Western Regional Air Partnership News
Issue #2 - December, 2001
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Highlights of this Issue:
Fire Emissions Joint Forum / Policy for
Categorizing Fire Emissions
The WRAP's Fire Emissions
Joint Forum develops policy and technical tools to address smoke
effects caused by wildland and agricultural fire on public, tribal
and private lands. At the November board meeting, the WRAP approved
the forum's Policy for Categorizing Fire Emissions that will
be used by Western states and tribes to determine which fire emissions
will be considered "natural" for the purposes of Regional
Haze planning in the West. The "Classification Criteria" section
of the policy provides guidance on determining 'natural' and 'anthropogenic'
sources of fire. The "Program Management" section states
that all types of fire must be managed to minimize visibility impacts
in order to assure equity among the different fire source types and
other air pollution sources.
The Fire Emissions Joint Forum
is developing a number of additional policy and technical tools,
including guidance on enhanced smoke management plan elements,
recommendations for the creation of an annual emissions goal,
availability and feasibility of alternatives to burning, recommendations
for managing fire emissions sources, and a methodology for tracking
fire emissions. The forum held early December meetings in San
Diego, Calif. and will meet in Tucson, Ariz., on February 6-7,
2002.
For more information on the work
by the Fire Emissions Joint Forum, please go to the FEJF Forum
Page on the WRAP Web site.
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November Boad Meeting
On November 14-15, the WRAP Board of Directors held its
semiannual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. An interactive
agenda and an index of meeting
documents are available.
Alaska Welcomed as Newest WRAP Member
The WRAP Board of Directors was pleased to welcome
the state of Alaska as the newest state partner in the WRAP. Alaska
will be represented on the WRAP Board by Tom Chapple, Director
of the Air
and Water Quality Division for the Alaska
Department of Environmental Conservation.
2002 Work Plan Approved
The WRAP Work Plan and Budget for 2002 was approved
by the Board of Directors. This update to the Work Plan continues
to lay the foundation of technical and policy tools needed by all
Western states and tribes for the preparation of their Regional
Haze plans, with an emphasis on critical path tasks needed for
Section 309 plans due by December 2003.
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SIP/TIP Templates Available
In the next several years, all states must develop a plan
to manage Regional Haze. Under contract to the WRAP, the Western
States Air Resources Council (WESTAR)
established a Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) Working
Group to develop SIP templates for use by states and for tribes in
their Tribal Implementation Plan or TIPs. These templates will assist
in meeting the requirements of the federal Regional Haze rule. The
Working Group was comprised of state SIP planners, federal land managers,
U.S. EPA, and tribal representatives. Over the course of 18 months,
the Working Group met to discuss regulatory requirements and draft
SIP templates to comply with the Regional Haze rule requirements
of 40 CFR 51.308 (the "national program") and 309 (based
on the work of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission).
In addition to developing SIP templates, the Working Group sought
to identify and characterize significant western state Regional
Haze SIP issues. As part of the process of developing the SIP templates,
the Working Group established liaisons with the WRAP to ensure
that state Regional Haze SIP requirements were identified and addressed
to the extent feasible in the WRAP process. This report is a compilation
of the work products by the Working Group, including SIP templates
for states choosing to meet the requirements of the Regional Haze
rule under either 40 CFR 51.308 or 51.309, and a summary of questions
and issues that need further discussion. A copy of this report
can be obtained at www.westar.org/haze_template.htm.
Additional efforts have been made to provide insights into the
opportunities for resolution of visibility issues with single sources
of pollution affecting visibility in federally protected areas.
Another component of Regional Haze plans addressing air pollution
from industrial sources is illustrated by seven case studies prepared
by a separate working group of state and federal staff members.
These case studies may assist states and tribes develop their own
Regional Haze plans and can be found at www.westar.org/RA%20BART%20Template.html.
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State of Arizona Stakeholders Recommend
Developing Plan Under Section 309
Through an extensive process administered by the Air Quality
Division of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ),
stakeholders reviewed the options for state implementation plans
development and came to a consensus recommendation that the Arizona
DEQ should develop a Regional Haze plan under Section 309 of the
federal rule. Section 309 of the federal rule is based on the work
of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission.
The stakeholders further recommended that Arizona utilize a stakeholder-based
process to address all 12 Class I National Parks and Wilderness
Areas in Arizona by December 31, 2003. As a result of this recommendation,
stakeholders will be initiating and supporting legislation to grant
the Department the authority necessary to submit a Section 309
implementation plan. Information on the background, process, options,
findings, and consensus recommendations of the Arizona Regional
Haze Stakeholders' Work Group can be found at www.adeq.state.az.us/environ/air/plan/haze.html under "Final
Report" at the bottom of the page.
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Tribal News and Meetings
The Tribal Data Development Work Group will meet January
8-9 in Phoenix, Arizona, to finalize the work plan for the upcoming
year's activities. The Work Group has contracted with the Institute
for Tribal Environmental Professionals at Northern Arizona University
to develop an Emission Inventory (EI) software template, which will
enable tribes to develop inventories even if they do not have an
EI specialist on staff, and to gather data so that tribes can better
assess the effect of WRAP policies. Contact Dr. John Cox or Ondrea
Barber for more information.
The National Tribal Environmental Council (NTEC),
the project co-manager of the WRAP, has entered a cooperative agreement
with EPA to establish a national tribal air quality organization
and to provide assistance and coordination to tribes on national-scale
air policy issues. See the NTEC Web site at www.ntec.org for
more information.
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WRAP Web Site
The WRAP web site is an excellent source of information
for WRAP members, participants, interested professionals and the
public alike. Just a brief visit to www.wrapair.org will
demonstrate the breadth of WRAP reports and information available
for review. Much of this information is valuable to anyone interested
in air quality. You will also find up-to-date information regarding
upcoming meetings of WRAP committees. The WRAP is proud to be assisting
other Regional Air Quality Management organizations around the country
with their web sites as well.
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Acknowledgments
The WRAP sends a boundless thank you to Jan Miller, who
recently stepped down as Co-Chair of the Communications Committee.
Jan has served in this capacity since the WRAP was formed in 1997,
building on her work in the same capacity for the Grand Canyon Visibility
Transport Commission beginning in the early 1990's. While Jan will
continue as a member of the committee, she will be turning her attention
to the development of Utah's Regional Haze plan. The WRAP Communications
Committee is pleased to welcome Dan Clark of Wyoming to the leadership
post Ms. Miller is vacating.
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Comments Welcomed
Comments? Do you have suggested topics for future newsletter
issues? Please feel free to send any suggestions or comments on our
newsletter to wrapnews@wrapair.org.
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