Regional Haze

Regional Haze is defined as visibility impairment that is caused by the emission of air pollutants from numerous sources located over a wide geographic area. Because of the harm that haze does to visibility in National Parks and wilderness areas, many efforts to control and reduce man-made haze, and the air pollutants that cause it, are under way - through national laws and regional collaboration.

The City of Albuquerque Air Quality Division participates as a member of the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) .  WRAP is an organization of states tribes, federal agencies and other interested parties that identify regional haze, and visibility issues as well as develops strategies to address them.  WRAP states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. 

• Fact Sheet on WRAP
• Learn more about the broad science of regional haze! (3.1MB)
• Visibility in our Nation’s Parks and Recreation Areas
• Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE)
• EPA's Regional Haze Program
• Guidance for Tracking Progress Under the Regional Haze Rule (3.34MB)

Draft Regulations

• 06/28/08 Regional Haze Public Review Draft
• Regional Haze SIP Appendices
• 06/28/08 NMAC 20.11.46 Public Review Draft
• Visibility Analysis Package
• Addendum To Appendix 2007-H
• Web Figures
• RHR Floor Amendment #1

20.11.46 NMAC implements the western backstop SO2 trading program (“WEB trading program”) provisions required under the federal Regional Haze Regulation, 40 CFR 51.309, the Albuquerque-Bernalillo county element of the state of New Mexico’s regional haze implementation plan and related requirements associated with the time period prior to the WEB trading program trigger date.

Regulating Regional Haze

As required by the Federal Clean Air Act, states must submit a plan to the Environmental Protection Agency to outline how the state and the regulated community will address a particular air quality issue.

In November 2003, the City Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board, along with the State of New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board , elected to meet federal regional haze visibility requirements by submitting an implementation plan that complies with the requirements of 40 CFR 51.309 Regional Haze Regulations; Final Rule (576KB) .

• Regional Haze Rule Fact Sheet (127KB)

Questions on the State Implementation Plan can be directed to Mr. Neal Butt at (505)768-2660 or Nbutt@cabq.gov.

Regional Haze Reports

• DRAFT 2005 Regional SO2 Emissions and Milestone Report (185kb)
  This report compares the 2003-2005 sulfur dioxide emissions with the 2005 milestone for the five-state region participating in the Western Emissions Backstop Trading Program. Only stationary sources emitting greater than 100 tons per year are included in the program. The 2003-2005 average emissions were about 27% below the milestone for the five states.

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