Appendix A - Washington State Department of Ecology

Blain, Lindsay (ECY)
From: Site Administrator [npca@npca.org] on behalf of Charles Williams [stormmoon@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 1:15 PM
To: ECY RE AQComments
Subject: Comments on Washington's Proposed Regional Haze State Implementation Plan
Categories: General Comment
Sep 13, 2010
Mr. Alan Newman
Air Quality Program, Wash. Dept. of Ecology P.O. Box 47600
Lacey, WA 98504‐7600
Dear Mr. Newman,
I write regarding Washington's Regional Haze State Implementation Plan
(SIP) to address haze pollution including that emitted by TransAlta's
coal‐fired power plant in Centralia, Washington. As a national park
lover and advocate for our national parks ‐ and a trip to Mt. Rainier
National Park this past July ‐, I treasure the beauty and pristine air
quality of North Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Olympic National Parks
and recognize that with a strong SIP, the state of Washington has a
unique opportunity to protect these and other treasured public spaces.
Unfortunately, the SIP as proposed is unacceptably weak. In order to
preserve these parks for present and future generations, the state must
revise its plan to better protect state and regional air quality. I
believe the SIP should be improved in the following respects:
‐‐Washington's plan should not allow the air quality in North Cascades
National Park and Glacier Peak Wilderness to get worse.
‐‐Washington must consider pollution controls for TransAlta's nitrogen
oxide emissions that would reduce pollution by 90% or more over its
current proposal.
‐‐Washington must consider the total impact a pollution source like
TransAlta would have on all twelve protected public lands it impairs
and require emission reductions to protect all of them.
‐‐Air pollution in Washington is projected to increase by 2018, but the
state says it is making progress towards eliminating haze‐pollution.
This conclusion is inconsistent with actual projections.
‐‐Washington's plan must get rid of haze pollution in Olympic National
Park by no later than 2064, but as currently written the plan will
allow hazy air at Olympic for 323 more years!
The Clean Air Act requires power plants to reduce haze causing
pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, which can be easily reduced
through technologies that have been used by other power plants for
decades. At a minimum, Washington should require pollution controls to
reduce TransAlta's nitrogen oxide. Without these controls, the coal
plant in Centralia will continue to unnecessarily obscure views in our
national parks and wilderness areas for decades to come and deter
tourists, such as me and my family, from visiting the state of
Washington and the beloved parks in the region.
1
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Final December 2010