EPA Releases Plan for Hawaiian Haze

by Travis Stanford, CourthouseNews

WASHINGTON (CN) - Two years after it determined that the state of Hawaii failed to address regional haze problems from airborne pollutants around two national parks, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed its own plan to address the problem.
Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA may intervene when a state plan for meeting national standards is deemed insufficient.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Island of Hawaii and Haleakala National Park on the Island of Maui both suffer from haze caused by anthropogenic sources such as power plants and cars as well as emissions from Kilauea volcano.

The EPA's plan would impose a cap on pollution from certain oil-fired electric generating units. The Hawaii Electric Light Company could meet this cap through conservation and already planned increases in the use of renewable energy as part of Hawaii's Clean Energy Initiative.

The goal of the plan is to improve visibility at the two parks on the worst haze days and no degradation on the best days over the next ten years.

The public has until July 2 to comment on the proposed plan.

LINK: Full Text of EPA Proposal

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