Hawaii AG challenges EPA’s disapproval of HECO air pollution reduction plan

News admin July 23, 2026 0 Comments

Hawaii AG challenges EPA’s disapproval of HECO air pollution reduction plan

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez filed a petition challenging a federal ruling that disapproved of the state’s plan to work with Hawaiian Electric Company to reduce air pollution.

On Wednesday, Lopez filed a petition on behalf of the Hawaii Department of Health, challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

On May 29, the EPA issued a partial disapproval of Hawaii’s Regional Haze State Implementation Plan, or RHSIP, which required states to take actions to improve visibility and air quality around national parks under the Clean Air Act.

“Residents and visitors deserve to experience these parks with the natural air quality and visibility the RHSIP was intended to protect,” Lopez said. “We challenge EPA’s action because it is inconsistent with the goals of the RHSIP and is based on an unlawful interpretation of the Clean Air Act.”

State health officials had identified HECO’s Kanoelehua Hill, Kahului, Maalaea, and Puna generating stations as contributors of human-caused haze and air pollution around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Haleakala National Park.

Although HECO originally agreed to voluntarily retire its older and less efficient oil-burning units on Maui and Hawaii Island, the company retracted its commitment when the EPA changed administrations in 2025, Lopez reports.

“Our regional haze plan was tailored to Hawaii’s unique circumstances and developed through years of collaboration to improve air quality in and around our state’s national parks,” said Deputy Director for Environmental Health Kathleen Ho.

The state is not the only stakeholder taking action against the EPA’s ruling.

A coalition of environmental and public health organizations, including Earthjustice, also filed a court challenge of the EPA’s decision on Wednesday.

“At HECO’s request, EPA jumped all over this chance to trash the law, pollute the environment, and keep Hawaii consumers stuck paying the skyrocketing bills for imported fossil fuels,” said Isaac Moriwake, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s Mid-Pacific Office.

According to a statement released by Earthjustice, more than a year after finalizing its plan with the state, HECO sent a letter to the EPA in August of 2025 asking the agency to disapprove the RHSIP, citing “grid reliability” concerns.

“The Trump EPA is handing polluters another free pass while Americans are denied the enjoyment of our beautiful national parks, and families are left breathing dirtier air,” said Abi Vijayan, senior climate attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.