Sign on today to help clean air in Mammoth Cave park

Today is the last day the U.S. EPA is accepting comments on a proposed rule change that would weaken efforts to clean up the skies in national parks, including Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.

The proposal would let coal-burning power plants in 28 states use a weaker air pollution emissions standard. In short, the EPA wants to allows power plants in those states to use the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) to improve natural visibility conditions in Class I areas rather than the source-specific Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART).

An analysis by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) concluded that, "While the emission trading program created by CSAPR will result in significant air quality benefits for many eastern states, it will not require some of the most egregious polluters of iconic Class 1 national landscapes to clean up their pollution to the same level that would be required under BART."

One of the Kentucky coal-burning plants that would get off the hook is the R.D. Green plant in Webster County, whose emissions are impacting air quality in Mammoth Cave park.

"Unless EPA's proposed exemption is dropped, the RD Green coal plant will emit at least 243% more nitrogen oxides … than the best pollution controls would allow," the NPCA report states. "These pollutants are directly linked to poor air quality in these places and cause serious health damage in addition to hazy skies."

ACTION: You can sign on to a letter to EPA opposing this change, provided through Credo Action, by clicking here.

RESOURCES

• Cleaning Up the Haze report by the National Parks Conservation Association
• 2008 NCPA report Dark Horizons naming Mammoth Cave as one of the top 10 national parks most at risk from coal-burning power plant pollution
• EPA regulatory notice for BART rule exemption