EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AIR-QUALITY MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE CLASS-I AREA OF GREAT-SMOKY-MOUNTAINS-NATIONAL-PARK

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 designated national parks and wil derness areas larger than 1894 ha to be class I areas for air quality management, setting more restrictive criteria than the National Ambien t Air Quality Standards. Class I areas are afforded the greatest degre e of air quality protection under the Clear Air Act of 1970. In recent years, several studies have documented air pollution effects in the G reat Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), the second-largest class I area in the eastern United States. Air pollution problems of greatest concern in the GSMNP are effects of acid deposition, visibility impai rment, and tropospheric ozone. Several recent events have increased co ncerns about air quality management in the class I area of the GSMNP. A forum, sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere C ooperative (SAMAB), was held in March 1992, which involved representat ive parties-at-interest and began to address strategies for better man agement of air resources in the Southern Appalachians. This paper summ arizes those discussions and recommendations and reports actions occur ring as a result of the forum. Another objective of this paper is to p resent a conceptual framework for more effective management of the cla ss I area of the GSMNP.