The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to disapprove West Virginia's plan to address regional haze in national parks and wilderness areas. The EPA argues that West Virginia didn't properly analyze which pollution control measures are necessary to make reasonable progress toward improving visibility, as required by the Clean Air Act. The EPA's proposed disapproval doesn’t immediately impose any penalties on West Virginia, but it does start a two-year period during which the EPA must create its own plan if West Virginia doesn't correct the identified issues. Public comments on this proposal are being accepted until February 20, 2025.
Simple Explanation
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thinks West Virginia didn't do a good enough job of figuring out how to make the air clearer in parks, so they're planning to say "no" to West Virginia's plan, and if it's not fixed, the EPA will make its own plan in two years.