ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
air quality; regional haze
program
Purpose
Requires
the Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to submit a
revision of Arizona’s state implementation plan to the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, in order to address regional haze.
Background
Regional haze is an impairment of visibility over a wide area, primarily caused by particulate pollution. Many processes and activities can contribute to regional haze, such as electric power generation, industrial manufacturing, vehicle emissions and fires. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that haze has reduced visibility in the western U.S. from a natural range of 140 miles to 33-90 miles.
In the 1977 Clean Air Act, Congress designated all national parks of more than 6,000 acres and wilderness areas in existence in 1977 as class 1 areas. Arizona contains 12 of these class 1 areas. Congress required that steps should be taken in these class 1 areas to prevent any future loss in visibility. In 1980, EPA issued regulations to protect class 1 areas from air pollution that could be traced to a specific source by following an identifiable plume. Following the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, the EPA formed the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission (GCVTC) to address visibility problems in the Grand Canyon National Park.
In 1999, the EPA issued nationwide regulations requiring states to revise their state implementation plans (SIP) to improve visibility in class 1 areas. The final EPA regulation allows the nine states in the GCVTC, including Arizona, to implement specific GCVTC recommendations within the frame work of the national regional haze regulation.
H.B. 2585 requires the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to submit SIP revisions addressing regional haze to the EPA. The bill authorizes ADEQ to submit revisions under the nationwide program or implement the GCVTC recommendations. However, the Department may only submit a SIP revision according to the GCVTC recommendations if the SIP revision contains a determination that mobile sources in Arizona do not contribute significantly to visibility impairment in any GCVTC class 1 areas.
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state general fund relating to the provisions of this bill.
1. Allows ADEQ to participate in interstate regional haze programs established by the regional planning organization.
2. Requires the Director of ADEQ to submit SIP revisions to the EPA to address regional haze in class 1 areas.
3. Allows ADEQ to submit either SIP revisions implementing nationwide requirements, or SIP revisions that meet GCVTC recommendations. Stipulates that a SIP revision implementing GCVTC recommendations may only be submitted if the revision contains a determination that mobile source emissions from within Arizona do not contribute significantly to visibility impairment in any of the GCVTC class I areas.
4. Allows ADEQ to establish and participate in intrastate and interstate market trading programs as needed to submit an approvable SIP.
5. Specifies the allowable contents of the SIP revision.
6. Allows the Director of ADEQ to adopt rules needed to revise the SIP to address regional haze.
7. Defines GCVTC class I areas, federal class I areas and other related terms.
8. Makes technical and conforming changes.
9. Provides for a general effective date.
ENV 3/19/02 DPA 8-0-0-2-0
3rd Read
4/8/02 44-6-10-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
April 16, 2002