Comment on Clean Air For All to Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

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The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has released a plan to clean up air at our national parks and other areas, but it falls short of what is needed to clean up the air and protect our health.

Why This Matters

Millions of people visit our national parks and wilderness areas each year to see some of the most awe-inspiring views in the world. But over the decades, haze – from cars and trucks, gas and coal-fired power plants, along with other industrial sources– has degraded visibility and harmed people’s health in our national parks and local communities. In Arizona those places include Grand Canyon, Saguaro and Petrified Forest National Parks, Chiricahua National Monument and Superstition, Galiuro, Mount Baldy, Sierra Ancha, Mazatzal, Sycamore Canyon, and Chiricahua Wilderness Areas.

The Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Rule (RHR) requires clean up of the air in these areas and is a time-tested, effective program that has resulted in real, measurable, and noticeable improvements in national park visibility and air quality. The RHR requires all states, including Arizona, to do their share by reducing pollution within their borders to help restore clean and clear skies at protected national parks and wilderness areas.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has released a plan for cleaning up these areas, but it is weak and will not significantly reduce the pollution from facilities such as coal plants, cement kilns, smelters, and more. Please take a moment to send a comment to ADEQ and ask it to strengthen its draft plan to address the deficiencies. Please add a note about why clean air is important to you and experiences you have had with the affected parks and wildlands. Also, please add experiences with any respiratory issues you or your family have and the importance of an expeditious clean up of these polluting facilities.

The comment deadline is July 14, so please act now.

You can send a comment on the plan by using the link below.

https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/support-clean-air-for-all?promoid=7013q000002JOwFAAW

Consider joining the Sierra Club for the Energy and Climate Action Team Meeting and Learn about Clean Air for All

Tues, June 28 at 6:30 pm (Tucson time)

Join the Energy and Climate Action Team to learn more about an upcoming opportunity to promote clean air at our national parks and monuments, as well as wilderness areas; better protect our health; and help reduce pollution that contributes to the climate crisis. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has just released a plan for addressing regional haze pollution. We will be discussing the importance of this plan and how it affects our communities, plus include action items such as commenting on the proposed plan.

https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q000002GIbxAAG&id=70131000001