See Also
How
clean is my air?
View daily air quality reports.
Idaho's
Air Quality State Implementation Plan
Contact DEQ
Regional
Office
Air Quality Managers
State
Office
Air Quality Division
Mike
Edwards
(208)
373-0438
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Air Quality: Haze/Regional Haze
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| What is Haze? |
| Visibility
impairment is one of the most obvious indicators of pollution in
the air. This often occurs as a result of haze, which obscures the
clarity, color, texture, and form of what we see.
Some haze-causing
pollutants (mostly fine particles) are directly emitted into the
atmosphere by activities such as electric power generation, various
industrial and manufacturing processes, truck and auto emissions,
burning related to forestry and agriculture, and construction. Others
are formed when gases emitted to the air form particles as they
are carried downwind. Examples include sulfate, formed from sulfur
dioxide, and nitrates, formed from nitrogen oxides.
Without
haze, a natural visual range is approximately 140 miles in the West
and 90 miles in the East. However, in many parts of the United States,
fine particles have significantly reduced the range that people
can see. In the West, the current range is 33-90 miles, and in the
East, the current range is only 14-24 miles. |
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| EPA's Regional Haze
Program |
| In
1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed a
regional
haze program to improve visibility and air quality in our most
treasured natural areas to ensure they are preserved and enjoyed
by current and future generations.
EPA's
regional haze regulations call for states to establish goals
for improving visibility in 156 national parks and wilderness areas
and to develop long-term strategies for reducing emissions of air
pollutants that cause visibility impairment. The 156 areas, called
"Class I areas," include many of our best-known and most-treasured
national parks, such as Acadia, Everglades, Grand Canyon, Great
Smoky Mountains, Mount Rainier, Shenandoah, Yellowstone, and Yosemite.
The regulations
require states, in coordination with the EPA, National Park Service,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and other interested
parties, to develop and implement air quality protection plans to
reduce the pollution that causes visibility impairment. The first
state plans for regional haze are due by 2008. Five multi-state
regional planning organizations are working together now to develop
the technical basis for these plans.
Because
fine particles are frequently transported hundreds of miles, all
50 states—including those that do not have Class I areas—will have
to participate in planning, analysis, and in many cases, emission
control programs under the regional haze regulations. Steps states
take to implement these regulations are expected to have the additional
benefit of improving visibility and health in broad areas across
the country, including in our cities and towns. |
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| Federally Designated
Regional Haze Areas in Idaho |
| Idaho's
borders contain the following five Class I areas, three of which
are shared with neighboring states: |
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| Area
Name |
|
| Craters of the Moon Wilderness
Area |
43,243 |
| Hells Canyon Wilderness Area1 |
83,800 |
| Sawtooth Wilderness Area |
216,383 |
| Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area2 |
988,770 |
| Yellowstone National Park3 |
31,488 |
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1
192,700 acres overall, of which 108,900 acres are in Oregon and
83,800 acres are in Idaho.
|
2
1,240,700 acres overall, of which 988,700 acres are in Idaho and
251,930 acres are in Montana. |
3
2,219,737 acres overall, of which 2,020,625 acres are in Wyoming,
167,624 acres are in Montana, and 31,488 acres are in Idaho. |
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| View all 156 EPA Mandatory
Class I Federal Areas: List
| Map
|
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The visual air quality in Idaho's Class I areas will be monitored
as part of the IMPROVE (Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual
Environments) visibility monitoring network. This visibility data
is presented as "deciviews."
View map
of visibility conditions in the U.S. (pdf
50 kb, 1 page)
Learn more about
IMPROVE. |
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Idaho's
Haze Control Plan (SIP) |
| Visibility
conditions in Idaho are among the best in the nation, according
to data compiled by an interagency monitoring network. As required
by the federal regional haze rule, DEQ has prepared a regional haze
state implementation plan, which outlines the actions Idaho will
take to ensure prevention of any future impairment of visibility
in its Class I areas. DEQ anticipates that emission reductions resulting
from current permitting, airshed plan development, and smoke management
programs will enable the state to achieve the majority of the goals
set forth in the rule. |
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| Western Region Air
Partnership |
| Because
pollutants that lead to regional haze can originate from sources
located across broad geographic areas, EPA has encouraged states
and tribes across the U.S. to address visibility impairment from
a regional perspective.
Idaho
is part of the Western Region Air Partnership (WRAP), a voluntary
organization of western states, tribes, and federal agencies. It
was formed in 1997 as the successor to the Grand Canyon Visibility
Transport Commission, which made over 70 recommendations in June
1996 for improving visibility in 16 national parks and wilderness
areas on the Colorado Plateau. The WRAP promotes, supports, and
monitors the implementation of those recommendations throughout
the West. It is also implementing regional planning processes to
address visibility and other air quality issues in all western Class
I areas by providing the technical and policy tools needed by states
and tribes to implement the federal regional haze rule and other
Clean Air Act requirements.
The WRAP
is administered jointly by the Western Governors' Association and
the National Tribal Environmental Council.
> Find
out more on the WRAP Web site. |
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