The sweeping vistas at national parks and monuments throughout the West are more frequently becoming obscured by haze, according to a report released Tuesday by Environmental Defense.
The report by the national nonprofit group says air quality across the region is declining, with increasing ozone and haze. It also says several new coal-fired power plants and increased oil and gas development could have an adverse impact on air quality.
“It’s a classic good news-bad news story,” said Dr. Jana Milford, a Boulder-based senior scientist with Environmental Defense. “The bad news is that we’re seeing some disturbing trends.” The good news, she said, is that new rules curbing industrial emissions may reduce haze.
Under a court-ordered deadline, the result of an Environmental Defense lawsuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected today to issue cleanup guidelines for power plants, refineries and other older industrial sources.
The new rules – called “Best Available Retrofit Technology” – require those facilities to make upgrades and could affect about 16 plants in Colorado. Among them: the Cemex cement plant in Lyons, the Valero refinery in Denver and several Xcel power plants throughout the state.
Without cleanup guidelines, air pollution in the West is unlikely to improve, particularly in parks that already have pollution problems, the study says.
Rocky Mountain National Park is cited throughout the report. There, the number of days where ozone has exceeded federally accepted limits has more than doubled, to seven, since 1998, National Park Service data show.
The report states that the anticipated boom of oil and gas exploration and development across the West may also have serious impacts on air quality.
Many of the states and tribal lands where exploration is occurring have spotty environmental regulations, if any at all, in place, the report states.
“I think it’s fair to say that the regulated community has the ability keep up with air-quality requirements,” Milford said. “But we’re seeing very inconsistent regulations in place throughout the region.”
Doug Benevento, director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said state environmental regulators are taking several steps to address poor air quality in Colorado.
He pointed to Denver’s early- action ozone compact, which allows the region to stave off sanctions, and includes higher emission standards for industrial tanks and engines, as well as tougher limits on gasoline vapors.
“We are also working with the National Park Service, industries and environmental groups to assess the status of Rocky Mountain National Park and determine what, if anything, can be done about air quality there,” Benevento said.
Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or kmcguire@denverpost.com.
