Regional Approaches for Addressing Visibility, 2003 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Five multi-state regional planning organizations have been formed to address impaired visibility across the United States. These organizations are working both separately and collectively to assist their member states in the preparation of the first in a series of State Implementation Plan revisions (required under the Clean Air Act) that must demonstrate reasonable progress towards an ultimate national goal of “natural visibility” by 2060. Of particular interest to forest product industry sources is the requirement for states to define Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) for certain sources, including boilers, cogeneration units, and kraft pulp mills, that emit visibility-impairing pollutants. On-going efforts by these organizations to characterize the extent of the visibility problem, consider opportunities for interplay with related plans to address PM2.5 and 8-hour ozone non-attainment, and develop cost-effective control strategies will be described.