News Releases from Region 08

EPA proposes to approve Utah’s regional haze plan

Approval of state plan for power plant emissions based on new modeling analysis

DENVER-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting public comment on a proposal to approve the State of Utah’s regional haze plan to reduce emissions from PacifiCorp’s Hunter and Huntington power plants in Emery County, Utah, and withdraw a federal plan issued for these plants in 2016.

EPA is proposing to approve Utah’s regional haze plan in its entirety, which includes providing credits for existing nitrogen oxide emissions control systems in place at PacifiCorp’s Hunter and Huntington power plants and reductions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter associated with the closure of the nearby Carbon power plant in 2015.

Utah’s plan is based on new technical information and a modeling analysis indicating the plan will achieve greater visibility benefits in Arches, Canyonlands and seven other National Parks and Wilderness Areas protected as “Class I” areas under the Clean Air Act. Utah’s plan will reduce overall air emissions by an estimated 1,879 tons per year relative to EPA’s 2016 plan, which had required the application of selective catalytic reduction emissions control systems at the Hunter and Huntington power plants.

The Clean Air Act requires states to work with EPA to develop and implement air quality protection plans to reduce pollution contributing to visibility impairment in National Parks and Wilderness Areas. EPA has been working with Utah, as it has with states across the country, to develop and implement these regional haze plans.

The agency will accept public comment on the proposal through March 23, 2020, and will hold a public hearing on February 12, at the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center at Utah State University Eastern, 400 North 410 East, in Price, Utah, from 1-5 p.m. and 6- 8 p.m.

EPA’s proposed action and information on how to comment can be found at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-R08-OAR-2015-0463-0225.

To register for the February 12 public hearing, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/us-epa-utah-regional-haze-public-hearing-2020-tickets-86369229691