Montgomery, AL – The Environmental Protection Agency is reinstating a tougher air quality standard for Alabama.
The standard is once again a limit of 40 percent opacity on all visible emissions from Alabama industrial sites. Opacity of emissions indicates how much pollution is being released into the air.
In 2008, the EPA increased the amount of emissions from 19 major sources, including power plants, pulp and paper mills and chemical plants. The EPA allowed each facility to release emissions 24 times per day for up to six minutes, with no limit on opacity rate.
The EPA determined Wednesday that the decision does not comply with the Clean Air Act and is restoring the emissions rule back to the pre-2008 policy.
The Alabama Environmental Council says the decision will make air cleaner and healthier.
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