Northwest Environmental Advocates--Programs

Washington's Visibility Program

Washington State has never even performed the first step, the visibility study, in violation of both federal rules and its own SIP. The federal agencies, however, have formally certified that Mt. Rainier National Park is suffering from visibility impairment. These certifications require the Department of Ecology to take the second step, identification of the responsible sources, which it also has not done. Moreover, the Park Service and the Forest Service have certified that Centralia is a significant contributor to the visibility impairment which requires Ecology to take the final step, a BART review.

Not only has the Department of Ecology not undertaken a BART review, but its daughter agency SWAPCA attempted in March 1996 to rescind the very first regulatory order calling for pollution controls in the entire history of Centralia's operation. In a 1995 process known as a RACT Review, standing for "Reasonably Available Control Technology," SWAPCA had reluctantly required installation of scrubbers on just one of Centralia's two units by the year 2002. When it appeared that a citizen's challenge to the RACT order's sufficiency might be successful, SWAPCA attempted to blackmail the citizen into accepting delays by threatening to remove its order altogether. However, the recission was not allowed and the RACT order appeal continues.

133 SW 2^nd Ave., Portland, OR 97204-3526 (503) 295-0490 FAX 295-6634