The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Board approved new regulations to curb haze over northern Minnesota.

The rules were approved 7-1 last week. They still must be approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has ordered that air over national parks and wild lands should be haze-free by 2064. States must document how they will reach the goal of no man-made visibility impairment by that year.

Catherine Neuschler, a senior planner with MPCA, told The Journal that the federal government sets the requirements and in general it falls to the states to implement those requirements. The regional haze plan is such a plan.

The state rules are aimed at cutting 30,000 tons of emissions annually to reduce haze over areas such as Voyageurs National Park, Isle Royale National Park in Michigan and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that receive special protections under the federal Clean Air Act. Those areas are called Class I areas in the Clean Air Act, referring to the most pristine and free of pollution areas, Neuschler said.

“We want to keep the landscape pristine, but keeping the air above it pristine is important as well,” she said.

Haze comes from fine particles released into the air which interfere with light reaching the human eye. The particles, some of which are naturally occurring from humidity, also come from electric generating plants and taconite processing plants.

The plan focuses on haze formed in the atmosphere by reactions that start with nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, she said, which are the precursor emissions to haze. That has led to requirements on taconite facilities and power plants, she said.

Critics, including federal land managers and environmental groups, say the state plan doesn’t go far enough. They argued for tougher requirements on taconite and coal-burning power plants.

Mike Ward, superintendent of Voyageurs National Park, is among those land managers who say more action is needed to reduce haze.

“We are not asking the state to do anything that is not already written into law,” he said. “At this point, the state has voted to move the plan forward and we’re hoping there can be some resolution between EPA, federal land mangers and MPCA.”

Ward noted that federal agencies were in constant communication with the MPCA. “They are well aware of the issues we have with state implementation plan and we are well aware of their standpoint,” he said of the state staff that prepared the plan.

Ward said he hopes all involved in the plan will reach a common goal.

“We want all of the energy and taconite plants in Minnesota to continue to operate,” he said. “They are a huge economic base for the state of Minnesota. But we have a responsibility as federal land managers to comment on issues of air quality. That’s our responsibility. And the state, MPCA and regional haze plan will hopefully get to the point where it’s good for all parties involved.”

Ward noted that no one who provided testimony on the plan, including representatives of industry and land managers, wanted it to go forward.

“We will continue to work with the MPCA and EPA to make this work for the state of Minnesota,” Ward said. “That’s really what it’s about.”

Factors weighed

Under the EPA rules, a lot of factors are weighed against the control strategies identified to reduce haze, Neuschler said. Among those factors are the cost of compliance and the life of the source of the emissions, she said.

“Part of what we’re doing in preparing the plan is looking at what we can do for visibility improvement, but what are they going to cost?” she said. “It is a consideration. Generally we look at what is reasonable on a $1 per ton of pollutant removed.”

The EPA has up to 18 months to approve, reject or conditionally approve the plan. However, Neuschler said the Minnesota plan is over due. The plan for Minnesota, and 36 other states that did not meet an original haze plan deadline, is due for approval by mid-January 2011, she said.

“The plan is only the first step,” Neuschler said. “It only takes us to 2018. That’s how the EPA set up the program. In 2018, we do a review and another plan to gradually get us to the 2064 goal.”

Neuschler said MPCA staff believe there will be some perceptible visibility improvement by 2018.

“Haze is uniform and well mixed,” she said. “People may not be aware something in air that is limiting how far they can see. There is no plume of smoke. But this is something that prevents you from not seeing as far as you would under pristine conditions.”