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REGIONAL PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS (RPOs)
What are Regional Planning Organizations (RPOs)?
Regional Planning Organizations (RPOs) generally act as a forum for state, tribal,
local, and regional air pollution control representatives.
RPOs work to develop strategies to address regional-scale air quality issues,
focusing primarily on visibility improvement and related issues such
as regional haze, acid deposition, and pollution transport.
RPOs support research, policy development, training and technical assistance,
and other activities that help achieve the mission of their programs.
There are several organizations that can be considered RPOs, however,
only five RPOs receive funding
from the USEPA in order to conduct their activities.
Western Regional Air Partnership
(WRAP) covers areas within the boundaries of WA, OR, CA, ID, MT, NV, AZ, UT, WY, CO, NM, ND, and SD.
Central States Regional Air Planning
Association (CenRAP) covers areas within the boundaries of NE, KS, OK, TX, MN, IA, MO, AR, and LA. CenRAP is
affiliated with the Central States Air Resources Agencies (CenSARA).
Midwest Regional Planning
Organization (Midwest RPO) covers the areas within the boundaries of IL, IN, MI, OH and WI. The Midwest RPO is
affiliated with the Lake Michigan Air Director’s
Consortium (LADCO)
Ozone Transport Commission (OTC)
covers the areas within the boundaries of ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, PA, NJ, MD, DE, and Washington D.C.
Southeast States Air Resource Managers (SESARM) covers the areas within the boundaries
of FL, MS, AL, GA, SC, NC, TN, KY, VA and WV.
GENERAL EXTERNAL RPO LINKS: |
Southern Appalachian
Mountains Initiative (SAMI) |
Contains general information about SAMI and links to SAMI activities,
reports, and contact information. SAMI covers the areas within AL,
GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, VA, and WV. Topics include: integrated assessment,
education and outreach, visibility, ozone, acid rain, and more. |
Northeast States
for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) |
Contains links to resources, programs, partners, contact information,
news, etc. NESCAUM covers the areas within NY, NJ, CT, RI, MA, VT,
NH, and ME. Topics include: regional haze, criteria pollutants,
acid deposition, smog, CAA, and many more. |
Mid-Atlantic Regional
Air Management Association (MARAMA) |
Contains information on and links to MARAMA contacts, news, resources,
etc. MARAMA covers the areas within Washington DC, DE, MD, NJ, NC,
PA, VA, and WV. Topics include: ozone, regional haze, emissions
inventories, Requests for Proposals, and more. |
Western States
Air Resources Council (WESTAR) |
Contains links to information about WESTAR programs, activities,
documents and reports, training, committees and work groups, member
states and related websites. Topics include: air pollution training,
and more. |
How can tribes benefit from being involved in RPOs?
Tribal involvement in RPOs is not only beneficial for regional air quality assessments, planning efforts,
and policy-making, it can also benefit the tribes who are involved in RPOs. Tribal staff can attend conferences, trainings,
seminars, and other events sponsored by RPOs, in order to:
Gain understanding of regional air quality issues
Provide insight on tribal concerns
Participate in committees, work groups, and research or other data gathering efforts
Take advantage of the technical and financial services many RPOs provide
Enhance the efforts of RPOs in bringing together air pollution control entities to address
issues of transboundary air pollution
Network with other groups and individuals involved in controlling air pollution
Apart from direct involvement with
RPOs, tribes can collect air quality data, from emissions inventories
and air monitoring, and make this data available to RPOs for their research
and policy planning efforts. The Tribal Data Development Working Group (TDDWG) [TDDWG]is a working group of the
WRAP that is supporting efforts to help fill air quality data gaps in
Indian Country. Tribes interested in air quality should investigate the various resources available through RPOs.
GENERAL EXTERNAL LINKS: |
Western Regional
Air Partnership (WRAP) |
Contains general information and links to news, resources, tools,
policy, contacts and committees, and more. WRAP covers the areas
within WA OR, ID, MT, WY, ND, SD, CA, NV, UT, CO, AZ, and NM. Topics
include: monitoring, smoke management, emissions, modeling, regional
haze, an much more. |
Tribal
Data Development Working Group (TDDWG) |
Contains information about the TDDWG, links to meeting minutes,
reports, and the rest of the WRAP site. Topics include: WRAP, tribal
air quality data, and more. |
Western States
Air Resources Council (WESTAR) |
Contains links to information about WESTAR programs, activities,
documents and reports, training, committees and work groups, member
states and related websites. Topics include: air pollution training,
and more. |
Central States
Regional Air Planning Association (CenRAP) |
Contains general information, and links to CenSARA, OTC, WRAP,
and Midwest RPO, and other contact information. CenRAP covers the
areas within NE, KS, OK, TX, MN, IA, MO, AR, and LA. Topics include:
Requests For Proposals, Best Available Retrofit Technology, current
events, presentations, and more. |
Central States
Air Resources Agencies (CenSARA) |
Contains general information, and links to training schedules,
CenRAP, member states websites, and other sites. CenSARA covers
the areas within NE, KS, OK, TX, MN, IA, MO, AR, and LA. Topics
include: Requests For Proposals, training, and contact information. |
Midwest
Regional Planning Organization (Midwest RPO) |
Contains links to training, news, technical activities, contacts,
and other resources. Midwest RPO covers the areas within IL, IN,
MI, OH and WI. Topics include: regional haze, modeling, visibility, and more. |
Lake
Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO) |
Contains links to training, news, technical activities, contacts,
and other resources. LADCO covers the areas within IL, IN, MI, and
WI. Topics include: emissions modeling, photochemical modeling,
monitoring, data analysis, air toxics, and more. |
Ozone Transport
Commission (OTC) |
Contains links to news, contacts, members, Requests for Proposals,
and other activities of the OTC. The OTC covers areas within Washington
DC, VA, MD, DE, NJ, PA, NY, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, and ME. Topics include:
ozone, NOx, VOC, regional haze, and more. |
Southern Appalachian
Mountains Initiative (SAMI) |
Contains general information about SAMI and links to SAMI activities,
reports, and contact information. SAMI covers the areas within AL,
GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, VA, and WV. Topics include: integrated assessment,
education and outreach, visibility, ozone, acid rain, and more. |
Northeast States
for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) |
Contains links to resources, programs, partners, contact information,
news, etc. NESCAUM covers the areas within NY, NJ, CT, RI, MA, VT,
NH, and ME. Topics include: regional haze, criteria pollutants,
acid deposition, smog, CAA, and many more. |
Mid-Atlantic Regional
Air Management Association (MARAMA) |
Contains information on and links to MARAMA contacts, news, resources,
etc. MARAMA covers the areas within Washington DC, DE, MD, NJ, NC,
PA, VA, and WV. Topics include: ozone, regional haze, emissions
inventories, Requests for Proposals, and more. |
CONTACTS AND REFERENCES
Can I contact other tribal staff with expertise in a certain aspect of a Tribal
Air Program?
Tribal professionals listed in the following reference
lists have given ITEP permission to use their names as references and
points-of-contact for other tribes wishing to gain further perspective
on tribal air quality-related issues.
Emissions Inventories
Tribes that have conducted their own Emissions Inventories
Tribes that have worked with contractors to conduct and Emissions Inventory
Air Monitoring
Tribes that have conducted monitoring or criteria pollutants
Tribes that have conducted meteorological monitoring
Tribes that have conducted monitoring for acid deposition
Tribes that have conducted visibility or IMPROVE monitoring
Tribes that have conducted HAPs or air toxics monitoring
TAS/primacy recognition under the Clean Air Act
Air Pollution Control Regulations
Major and Minor Source Permitting
Tribal Implementation Plans
Regional Planning Organization Involvement
Contacts and References
US EPA Regional Tribal Air Contacts [pdf of EPA RTAC]
ITEP Staff
RPOs
Intertribal Organizations
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