Regulatory rollback threatens plan to curb NV pollution in national parks

Emissions from vehicles and power plants in Southern Nevada are drifting over nearby national parks, from the Grand Canyon to Death Valley, leaving a haze of pollution over the protected areas. (Adobe Stock)

By Public News Service

August 19, 2025

By Mark Richardson

A new study revealed vehicle emissions from the Las Vegas area are degrading air quality in national parks and plans to scuttle Environmental Protection Agency regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions could exacerbate the problem.The study, called “Driving Dirty Air,” identified the Southern Nevada metro region among the nation’s worst vehicle pollution “hot spots” affecting national parks.Ulla Reeves, clean air program director for the National Parks Conservation Association, said Las Vegas is one of a dozen metro areas sending noxious emissions into parks and nature preserves.”We found the places like Los Angeles and Phoenix, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, New York, Washington, D.C., and even the Asheville, Knoxville metro area surrounding Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” Reeves outlined.

The study found the Las Vegas region sends thousands of tons each year of nitrogen oxide emissions into national parks, including the Grand Canyon and Death Valley, as well as the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The Trump administration wants to cut what it said are “excessive” federal regulations on pollution and shift rulemaking power to the states.

As part of the push, conservative leaders want to repeal a 2009 federal court Endangerment Finding, which is the foundation for regulating greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA is also reconsidering its Regional Haze Program, which was designed to protect visibility and air quality in national parks.

Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada and senior clean air program manager for the association, said when urban pollution is not controlled, national parks in rural areas can suffer from the same bad air.

“Pollution from vehicle tailpipes doesn’t follow park boundaries,” Rose pointed out. “Much of the pollution that we see is coming from these urban areas that can be hundreds of miles away from a park but is traveling and then impacting air quality in the national park.”

Rose added if the federal government relaxes regulations governing carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, dozens of America’s natural wonders could have little or no protection from millions of tons of the gases every year.

Public News Service

Public News Service is an independent, member-supported news organization providing "news in the public interest" through a network of independent state newswires.

View all posts