Trump's EPA is paving the way for haze to return to national parks, conservationists warn
Source: ABC News/AP
March 22, 2026, 12:13 AM
MADISON, Wis. -- A year ago, federal environmental regulators told West Virginia officials that their plan to clear sulfur and smog from skies over the state's national wilderness areas wasn't good enough because a dozen coal plants didn't analyze whether they needed better pollution controls.
Six months later, the Environmental Protection Agency, now firmly under President Donald Trump's control, blessed the same plan, saying technology evaluations wouldn't be necessary as long as visibility hit projected benchmarks. Conservationists say the about-face in West Virginia is just one example of the Trump administration clearing the way for states to roll back pollution restrictions that have helped clear the air over beloved national parks and wilderness areas over the last 25 years.
A federal regulation known as the regional haze rule requires states to come up with plans every 10 years to limit emissions and monitor air pollution in more than 150 national parks, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges and tribal reservations across 36 states. Since the rule took effect in 1999, more than 90% of parks and wilderness areas have seen sulfur and smog emissions decline by hundreds of thousands of tons annually.
The average visual range has increased from 90 miles to 120 miles (145 kilometers to 195 kilometers) in some Western parks, according to the Harvard Law School's Environmental and Energy Law Program. But energy producers argue the regulations have done their job and are too costly. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in March 2025 that the agency would look to roll back 31 landmark environmental regulations, including the regional haze rule, to relieve regulatory pressure on the fossil fuel industry.
Read more: https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/trumps-epa-paving-haze-return-national-parks-conservationists-131298210
Link to Harvard Law School's Environmental and Energy Law Program REPORT (PDF) - https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MATS-Final.pdf
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See our national parks wearing HAZMAT suits. Fun for the whole family!
