EPA proposes plan to reduce air pollution in Big Bend National Park

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EPA partially rejects Texas’ do-nothing plan, requires dirty coal-fired power plants to clean up

Environment Texas

AUSTIN – Today, Environment Texas applauded a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce air pollution in Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. EPA’s action, required by the Clean Air Act, will reduce the haze that has impaired visibility in some of Texas’ most loved parks. The proposal comes after EPA determined a haze plan submitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) – in which views at Big Bend would be obscured until the year 2155 – “did not adequately address” certain legal requirements. Eight Texas power plants will be required to install pollution controls to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by a total of 230,000 tons per year.   

“This will be a great Thanksgiving for Big Bend and the Guadalupe Mountains, and all of us who love, and spend time with our families and friends in, these iconic places,” said Luke Metzger, Director, Environment Texas. “Thank goodness EPA has the courage and the vision to stand up to the polluters and restore the magnificent scenic views that help define Texas.”