AIR POLLUTION

MONITORING & SAMPLING NEWSLETTER     

January 2010
No. 363

Minnesota PCA Passes Haze Rules for Northern Parks

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA) has approved new regulations to curb haze over northern Minnesota despite complaints of federal land managers and environmental groups that the rules do not go far enough. The agency’s board voted 7-1 for the measures, aimed at combating haze over pristine areas like Voyageurs National Park, Isle Royale National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that are protected under federal Clean Air Act rules. The rules may eventually affect coal-burning power plants and taconite plants in Minnesota, as well as pulp and paper mills and other industries that may be required to install new haze-cutting pollution-control technology. PCA officials say the new rules are the first step toward cleaner skies over northern Minnesota, cutting 30,000 tons of the haze-causing emissions annually. The rules must be approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has ordered that air over national parks and wild lands should be haze-free by 2064.

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