Environmental Groups Sue EPA for Illegally Rejecting Colorado’s Emission-Reduction Plan

Today, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, filed a petition for review challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) illegal disapproval of Colorado’s Regional Haze Plan. That plan was widely supported by utilities and industry, local governments, and environmental groups. The state’s plan incorporated the deadlines that utilities had proposed for retiring certain coal-fired power plants and also set emission limits on dozens of other major sources of air pollution, including the Suncor oil refinery, cement plants, and other industrial facilities.

Colorado, whose Attorney General also filed suit today, found that the plan would significantly reduce air emissions; and these reductions would improve statewide air quality, including at treasured public lands like Rocky Mountain National Park.

Colorado’s Regional Haze plan complied with EPA’s long-standing policy on how states can incorporate voluntary source closures. Yet EPA nonetheless disapproved the plan as part of a coordinated effort by the Trump administration to prop up dirty, expensive coal plants by interfering with utility and state decisions.

“Colorado chose clean air. The EPA chose pollution,” said Tracy Coppola, Colorado senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. “We were on the path to lead the nation in protecting our people, national parks, wildlife and climate from air pollution.  Communities, industry, and land managers were preparing for a promising future where our neighboring states would have also benefited. But now, for no justifiable reason, the EPA suddenly wants us to turn our backs on all this progress. Coloradans know that we cannot afford another delay in cleaning up the pollution that hurts our treasured parks. We’re taking legal action to protect Rocky Mountain National Park, and all Coloradans, from the EPA’s reckless decision.”

“This can’t be seen any other way; it’s a handout to the coal industry and a disservice to Coloradan communities and our environment. There is no legal basis or recognition of Colorado’s decades of prior energy planning in this decision,” said Sarah Tresedder, senior climate and energy organizer at Colorado Sierra Club. “EPA’s decision is an enormous waste of time and federal resources, and without intervention, it will lead to more totally avoidable human suffering from air pollution.”

Regional Haze Rules were put in place under the Clean Air Act. Colorado’s plan fully complied to improve air quality across national parks and wilderness areas. Colorado has dozens of  wilderness areas, four national parks.

“Colorado issued a broadly-supported plan to improve air quality and visibility in our most beautiful public lands, including Rocky Mountain National Park,” said Michael Hiatt, deputy managing attorney at Earthjustice. “The Trump administration’s ideological pro-coal efforts will claw back that progress. Keeping expensive and outdated coal plants online after they are supposed to retire will increase energy costs and pollution in Colorado communities.”