Coalition Demands Alabama Revise Air Plan That Lets Big Polluters Off the Hook

MONTGOMERY, AL - A coalition of six organizations submitted a letter to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), demanding better protections for Alabamians in the department's air pollution reduction plan.

The proposed regional haze state implementation plan, or SIP, fails to meet the standards of the Clean Air Act, putting the health and wellbeing of public lands and communities at risk. The SIP relies on a flawed and faulty analysis, uses outdated data, refuses to analyze cost-effective pollution controls or optimization of existing controls, and excludes review of several major industries that contribute to regional haze. The SIP does not include any tangible commitments to retire or limit the use of coal, and utterly ignores the impacts on low-income communities and communities of color who are already facing horrific impacts from neighboring coal plants.

Click here to read the letter.

The ADEM has ignored its obligations to reduce pollution and failed the people of Alabama. By better protecting the air, the ADEM would not only be protecting the beauty of our state's national parks and the health of our neighborhoods, but it would be protecting the $132 million tourism industry within Alabama.

Organizations signing the letter include the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, GASP, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition, the Sierra Club, and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). The organizations submitted the letter on Nov. 7, 2025.

Statement from Nancy Muse, Sierra Club Alabama Chapter Chair:

"It's not radical to think every Alabamian deserves clean, breathable air, but ADEM's proposed plan refuses to even try and protect our air. The same pollution that clouds the beauty of the Sipsey Wilderness is harming families who live in the shadow of these facilities- causing asthma attacks, heart disease, and other serious health problems. ADEM has a responsibility to protect the people of Alabama, not the industries polluting our air. We're calling on the agency to put public health first and deliver a plan that truly clears the air for everyone."

Statement from Jilisa Milton, Executive Director of GASP:

"Once again, ADEM has refused to consider additional pollution controls for some of the most polluting sources in Jefferson County and throughout the state. The pollution from these sources impacts our state and national wild areas as well as the communities that live near them. Alabama must revise its proposed regional haze plan to address haze-causing pollution and advance healthy air in the Greater-Birmingham area and throughout Alabama."

Statement from Eboni Preston Goddard, Southeast Regional Director, National Parks Conservation Association:

"National parks and communities across Alabama deserve clean air and clear views, yet ADEM's regional haze plan falls far short of the state's obligation to cut park-harming pollution. ADEM's plan fails to reduce controllable haze pollution and improve air quality for Alabamians and special places like Sipsey Wilderness Area and Great Smoky Mountains National Park."

Statement from Jaclyn Brass, a staff attorney in SELC's Alabama office:

"Alabama has a duty to protect families and safeguard our state's beauty and incredible natural treasures for our children and their children. This plan, relying on flawed modeling and failing to consider the impact of haze-causing pollution on communities, does not do enough to ensure clear, healthy air for Alabamians."

Statement from Emily Thompson, Executive Director, Coalition to Protect America's National Parks:

"Millions of people visit our national parks each year to enjoy spectacular scenery, vital natural habitats, and exceptional night skies. Yet ADEM's regional haze plan leaves national parks - and communities in Alabama - vulnerable to the impacts of pollution. Our parks and our people deserve a plan that truly protects public health and preserves these iconic landscapes for future generations."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.

About the Southern Environmental Law Center

The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation's most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region's air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 200, including more than 130 legal and policy experts, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. selc.org

About the National Parks Conservation Association

National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is a national organization whose mission is to protect and enhance America's national parks for present and future generations. NPCA has over 1.2 million members and supporters nationwide, including more than 10,000 in Alabama, with its main office in Washington, D.C. and 24 regional and field offices. NPCA is active nationwide in advocating for strong air quality requirements to protect our parks, including submission of petitions and comments relating to visibility issues, regional haze SIPs, climate change and emissions from individual power plants and other sources of pollution affecting national parks and communities. NPCA's members live near, work at, and recreate in all the national parks, including those directly affected by emissions from Alabama's sources.

About the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks

The Coalition to Protect America's National Parks represents over 4,600 current, former, and retired employees and volunteers of the National Park Service, with over 50,000 collective years of stewardship of America's most precious natural and cultural resources. Recognized as the Voices of Experience, the Coalition educates, speaks, and acts for the preservation and protection of the National Park System, and mission-related programs of the National Park Service. More information can be found at https://protectnps.org