Sierra Club Appeals EPA Approval of South Carolina’s Do-Nothing Pollution Plan

COLUMBIA, S.C.- The Sierra Club appealed the EPA's approval of South Carolina's do-nothing plan to reduce air pollution at our country's most wild and scenic national parks and wilderness areas. The Congressionally-approved Regional Haze program of the Clean Air Act is intended to reduce air pollution, including from coal plants, that impair visibility at our most prized public lands.

South Carolina's plan arbitrarily and unlawfully failed to follow the rules established in the Regional Haze Rule and Clean Air Act. Both South Carolina and EPA determined that no pollution controls were necessary at any of the state's coal plants, including Santee Cooper's Winyah, despite the plants' contribution to visibility impairment. In total, 19 industrial facilitiesthroughout the state are negatively affecting visibility at 22 different national parks or wilderness areas, including the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. Additionally, 90 facilities around the country are negatively impacting Cape Romain.

Sierra Club filed this challenge following its appeal to EPA's approval of West Virginia's regional haze plan last year. The petition to appeal can be found here.

Statement from Paul Black, Sierra Club's Senior Campaign Organizer in South Carolina:

"We are appealing because South Carolina and Trump's EPA refuse to play by the rules that Congress established, and we look forward to our day in court. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration is handing out presidential pardons to pollute and regular people are stuck paying for it with our lungs. Public lands like Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge belong to all of us. They are federally protected for good reasons, and they should not be the dumping ground for the state's largest polluters."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.