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Regional haze reduces visibility and affects the aesthetic value of some of the nation's most pristine and treasured lands. These include national parks and wildlife areas that are designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for visibility protection as federal Class I Areas. The Federal Clean Air Act sets national goals to prevent any future impairment of visibility caused by human-made air pollution in Class I areas and to restore pristine conditions in those areas. Rules promulgated by EPA on July 1, 1999 require each state to develop and implement a Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP), in consultation with surrounding states and the Federal Land Managers (FLMs) responsible for managing potentially affected federal Class I areas.
Oklahoma's Wichita Mountains Wilderness Area has been declared a federal Class I area. It is contained within the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Refuge is located in Comanche County adjacent to the Fort Sill Military Reservation, a U.S. Army training base. Lawton is the closest population center, and is located 22 miles southeast of the Refuge.
Oklahoma's Regional Haze SIP includes calculations of baseline and natural visibility conditions for the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (and potentially affected Class I areas located elsewhere), a long-term strategy for regional haze reduction, goals for reasonable progress toward achieving natural visibility conditions by 2064, and a monitoring and reporting strategy. The SIP also includes determinations of emission limitations and schedules for compliance representing Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) for a group of industrial air emissions sources that are subject to BART under national Regional Haze Program requirements.
Oklahoma submitted its Regional Haze SIP to EPA Region VI in February 2010. The plan is available below.
EPA Action on Oklahoma's Regional Haze SIP Submittal
Effective January 27, 2012 (76 FR 82727), EPA approved core elements of Oklahoma's Regional Haze SIP, including BART determinations for the majority of emissions units subject to BART. However, EPA disapproved the sulfur dioxide (SO2) BART determinations for several emissions units, and issued a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) covering SO2 control requirements for those units. As part of this action, EPA also disapproved the State's long-term strategy for regional haze reduction and portions of Oklahoma's Interstate Transport SIP for the 1997 8-hour Ozone and 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, because they relied on the BART limits in the disapproved determinations.
Proposed Regional Haze SIP Revision (including Interstate Transport SIP Revision)
Oklahoma has developed a SIP revision to address certain disapproved portions of the Regional Haze SIP related to the BART determination for units located at American Electric Power/Public Service Company of Oklahoma's (AEP/PSO's) Northeastern Power Station in Rogers County, Oklahoma. [The revision implements relevant portions of a settlement agreement reached among AEP/PSO, EPA, the Oklahoma Secretary of Environment, U.S. Department of Justice, and the Sierra Club.] The revision is intended to replace the related EPA-issued FIP as it relates to the subject AEP/PSO facility. This SIP revision submittal process includes a consultation with Federal Land Managers and potentially affected states, public review and comment including a public hearing (scheduled for May 20, 2013), and EPA review.
Page last updated:
April 18, 2013
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