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NEWS RELEASE
Dec. 12, 2003
Contacts:
Amanda Covington, (801) 538-1503
Justin Smart, (801) 538-1053
Laura Vernon, DEQ, (801) 536-4484
Gov. Walker today signed a letter of submittal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, setting in motion Utah's plan to improve and protect air quality in national parks in the West.
"Utah's plan is a significant milestone because it represents a regional approach to reducing haze in the West's most celebrated national parks, five of which are in our own backyard," Walker said. "That means that over the next two decades Utah's air will become cleaner, and visitors to our national parks will more fully enjoy the scenic vistas that deserve to be protected."
Utah is the first state to have an approved regional haze plan. Utah's plan aims to reduce air pollution by using cost-effective, market-based programs rather than traditional command-and-control regulations. The plan also considers impacts of smoke from prescribed fires and focuses on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The plan's goal is to reduce sulfur dioxide by 50 to 70 percent by 2040. The first phase of the plan goes through 2018.
All five of Utah's national parks - Arches, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon and Zion - experience haze.
According to Dianne Nielson, executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, the plan details strategies Utah will use to reduce the full range of human-caused pollutants that contribute to regional haze.
"It's a good plan and one that makes sense for Utah and for the West," Nielson said. "It is progress toward cleaner air."
In addition to Utah, four other states are submitting their market-based program plans by the end of December 2003: Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and Oregon. The remaining western states will develop a more prescriptive regulatory program.
The Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) provided much of the technical support for the plans. WRAP is a partnership of western states, western tribes and three federal agencies.
The partnership works closely with stakeholders, local governments, environmental groups, industry and academia to compile regional air quality information and identify market-based strategies for reducing regional haze and improving visibility.
Utah's regional haze plan is available on the Web at www.airquality.utah.gov/SIP/regionalhazesip/regionalhaze.htm. More information on the WRAP can be found at www.wrapair.org (opens in a new window).
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