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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Critics fear the Environmental Protection Agency intends to make it easier to build polluting coal-fired power plants near national parks.
Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee tells The Associated Press the EPA proposal is "full of errors" and he is building a bipartisan coalition to overturn it if it's adopted.
The EPA proposes to issue permits for new projects based on annual average air pollution instead of peak periods of emissions. An agency spokeswoman says the rule won't result in more pollution.
More than 20 coal-fueled power plants are under construction and more than 100 planned.
Democratic senators from Delaware, Maryland, Colorado and Montana and Republicans from New Hampshire, North Carolina and Virginia have joined Alexander's opposition.
Conservationists say the change could hurt the Smokies in Tennessee and North Carolina, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Shenandoah in Virginia.