The National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, and Earthjustice have filed a lawsuit against the EPA challenging its approval of West Virginia's Regional Haze State Implementation Plan.
This plan was approved despite concerns from conservation groups that it would allow states to bypass the Clean Air Act's foundational requirement.
The plan relies on a Trump-era policy change that would permit states to deviate from the standard approach to reducing haze pollution.
Conservation groups argue that this approach is unlawful and would amount to a rewrite of the Clean Air Act.
If the court doesn't grant the petition, national parks such as Dolly Sods and Otter Creek in West Virginia may see increased risk of poor air quality.
The EPA's approval of the plan has been criticized for failing to require additional controls at coal plants that are among the state's highest-polluting facilities.
This lawsuit marks the first challenge to the policy change, which has been used to propose approvals of insufficient haze plans in several other states and disapprovals of states that aimed to reduce their haze pollution.
The court's decision will have significant implications for national parks and wilderness areas across the country.
The outcome of this case highlights the ongoing struggle between environmental protection and economic development in the United States.
The Clean Air Act requires states to make reasonable progress toward preventing or remedying impairments to visibility in national parks and wilderness areas.
