Western Regional Air Partnership
News
Issue #13 - Spring 2004
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In this Issue:
WRAP Board to Meet in April to Discuss
EPA Proposals
Air pollution reduction proposals introduced by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in January will be discussed at
a WRAP Board meeting April 6-7 in Tempe, AZ. The meeting
will begin April 6 at 1 p.m. and end at noon on April 7.
The WRAP Board will hear from its Stationary Sources Joint Forum
on the issue of extending EPA's proposed Interstate Air Quality
Rule to Western states for the purpose of addressing regional haze.
The Board will also receive an overview of the proposed mercury
rule from EPA and have a discussion of the proposal.
For a draft agenda and more information on the Board meeting please
go to www.wrapair.org.
Tribal Groups Organize Comments for Mercury
Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took comments
from tribal representatives at a March 11 meeting organized by
the National Tribal Environmental Council and National Tribal Air
Association to provide more information about the EPA's proposed
rule on mercury emissions at power plants. EPA is accepting comments
on its Utility Mercury Reductions proposal until April 30 and will
be holding a meeting in Denver on March 31. See www.epa.gov/mercury/pdfs/supphearingnotice.pdf.
Mercury is a toxin which attacks the nervous and reproductive
systems, primarily affecting young children, the elderly and pregnant
women. Coal-burning power plants are the largest source of human-generated
mercury emissions in the United States.
The proposed rule provides one of three options under the Clean
Air Act: (1) a requirement that utilities install maximum achievable
control technologies (under section 112); (2) a federally implemented
cap-and-trade program (under section 112(n)); or (3) an opt-in
and opt-out cap-and-trade program (under section 111) establishing
standards of performance limiting mercury emissions from new and
existing facilities.
NTEC and NTAA officials, concerned that the proposed rule was
developed without tribal input and that potential "hot spots" in
Indian Country were being ignored, arranged the March 11 meeting
in Denver with tribal representatives and other interested parties.
Anyone wishing more information or assistance in formulating comments
on the mercury proposal may contact Bob Gruenig, Air Quality Program
Director, at (505) 242-2175 or bgruenig@ntec.org,
or J. Stephen Hartsfield, NTAA Operations Coordinator, at (505)
242-2175 or shartsfield@ntec.org. Additional
information will be posted on the NTEC web site at www.ntec.org.
Technical Forums Outline Deliverables
and Schedules
At a January 26-27 Technical Summit in Tempe, AZ, members
of WRAP's Technical Oversight Committee and co-chairs from the
technical forums gathered to review work plans and schedules for
delivering results of their technical projects. As products become
available, the WRAP's new Attribution of Haze Work Group will compile
the results and develop descriptions for use by states and tribes
to show where emissions are originating. The "Attribution of Haze" report
is expected in January 2005.
As an input to the "Attribution of Haze" project, the WRAP's Air
Quality Modeling Forum proposes a June target to initially scope
out what types of pollution from what states and tribes are affecting
Class I areas (national parks and wilderness areas) in the West.
The apportionment of pollution sources will be further developed
by September or October to assign percentages of the total pollution
to either man-caused sources or natural sources. At the same time,
the Ambient Monitoring Forum's "Causes of Haze" project is analyzing
the composition of particles collected by Class I area monitors
to describe the source categories and air mass origins of the monitored
pollution.
Also reporting in at the Technical Summit were the Fire Emissions,
In and Near Forum, and Dust Forum and Emissions Forum, which also
provided information on products that they will have available
by mid-year. For example, the Emissions Forum is putting together
an Emissions Data Management System that tracks emissions, and
the Fire Emissions Joint Forum is preparing emissions inventories
for calendar year 2002. The In and Near Forum is finishing work
on its characterization of emission sources near all WRAP Class
I areas.
Tribal Data Development Work Group has
Source Apportionment Task
The Tribal Data Development Work Group (TDDWG) will be
conducting a source apportionment project similar to that being
developed by the Monitoring Forum's "Causes of Haze" project. The
TDDWG will focus on sources of pollution (places and types of pollution)
impacting reservations in the West, particularly those reservations
having Class I status. The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals
will work with the Desert Research Institute for the TDDWG on this
project.
Workshop Features Alaska Air Quality Plans
and RPO Coordination
WRAP's Modeling Workshop, which took place January 28-29
in Tempe, AZ, outlined a plan for modeling air quality in Alaska,
where geography and location serve to set it apart from other Western
states. The Workshop also featured discussions about coordinating
information among the various Regional Planning Organizations,
including CENRAP, MANE-VU, Midwest RPO and VISTAS. The various
RPOs share as wide a need for information as they share haze aerosols
that travel through the airsheds.
Fire Emissions Forum Releases Nonburning
Alternatives Report
In February, the Fire Emissions Joint Forum released a
report entitled "Nonburning Alternatives to Prescribed Wildfire
on Wildlands in the Western United States." The report includes
descriptions of nonburning alternatives and criteria for their
use as well as barriers to the use of these alternatives and possible
ways to lower these barriers. Recognizing that solutions and practices
vary from state to state and from wildland to wildland, the report
packages information to address the varied interests of landowners
and land managers as well as decision makers, environmental organizations,
and the general public. For a copy of the report, go to www.wrapair.org/forums/fejf/tasks/FEJFtask3.html.
North American Energy Summit Set for April
The Western Governors' Association (WGA) will hold a North
American Energy Summit April 14-16 in Albuquerque, NM, to move
the region forward in developing secure, affordable and environmentally
responsible energy systems. Participants from the United States,
Canada and Mexico will discuss and recommend actions on a range
of energy issues, including: the future of fossil fuels, expanding
use of renewable energy, improving energy efficiencies and promoting
investment in clean energy companies. Speakers and panelists include
governors and premiers and tribal and federal leaders from the
three countries. Space is limited, so attendees are encouraged
to register soon. To view the agenda and register online, visit
the WGA Web site at www.westgov.org.
New Tribal Caucus Coordinator Not New
to WRAP
Cathy Messerschmitt has accepted the position of Tribal
Caucus Coordinator/Regional Planning Organization Specialist for
the WRAP, according to Bob Gruenig, WRAP Co-Director and National
Tribal Environmental Council Air Quality Program Director.
Cathy is no stranger to the WRAP or to tribal environmental issues. She
is a former member of the WRAP's Fire Emissions Joint Forum and
previously served as the North Fork Rancheria's Environmental Department
Director. In working with the Rancheria, she represented the tribe's
environmental concerns at various regional and national levels
and helped establish a regional consortium of tribes to deal with
such concerns and issues. She also served with the U.S.D.A.
Forest Service for several years, being stationed in New Mexico,
Washington and California.
Cathy began her new position March 1 and may be reached at (505)
242-2175 or cmesserschmitt@ntec.org.
Committees Form to Work on Renewable Energy
Information System
"Western states need a system to issue, track and verify
renewable energy generation for use by state regulators and voluntary
green market programs," according to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. "Increasing
renewable energy in the West is a priority for me as WGA's Chairman."
Gov. Richardson was speaking about the Western Renewable Energy
Generation Information System (WREGIS), a joint project of the
California Energy Commission and the Western Governors' Association.
WREGIS is on schedule to establish by 2005 an independent tracking
system and registry for renewable energy certificates for the Western
electricity system.
The Western Regional Air Partnership has supported the WREGIS
project because of its potential to encourage renewable
energy development in the West and the contribution renewable energy
can make to reducing regional haze.
Four stakeholder groups are in the process of identifying the
system requirements and developing recommendations on a governance
structure, where WREGIS will be housed and how it will operate. The
groups are relying, in part, on information gleaned from the widely
distributed report entitled, "Needs Assessment for a Western Renewable
Energy Generation Information System." The stakeholder
committees include:
- a Stakeholder Advisory Committee to promote access by all
interested parties;
- an Institutional Committee to address the legal requirements
and policies needed to implement a tracking and registration
system in the West;
- an Operational Rules Committee to handle technical requirements
for WREGIS operations; and
- a Data Interface Subcommittee to determine requirements and
protocols for accessing the accurate generation information.
Stakeholders interested in reading the Needs Assessment report
or following the work of committees can do so via the Internet
at: www.westgov.org/wieb/wregis/ or
by joining the Working Group Listserve at: groups.yahoo.com/group/WREGIS-WG/join.
Comments? Questions?
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About the WRAP
The WRAP, a voluntary organization of Western states, tribes and
federal agencies, promotes, supports and monitors programs implementing
the Regional Haze Rule, including recommendations from the Grand
Canyon Visibility Transport Commission and other programs that
protect visibility throughout the West. For other information
about the WRAP or past issues of The WRAP Sheet, visit www.wrapair.org.
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