Clearing Big Bend Air in Texas Will Take 146 Years

In this undated handout combination photo provided the the National Parks Service, the same view is...

In this undated handout combination photo provided the the National Parks Service, the same view is shown on different days at the Big Bend National Park in Texas, indicating the extent of visibility. Federal and state environmental officials agree that the haze, a cloud of pollution caused by factories and power plants hundreds or thousands of miles away in the U.S. and Mexico, needs to be cleaned up. But they differ, by about 91 years, on how long it should take. (AP Photo/National Park Service)

(AP)

Growing up in a speck of a desert town in the heart of Texas' Big Bend region, Delia White once had picturesque views of rugged mountains in every direction. On a clear day, she could see jagged peaks a 100 miles away.

But now, on most summer days, the 53-year-old convenience store owner in Terlingua can barely make out some of the highest peaks of the nearby Big Bend National Park.

"I remember clear views in every direction," White said on a recent hazy day.

The thick brown haze that hovers over the massive national park on warm days has been a problem for at least two decades, according to those who live in the area. And federal and state environmental officials agree that the cloud of pollution caused by factories and power plants hundreds or thousands of miles away in the U.S. and Mexico is a problem that needs to be cleaned up.

But officials differ, by about 91 years, on how long it should take.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked states to clean up areas they've dubbed "Regional Class I Areas," a group of sites that include national parks and other federal lands, by 2064.

But officials at the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality have decided it will likely take until 2155 to clear the air over the park.

Commission officials say the haze problem is complicated because the pollution is funneled to Big Bend by winds from east Texas, the Ohio River Valley and northeastern Mexico.

Dale Kemery, an EPA spokesman, said many states have missed the deadline to turn in regional haze plans. But of those that did, Texas is the only state to miss the 2064 target.

The lengthy plan, which includes reducing haze in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park by 2081, does not call for any pollution reductions for Texas facilities. It was unanimously approved by the three-member commission board last month.

Margaret Earnest, a commission planner, said specific reductions weren't necessary because other air quality plans already in place will eventually help cut haze at Big Bend and the Guadalupe Mountains.