The blue skies and scenic vistas of New Mexico are considered to be some of the most beautiful in the United States, but air pollution can threaten those views. Human-caused pollution of varied concentrations and sizes in the atmosphere can, along with natural events like dust storms and wildfires, impair or reduce visibility. Widespread visibility impairment caused by man-made pollutants over a broad geographic area is known as regional haze.
Current Regional Haze Activity: December 12, 2024 Update
The regional haze state implementation plan and rulemaking hearing before the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board scheduled to begin on December 18, 2024, has been cancelled and all associated prehearing deadlines have been set aside. By order of the hearing officer, the hearing has been reset for April 28-30, 2025. New prehearing deadlines will be established in a future order, which will be posted on NMED’s docketed matters page under “EIB 24-49: In the Matter of Regional Haze State Implementation Plan Revision for the Second Planning Period and Proposed Companion Rule 20.2.68 NMAC – Regional Haze Requirements.” A new notice of proposed rulemaking will be provided to the public at least 60 days prior to the new hearing date, in accordance with the Board’s rulemaking procedures.
Links to the proposed plan and rule are provided below. NMED is currently in the process of revising these documents in response to stakeholder comments and plans to release revised versions soon. More information will be provided here as soon as it is available.
- Proposed Regional Haze State Implementation Plan Revision
- Proposed Rule 20.2.68 NMAC – Regional Haze Requirements
From now until the conclusion of the hearing, comments may be submitted via the NMED public comment portal or via electronic or physical mail to Pamela Jones, Board Administrator, P.O. Box 5469, Santa Fe, NM 87502, pamela.jones@env.nm.gov.
Prior to petitioning the Board, NMED held two stakeholder engagement webinars to discuss the draft Regional Haze plan and new companion rule. Links to the webinar recording and presentation slides are provided below.
- September 10, 2024 Regional Haze Webinar Recording (31 minutes) is a recording of the informational portion of the webinar.
- Overview on NMED Regional Haze Draft SIPr and Rule Slides provides the visual presentation of the webinars.
EPA Requirements on Regional Haze
EPA’s Regional Haze program addresses reduced visibility in national parks and wilderness areas. EPA refers to these areas as “Class I Areas.” There are 156 of these, 116 of which are in Western states.
New Mexico has 9 mandatory federal Class I Areas:
- Bandelier Wilderness Area
- Bosque del Apache Wilderness Area
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park
- Gila Wilderness Area
- Pecos Wilderness Area (southern part) (Northern Pecos Wilderness)
- Salt Creek Wilderness Area
- San Pedro Parks Wilderness Area
- Wheeler Peak Wilderness Area
- White Mountain Wilderness Area
New Mexico is required to develop and submit to EPA its own regional haze plans. NMED cooperates with the City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department (EHD), which implements air quality regulations in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Because NMED and EHD have separate jurisdictions, they submit separate Regional Haze State Implementation Plans to EPA.
Outreach, Education, and Engagement (Historical)
Public comment is an important part of the regional haze planning process. Regional haze planning is currently in the second implementation period of planning. Resources for outreach, education, and comments received are identified below.
- NM Regional Haze Guiding Principles describes the strategy and goals New Mexico focuses on for addressing regional haze.
- NMED Air Quality Bureau Stakeholder Engagement: Regional Haze & Other Emerging Topics, Feb. 23, 2023 (video, 2 hours 1 minute) is part 1 of NM 2023 regional haze stakeholder re-engagement 3-part series. (Regional Haze and Emerging Issues Slides, Feb. 23, 2023).
- NMED Air Quality Bureau Stakeholder Engagement: Regional Haze & Other Emerging Topics, March 30, 2023 (video, 2 hours 17 minutes. Start of meeting is at 27:30) is part 2 of NM 2023 regional haze stakeholder re-engagement series. (Regional Haze and Emerging Issues Slides, March 30, 2023).
- NMED Air Quality Bureau Stakeholder Engagement: Regional Haze & Other Emerging Topics, April 27, 2023 (video, 1 hours 6 minutes.) is part 3 of NM 2023 regional haze stakeholder re-engagement series. (Regional Haze and Emerging Issues Slides, April 27, 2023).
- Regional Haze Stakeholder Comments provides a folder of the comments from the public about regional haze.
For inquiries related to the development of the NM Regional Haze SIP, contact Mark Jones at 505-629-6626 or mark.jones@env.nm.gov. For inquiries related to the Albuquerque – Bernalillo County Regional Haze SIP, contact Allen Smith, City of Albuquerque at 505-768-2637 or morgansmith@cabq.gov. Input on New Mexico’s Regional Haze Planning can also be sent to nm.regionalhaze@env.nm.gov.
Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) Analysis and Planning Support
Regional Sulfur Dioxide Emissions and Milestone Reports
New Mexico’s State Implementation Plan for regional haze, adopted by the Environmental Improvement Board on November 18, 2003, requires that New Mexico coordinate with Utah, Wyoming and the City of Albuquerque in producing an annual report to determine if emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from large industrial sources are less than the emissions milestone set in the plan. The Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) compiles the emissions data from the three states and the City of Albuquerque into a single report for submittal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Final Regional Sulfur Dioxide Emissions and Milestone Reports are available at https://www.westar.org/regional-haze/.