EPA SEEKS TO WEAKEN -“CLEAN AIR FOR PARKS”

Comment Deadline: December 1, 2025

Tell EPA Not to Weaken the “Clean Air for Parks” / Regional Haze Rule

EPA has released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) titled:
“Visibility Protection: Regional Haze State Plan Requirements Rule Revision.”
This is the first step toward weakening the long-standing Regional Haze Rule, also known as the “Clean Air for Parks” Rule, which protects visibility and air quality in America’s national parks and wilderness areas.

EPA has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) titled:
“Visibility Protection: Regional Haze State Plan Requirements Rule Revision” (Docket ID EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-1477). Federal Register+1

EPA is taking public comment until December 1, 2025.

This rule protects Class I wilderness areas, national parks, wildlife, and nearby communities from visibility-impairing and health-damaging pollution—including particulate pollution from power plants, industrial facilities, oil and gas operations, and transportation.
Weakened protections would let major polluters off the hook and threaten the clean air, scenic vistas, and public health of millions of people who visit or live near these special places.

Why This Matters Locally

• South Dakota contains two Class I federal areas under the Regional Haze Rule: Badlands National Park and Wind Cave National Park. Ag and Natural Resources+1

• These designations mean that haze-causing pollutants—fine particulates, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide—from far-away sources can degrade visibility, harm wildlife, and impact visitor experience locally. National Park Service

• If the rule is weakened, it could reduce the obligation of polluters and states to clean up emissions that impair our local scenic vistas and air quality.

Useful Links & Sample Letters

• Federal Register notice for the ANPRM: Federal Register Vol. 90, No. 19280, Oct 2 2025

• Sample comment templates and NGO resources:

  • League of Conservation Voters (LCV) overview of regional haze issue: LCV – Regional Haze Air Pollution

  • National Parks Conservation Association & other groups’ letters: see PDF resources like “Letter to EPA About the Regional Haze Rule, July 11 2023” Moms Clean Air Force

How to Comment

Go to the official Federal Register docket:
https://www.regulations.gov/

How to Submit Comments

You may comment via electronic submission or mail. Please act by December 1, 2025.

Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Docket Center
Mail Code 28221T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460

(Make sure to reference Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-1477 on your envelope)

Online / Electronic submission:

• Visit: Submit a comment to docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-1477

   

  We assume comments must be received by midnight on December 1st. We have not read the announcement to check on those details however. Sometimes postal mail needs to be received or postmarked (it can vary).