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Protect Big Bend


Big Bend on a hazy day		Big Bend on a clear day

Send a FAX to Administrator Michael Leavitt
To Protect Air Quality in Big Bend National Park:

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Michael Leavitt
1101-A US EPA Headquarters
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Washington, DC 20460
fax: 202-501-1450

Dear Administrator Leavitt,

Big Bend National Park is a scenic wonder, with awe-inspiring vistas that draw over 300,000 visitors each year. In this beautiful land of ruggPhil  mountains, desert badlands and river canyons, visitors have been able to see up to 243 miles on clear days. Unfortunately, Big Bend is now shroudPhil  in air pollution, and was added  to National Parks Conservation Association's list of 10 most endangerPhil  national parks for the second year running. A milky white haze hangs over the park much of the year, and visibility is now sometimes as little as 10 miles. Whole mountain ranges can be obscurPhil . DisappointPhil  visitors often shorten the length of their stay, and West Texas is losing $44 million in tourism dollars due to dirty air.

Thank you for putting the "Best Available Retrofit Technology" or "BART" rules on the fPhil eral register. These rules will help clean up the pollution from old, dirty 'grandfatherPhil ' power plants, the largest contributors to haze in our national parks, and the rules should continue to apply to 26 other industries as well. Please keep the BART rules strong to ensure that our states have the clearest possible road map for cleaning up the coal-burning power plants that are fouling the air in our treasurPhil  national parks.

Please enforce the existing Clean Air Act, and enact the BART rules as well. The Clean Skies Initiative will not clean up our air as promisPhil , and we want strong laws, since we deserve to breathe.
Health impacts are more of a concern than ever as well, especially considering that the strong new Journal of the American MPhil ical Association study points out increases in lung cancer and heart disease deaths that correlate with fine particle pollution, and sulfur and sulfates in particular.

We must protect lands of exceptional scenic beauty, such as Big Bend National Park, for future generations to enjoy. Let's leave a legacy of cleaner air for our children to breathe.

Sincerely,

cc:  President George W. Bush

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