<< Back 7/3/02 EPA Director says balance must be struck in creating clean air plans By Don Hendershot EPA Director Christine Todd Whitman visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on what air resource specialist Jim Renfro said has become a “typical” summer day — visibility at 12 to 15 miles when it should be 77 miles. Whitman — the first EPA director to tour the park — made the visit at the request of U.S. Sen. Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.). “I invited the Administrator here, today, because of my love for the Smokies,” Frist said. Frist and Whitman were briefed by Renfro at the Sugarlands Visitor Center air quality station before boarding a bus for Clingmans Dome. There they visited the air quality monitors and listened to Renfro describe the challenges facing the park. Frist has proven to be one of the park’s most ardent advocates. In 1996 he authored legislation allowing the park to keep backcountry fees on site, rather than sending them on to Washington. He was also instrumental in securing $4.6 million in funding this year for the park’s Science Center. On the bus ride to Clingmans Dome, Frist said that much of the park’s air problems come from areas far away. “What we’re seeing today is from Ohio,” Frist said, referring to the hazy conditions. “It all comes together here, I want her to see it.” One of the reasons Frist wanted Whitman to see the conditions first-hand is because the Bush Administration is the process of crafting its Clear Skies Initiative (CSI), which Whitman has said “will enable most of the country to meet national air quality standards ... in a way that makes sense for the environment, for industry, and for the health of the American people.” Whitman and Frist were greeted at Sugarlands and then again at Clingmans Dome by about 50 protesters representing various regional environmental groups including the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA,) the Canary Coalition, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE,) Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project and Appalachian Voices. Protesters wore gas masks, carried signs reading “Smoggy Mountains” and chanted “Must be some smog in the atmosphere, cause I can’t breathe up here.” At Clingmans Dome, Renfro discussed the various problems associated with poor air quality experienced by the park. He pointed out that visitors rate scenic views as very important. He said that high ozone levels can actually create unhealthy conditions for park visitors and that acid deposition is severely degrading the high elevation spruce-fir ecosystems. Renfro said that while the problem was bad, it was a problem that could be solved. He said the knowledge and the technology to clean the air are available, and he told Frist and Whitman “We [GSMNP] want to be at the table” when air quality is being discussed. “Those protesters out there — we’re on the same side,” Whitman said. She said that Clear Skies was a visionary plan that would result in a 70-percent reduction in pollutants in the next 10 years. “Let’s get together now in creating greater change in a way that doesn’t drive up costs,” Whitman said. Asked if CSI regulations would restore visibility to normal at the GSMNP, Whitman said there was no way to quantify that. She said scientists measured vistas in “deciviews,” and there was no way to translate that to miles of vistas. She said CSI would reduce haze by 3 to 4 deciviews in the park. She said that was a significant reduction. After the tour, Renfro said deciviews could be fairly accurately quantified. He said current studies of the park’s haziest days suggested an impairment in the range of 30 deciviews. He said natural visibility was in the range of 10 deciviews, suggesting that a reduction of 20 deciviews would be required to restore vistas to their natural state. “A four-deciview reduction is progress, though. And it would be a great place to start,” Renfro said. Environmentalists questioned Whitman’s 70-percent reduction figure. “We don’t have enough information to know if the EPA proposal will be tough enough to make a difference,” Stephen Smith of SACE said in a press conference sponsored by the environmental groups after the tour by Frist and Whitman. Smith said there is no documentation for the CSI. He said SACE’s reading of the initiative was that it would lead to a maximum 50-percent reduction in pollutants. “They talk about going to 70, but how?” questioned Smith. ‘We know there was a tougher proposal. We have details for S556 (the Clean Power Act which just passed committee in the Senate.) We think the Administration should get behind this bill,” Smith said.