Air Program Opportunities and Legal Responsibilities

The Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 enables the Forest Service to protect air quality related values in “Class I areas” - wilderness areas in existence as of August 7, 1977 larger than 5,000 acres. This protection is available through implementation of the Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) provisions.

The 1964 Wilderness Act also identifies management goals for wilderness. Other land management acts managing National Forest Service lands include the Organic Administrative act of 1897, the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act (1960), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (1974), and the National Forest Management Act (1976). State legislation and PSD regulations determine how the air quality regulatory process is actually conducted state by state.

Federal Clean Air Act

The PSD sections of the Clean Air Act include a permit program for certain new sources of air pollution. The purposes of PSD include the protection and enhancement of air quality in national wilderness areas and other locations of scenic, recreational, historic, or natural value. Before the construction of certain new air pollution sources is approved, the applicants must receive a PSD permit from the appropriate air regulatory agency.

The Forest Service Air Program in all cases must make three decisions:

·         What are the sensitive receptors within the wilderness that need protection?

·         What are the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC’s) for these receptors?

·         Will the proposed facility cause or contribute to pollutant concentrations or atmospheric deposition within the wilderness that will cause the LAC’s to be exceeded?

The first two decisions are land management issues based upon the management goals for the wilderness in question. The third is a technical question determined from modeled analysis of emissions from the proposed, and any existing facilities, including meteorology, topography, and chemical reactions in the atmosphere, pollutant deposition, or visibility impacts within the wilderness.

Close coordination between the Forest Service Air Program and the appropriate air regulatory agency (usually the state) is essential in the PSD process. In most cases, the air regulatory agency makes the final determination to grant or deny the permit, as is their authority. We are, however, the entity authorized to define “adverse impacts” on National Forest Service lands.

Regional Haze Regulations

Section 169A of the Clean Air Act sets forth a national goal for visibility which is the ‘‘prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing, impairment of visibility in Class I areas which impairment results from manmade air pollution.’’ There are 156 Class I areas across the country, including many well-known national parks and wilderness areas.

The Environmental Protection Agency promulgated regulations in 1980 to address visibility impairment that is ‘‘reasonably attributable’’ to one or a small group of sources, but EPA deferred action on regional haze regulations until monitoring, modeling, and scientific knowledge about the relationship between pollutants and visibility effects improved. In 1993, the National Academy of Sciences concluded that ‘‘current scientific knowledge is adequate and control technologies are available for taking regulatory action to improve and protect visibility.’’ the rulemaking procedures under section 307(d) of the CAA. The documents relied on to develop the regional haze regulations have been placed in the docket.

On July 31, 1997 (62 FR 41138), the EPA published proposed amendments to the 1980 regulations to set forth a program to address regional haze visibility impairment. The EPA also published a notice of availability of additional information on the proposed regional haze regulation on September 3, 1998. This notice took comment specifically on new implementation plan timelines set forth in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Public Law 105–178, and on a proposal from the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) for addressing the recommendations of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission (GCVTC) in the final rule.

Today’s final rule calls for states to establish goals and emission reduction strategies for improving visibility in all 56 mandatory Class I national parks and wilderness areas. Specific provisions are included in the rule allowing nine western states to implement the recommendations of the GCVTC within the framework of the national regional haze program. In addition, EPA encourages States to work together in regional partnerships to develop and implement multi-state strategies to reduce emissions of visibility impairing fine particle pollution.

The regulatory amendments are effective on August 30, 1999.

Protecting Class II Wilderness and Non-Wilderness Forest Service Lands

The Clean Air Act offers many opportunities, as well as requirements, for protecting Class II wilderness areas* and other National Forest Service lands from air pollution. Because of the potential sensitivity of their resources, like visibility and vulnerability to acidic deposition, we endeavor to protect all National Forest Service Lands from air pollution.

·         Class II Area: A geographical area designated for a moderate degree of protection from future air quality degradation. Moderate increases of new pollution may be permitted in a Class II area. All wildernesses designated after August 7, 1977 are automatically Class II areas, as are all other National Forest System lands (except additions to Class I wilderness lands).