Group calls for reductions in pollutants

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Posted 6:45PM on Monday, September 2, 2002

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - Pollutants that cause acid rain, haze and smog should be cut to protect the southern Appalachian Mountains, a 10-year study says. The Southern Appalachian Mountains Initiative, a group involving Virginia and seven other Southeastern states, released the study last week. The report calls for reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides chemicals produced largely by old, coal-fired power plants but does not suggest specific amounts or target dates for the cuts. ``In essence, the report describes the problems but doesn't make any strong recommendations to fix the problems,'' said Monica D. Gibson, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville. But the group's director, Tom Elmore, said it ``accomplished a great deal.'' He said that when the group was formed, there was debate about whehter there was even a problem with pollution in the mountains. ``Now there is broad agreement that, yes, there is a problem related to air quality,'' he said. The report didn't go as far as some environmentalists wanted, ``but it went further than perhaps the industry representatives had in mind,'' Elmore said. The Southern Appalachian Mountains Initiative, or SAMI, consists of state and federal regulators, industry representatives, environmentalists and academics. The group is disbanding now that its report has been completed. The group was formed in 1992 to deal with air pollution in mountain parks and wilderness areas. Those areas, including the Shenandoah National Park and the James River Face wilderness area in Virginia, are supposed to receive special protections from air pollution under federal law. Scientists for the group performed detailed analyses of pollutants that cause acid rain, haze and ozone, the main chemical in smog. Acid rain can damage otherwise pristine mountain streams. Haze is partially natural, but the study found that most mountain haze is caused by sulfate particles sulfur-based pollution produced mainly by coal burning. Ozone can hurt some sensitive trees, such as tulip poplars and black cherries, but it does not cause widespread tree damage, the study said. Ozone can also cause breathing problems for mountain visitors. Dan Genest, a spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power, called the SAMI study ``an important advancement in the overall understanding of the effects of air quality on forests, streams and visibility.'' Dominion already is doing a lot to reduce sulfur and nitrogen pollution, spending more than $1 billion for new controls over a 10-year period that started in 2000, Genest said. Environmentalists said that is not enough. States in the group are Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. John M. Daniel Jr., Virginia's air pollution director, called the study ``a pretty good summary and a pretty good basis'' for action. He said states in the group want Congress to require pollution cuts. Without uniform national rules, some states could allow more pollution, and that pollution could drift to neighboring states, Daniel said.