Wyoming Files Opening Brief in Suit Against the Envronmental Protection Agency

The State of Wyoming is defending its strong plan for improving visibility in national parks and wilderness areas. Wyoming filed its opening brief in its suit against the Environmental Protection Agency, which rejected part of Wyoming’s plan for reducing regional haze. That federal rule is related only to aesthetics and not human health.

Wyoming argued that the federal government should defer to the states and that Wyoming has met the objective of developing a plan to reduce regional haze for visibility concerns.

Governor Matt Mead in a news release said “the EPA approved Wyoming’s plan related to the biggest sources of haze in the parks and wilderness areas but, without good cause, denied our work on the smaller cause of visibility concerns. This is troubling because our plan requires power plants to install millions of dollars of new equipment and meets the goal laid out by Congress. The EPA’s decision is an example of federal overreach and we will continue to push back against that overreach. ”

The case is in the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Regional Haze rule is part of the federal Clean Air Act, which gives states “wide discretion” to meet the objectives of the law. Wyoming has met its responsibilities.

Wyoming also points out that the EPA decision for this state is unique. Previously, a Court denied an appeal by the State of Oklahoma regarding that state’s plan for regional haze, but in that case Oklahoma’s plan did not require additional upgrades for power plants. Wyoming's plan does. Wyoming concludes that the Court should require the EPA to approve the State’s plan entirely for improving visibility.