August 16, 2016
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Download PDF
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and seven other Attorneys General submitted joint August 10th comments to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in regards to proposed revisions to the Clean Air Act Regional Haze Rule.
The other state attorneys general joining in the comments are from the following states:
- Alabama
- Colorado
- Kansas
- Michigan
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
The joint comments were submitted to EPA Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0531. Protection of Visibility: Amendments to Requirements for State Plans.
The Regional Haze Rule is a Clean Air Act program designed to protect visibility in Class I federal areas.
Regional haze is defined as visibility impairment produced by a multitude of sources and activities which emit fine particles and their precursors and which are located across a broad geographic area.
EPA’s proposed revisions to this program address various aspects of the Regional Haze Rule. See 81 Fed. Reg. 26942.
The joint August 10th comments are critical of some aspects of the proposed EPA revisions. The Attorneys General argue the proposed revisions:
- Fail to consider the implications of many of the proposed changes
- Do not examine the effect of those revisions on states, businesses and consumers
- Do not address other significant issues
The various issues addressed in the joint comments include:
- Redefining Established Terms
- Visibility Impairment
- Reasonably Attributable
- Newly Defined Terms
- Change in How Least and Most Impaired Days are Selected
- Expanding the Authority of Federal Land Managers
- Failure to Consider International Impacts
- Altering the Relationship Between Reasonable Progress and Long Term Goals
- Changes to Progress Reports
- Amended State Implementation Plan Due Dates
- Unjustified Expansion of the regional Haze Rule’s Reach
- Failure to Conduct a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
- Failure to Follow Executive Order 13132
A copy of the joint comments can be downloaded here.
The Between the Lines blog is made available by Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. and the law firm publisher. The blog site is for educational purposes only, as well as to give general information and a general understanding of the law. This blog is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Use of this blog site does not create an attorney client relationship between you and Mitchell Williams or the blog site publisher. The Between the Lines blog site should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.