Regional Haze

Fact Sheet

Clean Air for Parks Fact Sheets

In the fight for healthy air, laws limiting haze pollution are powerful tools—but we need to act now to sharpen them. To win the fight for clean and healthy air,…

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Much of the country’s air pollution stems from extracting, developing and burning fossil fuels, whether by cars and trucks, oil and gas infrastructure and operations, or coal-fired power plants for electricity generation. While most haze pollution does not originate in national parks, it can travel hundreds of miles from its source, thereby affecting parks and nearby communities. In fact, nearly 90% of national parks are plagued by haze pollution, and on average, park visitors miss out on 50 miles of scenery because of haze — a distance equal to the length of Rhode Island.

Haze pollution also threatens local economies that depend on parks, which provide $42.5 billion in economic output each year and support thousands of jobs across the country. Studies show that park visitation drops when air pollution is high, indicating the direct effect air quality has on the visitor experience.

But haze pollution has the most harmful consequences for people of color and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Air pollution worsens community health, drives up healthcare costs, and makes it harder for kids to learn and play and adults to work. These realities are especially troubling as marginalized communities are bearing the brunt of air pollution and have had the highest COVID-19 infection rates during the global pandemic.

The same sources of pollution harming our communities are also fueling the climate crisis, and the consequences are alarming. Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of wildfires over natural levels across the western U.S., including at Yosemite and other parks, raised sea level at the Statue of Liberty and other coastal parks, and is melting glaciers at Glacier Bay and Glacier.

Without strong safeguards protecting the air we breathe, we cannot keep our parks and local economies healthy, let alone people.

Fortunately, certain national parks and wilderness areas have the strongest clean air protections in the country. Mandated by the Clean Air Act, the Regional Haze Rule requires federal and state agencies, as well as industry and organizations like NPCA to work together to restore clear skies at parks such as Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Great Smoky Mountains. Currently, all 50 states are in the process of developing their next round of regional haze plans to submit to the Environmental Protection Agency, specifying the pollution-reducing measures they will implement to improve air quality and visibility in parks.

NPCA continues to work directly with state agencies and lawmakers, providing data and expertise, helping to secure strong state plans to limit haze pollution, and defending existing plans — in court, if necessary.

Reducing pollution, transitioning to clean energy and increasing energy efficiency are critical solutions to protect our national parks, our communities and our climate. And strong state regional haze plans are a key part of the process to get us there.

But to achieve strong plans, we need help from park advocates like you! Whether submitting written comments on your state’s proposed regional haze plan or testifying at a virtual public hearing or writing to your congressional members, your voice can and will make a difference.

NPCA at work

NPCA, and our partners around the country, have engaged in nearly all of the available state public comment periods to date. We have engaged our members and supporters to get their voices heard at public hearings and through comment letters. NPCA has also engaged directly with EPA Regional Offices in nearly every EPA region and looks forward to participating in the upcoming comment periods through the EPA. Please join our email list to be notified when there are opportunities to advocate for clean air and clear skies!