Regional Haze
Regional Haze Progress Report: DEQ has a periodic progress report for Planning Period 2 available for public review through February 24, 2025. More details including how to submit comments are listed in the Public Notice below.
Regional Haze Program and RH SIP Submittals
The Regional Haze Program is a long-term national program designed to protect current visibility conditions at treasured areas that have been designated as Federal Class I Areas, and to restore visibility to natural conditions at those impacted by man-made sources. The Wichita Mountains Wilderness Area (WMWA) in Comanche County is Oklahoma’s only Class I Area.
Oklahoma implements the Regional Haze Program through State Implementation Plans (SIPs) in accordance with the federal Regional Haze Rule (40 CFR Part 51, Subpart P, Protection of Visibility). A comprehensive SIP revision is required every ten years to update the state’s plan to meet reasonable progress goals in the following ten-year period, also called the Planning Period. Each RH SIP must address visibility conditions at the Wichita Mountains Wilderness Area, and any other Class I area at which Oklahoma may contribute to impairment.
The Regional Haze Program is helping to improve the view at the Wichita Mountains Wilderness Area, Oklahoma’s only federally-designated Class I area, located within the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Comanche County, near Fort Sill & Lawton, OK. It is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Air Quality Division continually works with the Federal Land Managers (FLMs), EPA, and our regional-state partnerships, especially through the Central States Air Resource Agencies (CenSARA), to develop a long-term strategy for meeting natural visibility conditions by 2064.