EPA Finalizes Arkansas Plan for Cleaner Air in Federal Parks
Published Date: 8/27/2026
Rule
Summary
Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing approval of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Arkansas through the Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on August 8, 2022, clarified by DEQ on July 29, 2025, and further supplemented on May 4, 2026, to satisfy the requirements of the Act and the EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR) for visibility protection in mandatory Class I Federal areas (Class I areas) for the program's second implementation period. Arkansas' SIP submission addresses the requirement that States must revise their long-term strategies for making reasonable progress to prevent any future and remedy any existing man-made visibility impairment in the Class I areas. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to CAA sections 110 and 169A.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
EPA presumes progress when below URP
The EPA affirmed a policy that, if a mandatory Class I Federal area impacted by a State is below the uniform rate of progress (URP) and the State has considered the four statutory factors in CAA section 169A(g)(1), the State will be presumed to have demonstrated "reasonable progress" for the second implementation period. The EPA announced and applied this policy in this final action approving Arkansas' SIP; the rule is effective September 28, 2026.
FutureFuel ordered to use lower-sulfur coal
The EPA approved Arkansas' source-specific Administrative Order (LIS No. 22-085, dated August 3, 2022) requiring FutureFuel Chemical Company to switch its three coal-fired boilers (SN:6M01-01) from coal with 3.0 percent sulfur by weight to a low-sulfur coal with 1.5 percent sulfur (equating to 2.93 lb/MMBtu SO2). That source-specific requirement is incorporated into the Arkansas SIP and became federally enforceable as part of this final approval effective September 28, 2026.
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