenlighting West Virginia’s inadequate regional haze plan, the EPA is not only threatening public health and local landscapes, but also turning its back on decades of critical, life-saving clean air protections,” said Jim Kotcon, Chair of the West Virginia Chapter of Sierra Club. “The EPA’s ‘new policy’ effectively prioritizes polluters over the public when evaluating pollution controls meant to protect people from unclean air and hazy skies. The rights of West Virginians, and neighboring states, to clean, breathable air and the natural wonders of our region are on the line.”

“This about-face by the EPA violates the law,” said Charles McPhedran, senior attorney with Earthjustice, which represents NPCA and Sierra Club. “This is not only about improving views in national parks and wilderness areas, but also protecting downwind communities from dangerous air pollution.”