What is the Regional Haze Rule and best available retrofit technology (BART)?
- As part of an overall strategy to achieve natural visibility conditions in protected national parks and wilderness areas, the Regional Haze Rule requires states to determine emission controls known as best available retrofit technology or BART for specific categories of stationary sources built between 1962 and 1977. The rule also includes provisions that allow states to adopt alternative measures to BART so long as the “BART alternative” will achieve greater overall visibility improvement. Many states rely on Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) participation as a BART alternative for their BART-eligible power plants.
States are required to develop state implementation plans (SIPs) to show how they will address BART requirements and reach visibility goals. EPA must review and either approve SIPs or implement a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) when a SIP is determined to be deficient.
What is the background for this proposal?
- 2017 Texas BART FIP
On October 17, 2017, EPA promulgated a FIP for Texas to address certain deficiencies in the 2009 Texas Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission. The FIP addressed the SO₂ BART requirements for Texas sources through a BART alternative that consists of an intrastate emissions trading program (Texas SO₂ Trading Program) that applies to certain EGUs in Texas. EPA took final action to affirm and make minor revisions to the Texas SO₂ Trading Program FIP in August 2020. EPA also approved the portion of the Texas Regional Haze SIP that found no additional controls were necessary to address emissions of particulate matter (PM) for regional haze. After further consideration, EPA is now proposing to find that the basis for the Texas SO₂ Trading Program as a BART alternative was in error. EPA is also proposing that our prior approval of the portion of the Texas Regional Haze SIP that addresses the BART requirement for EGUs for PM was made in error given that it relies on the Texas SO₂ Trading Program. The Agency is therefore proposing to withdraw the existing Texas Regional Haze FIP and replace it with a FIP containing source specific emission limits for SO₂ and PM.
CSAPR Better-than-BART Affirmation
On November 28, 2017, EPA received a petition for reconsideration of certain aspects of EPA’s September 29, 2017, final rule titled, “Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter: Revision of Federal Implementation Plan Requirements for Texas.” EPA concluded that the November 2017 petition did not meet the statutory criteria to warrant reconsideration and therefore denied the petition in 2020 (2020 Denial). On August 28, 2020, the Sierra Club, NPCA, and Earthjustice submitted a petition for partial
