Final – Approved by MANE-VU Board 05/10/06

Inter-RPO State/Tribal and FLM Consultation Framework

I. Introduction

In the preamble for the Regional Haze Regulations (“Rule”), published in the Federal Register 

on July 1, 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) strongly encourages States 

and Tribes to participate in the regional planning process. (See, 64 FR 35714). The preamble 

also describes the role of regional planning organizations indicating that, “[t]he EPA expects that 

much of the consultation, apportionment demonstrations, and technical documentation will be 

facilitated and developed by regional planning organizations.” (See, 64 FR 35735). The goals of 

instituting consultation procedures are mainly: 

1. To help develop a common technical basis and apportionment for long-term strategies 

that could be approved by individual state participants and translated into regional haze 

SIPs for submission to EPA, 

2. To demonstrate that states are working together to develop acceptable approaches for 

addressing regional visibility problems to which they jointly contribute, and 

3. To provide information on areas of agreement and disagreement among States that the 

Administrator will take into account in the review of a State’s implementation plan to

determine whether the State’s goal for visibility improvement provides for reasonable 

progress towards natural visibility conditions. 

For the purposes of this Inter-Regional Planning Organization (“RPO”) Consultation 

Framework, the term “consultation” refers solely to the consultation requirements, of the 

Regional Haze Rule, and is not intended to refer to or address theTribal government/Federal

government consultation process. 

II. Goal of Inter-RPO Consultation Framework

The primary goal of this Inter-RPO Consultation Framework is to delineate, by consensus, the 

basic consultation requirements for states, tribes, RPOs, and Federal Land Managers (“FLMs”) 

required under 40 CFR Part 51, during the regional haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

development process. The consultation process is a documented process that must be included 

in the “core requirements” of the Regional Haze SIP submittal. In fact, the preamble of the 

Regional Haze Rule states that “[t]he EPA is requiring States to document their analyses, 

including any consultations with other States in support of their conclusions....” (64 FR 35721). 

(emphasis added). Formal consultation, as required by the Regional Haze Rules in 40 CFR Part 

51, Subpart P, may be built upon prior, documented informal consultations. 

The consultation process explicitly applies to the development of the first regional haze 

implementation plans due to EPA in 2008 as well as comprehensive periodic revisions every 10 

years thereafter. The Consultation Framework may also be useful as states develop their 

required periodic reports describing progress towards the reasonable progress goals which are 

due every 5 years. 

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One of the key purposes of the consultation framework is to better define the consultation 

process within the context of regional haze planning, and to create greater certainty and 

understanding among RPOs. The process should be consistent across RPOs, and be well 

documented such that it positively contributes to improving visibility in mandatory Class 1 areas. 

III. Consultation Requirements Specified in 40 CFR Part 51, Subpart P (relating to 

protection of visibility)

A. Development of the Reasonable Progress Goal:

Section 51.308(d) of the Regional Haze Rule specifies that “–[I]n developing each reasonable 

progress goal, the State must consult with those States which may reasonably be anticipated to 

cause or contribute to visibility impairment in the mandatory Class I Federal area. In any 

situation in which the State cannot agree with another such State or group of States that a goal 

provides for reasonable progress, the State must describe in its submittal the actions taken to 

resolve the disagreement. In reviewing the State's implementation plan submittal, the [EPA]

Administrator will take this information into account in determining whether the State's goal for 

visibility improvement provides for reasonable progress towards natural visibility conditions.” 

[40 CFR §51.308(d)(1)(iv)]. 

B. Development of Long-term Strategy: 

The Regional Haze Rule provides that – “[w]here the State has emissions that are reasonably 

anticipated to contribute to visibility impairment in any mandatory Class I Federal area located in 

another State or States, the State must consult with the other State(s) in order to develop 

coordinated emission management strategies. The State must consult with any other State 

having emissions that are reasonably anticipated to contribute to visibility impairment in any 

mandatory Class I Federal area within the State.” [40 CFR § 51.308(d)(3)(i)]. 

C. State and Federal Land Manager Coordination: 

–According to Section 51.308(i)(2) of the Regional Haze Rule, “ “[t]he State must provide the 

Federal Land Manager [FLM] with an opportunity for consultation, in person and at least 60 

days prior to holding any public hearing on an implementation plan (or plan revision) for 

regional haze required by this [Subpart P]”. The purpose of the consultation in person is to allow 

the affected FLM to discuss: (1) The FLM’s “assessment of impairment of visibility in any 

mandatory Class I Federal area;” and (2) “Recommendations on the development of the 

reasonable progress goal and on the development and implementation of strategies to address 

visibility impairment.” [40 CFR §51.308(i)(2)]. 

The Rule also provides that – “[t]he plan (or plan revision) must provide procedures for 

continuing consultation between the State and Federal Land Manager on the implementation of 

the visibility protection program required by[Subpart P], including development and review of 

implementation plan revisions and 5-year progress reports, and on the implementation of other 

programs having the potential to contribute to impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I 

Federal areas.” [40 CFR §51.308(i)(4)]. 

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IV. Types of Consultations

A.) State/Tribal-to-State/Tribal Inter-RPO Consultations. 

B.) State/Tribal-to-Federal Land Manager (FLM) Consultations. 

V. Suggested Discussion Topics during consultation process

A. State-to-State and State-Tribal regional haze consultations are required for the 

development of the reasonable progress goal and long-term strategies. Suggested discussion 

topics include the following: 

1) Reasonable Progress Goal: 

a. Natural background 

b. Baseline conditions 

c. Uniform Rate of Visibility Improvement 

d. Contribution determination 

e. Other factors (regarding reasonable progress goals) 

2) Long-term Strategies: 

a. Emissions inventory/smoke management plans 

b. Model performance 

c. Control measures 

d. Monitoring strategy 

B. Thepreliminary listing of discussion topics is subject to change based on the 

recommendations of States/Tribes, RPOs and federal participants including EPA and the 

FMLs. 

VI. Consultation Principles

1) All State, Tribal, RPO, and Federal participants are committed to continuing dialogue and 

information sharing in order to create understanding of the respective concerns and needs 

of the parties. 

2) Continuous documentation of all communications is necessary to develop a record for 

inclusion in the SIP submittal to EPA. 

3) States alone have the authority to undertake specific measures under their SIP. This interRPO framework is designed solely to facilitate needed communication, coordination and 

cooperation among jurisdictions but does not establish binding obligation on the part of 

participating agencies. 

4) There are two areas which require State-to-State and/or State-to-Tribal consultations 

(“formal” consultations): (i) development of the reasonable progress goal for a Class I 

area, and (ii) development of long-term strategies. While it is anticipated that the formal 

consultation will cover the technical components that make up each of these policy 

decision areas, there may be a need for the RPOs, in coordination with their State and 

Tribal members, to have informal consultations on these technical considerations. 

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5) During both the formal and informal inter-RPO consultations, it is anticipated that the

States and Tribes will work collectively to facilitate the consultation process through their 

respective RPOs, when feasible. 

6) Technical analyses will be transparent, when possible, and will reflect the most up-to-date 

information and best scientific methods for the decision needed within the resources 

available. 

7) The State with the Class I area retains the responsibility to establish reasonable progress 

goals. The RPOs will make reasonable efforts to facilitate the development of a 

consensus between the State with a Class I area and other States affecting that area. In

instances where the State with the Class I area can not agree with such other States that 

the goal provides for reasonable progress, actions taken to resolve the disagreement must 

be included in the State’s regional haze implementation plan (or plan revisions) submitted 

to the EPA Administrator as required under 40 CFR §51.308(d)(1)(iv). 

8) All States whose emissions are reasonably anticipated to contribute to visibility 

impairment in a Class I area, must provide the Federal Land Manager (“FLM”) agency for 

that Class I area with an opportunity for consultation, in person, on their regional haze 

implementation plans. The States/Tribes will pursue the development of a memorandum 

of understanding to expedite the submission and consideration of the FLM’s comments on 

the reasonable progress goals and related implementation plans. As required under 40 

CFR §51.308(i)(3), the plan or plan revision must include a description of how the State 

addressed any FLM comments. 

9) States/Tribes will consult with the affected FLMs to protect the air resources of the 

State/Tribe and Class I areas in accordance with the FLM coordination requirements 

specified in 40 CFR §51.308(i) and other consultation procedures developed by 

consensus.. 

10) The consultation process is designed to share information, define and document issues, 

develop a range of options, solicit feedback on options, develop consensus advice if 

possible, and facilitate informed decisions by the Class I States. 

11) The collaborators, including States, Tribes and affected FLMs, will promptly respond to 

other RPO’s/States’/Tribes’ requests for comments. 

VII. Consultation Processes

A) Formal State/Tribal-to-State/Tribal Inter-RPO Consultations*: 

1) Any State or group of States initiating a consultation with another State/States on 

visibility-related concerns needs to designate a contact person to handle expeditiously 

the administrative aspects of the consultation, including scheduling and notifying 

participants, and providing documentation. 

2) The State initiating the consultation is responsible for coordination of all aspects of 

the consultation. 

3) This process is designed chiefly to apply to consultations involving States consulting 

across RPO lines, whether the consultation is initiated by one or more Class I States 

or by a State or group of States without a Class I area. States consulting with other 

States within the same RPO are encouraged to follow this process to maintain 

consistency and achieve good documentation of outcomes. 

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4) It is assumed that most consultations will be initiated by States with Class I areas. All 

States (or their RPOs on their behalf) are responsible for initiating the required 

consultation with affected FLMs according to the procedures in 40 CFR §51.308(i) 

and this document. At the request of the State or group of States initiating the 

consultation, the RPO for the region in which the Class I area is located may serve as 

facilitator to help the Class I States consult with other states and participating tribes. 

The RPO will assist with all administrative, logistical and documentation aspects of 

the consultation process for the State or States that have requested facilitation by their 

RPO. 

5) Consultations are a government-to-government transaction. Stakeholders are not 

participants in these consultations. 

6) The consultation process will occur as part of the regional haze SIP development 

cycle. It may also be initiated as a part of a mid-course adjustment in the middle of a 

SIP cycle. This Framework does not apply to individual regulatory, enforcement or 

permitting activities and should not be understood to be of any relevance to those 

activities. 

7) The consultation process as a whole may involve several types of meetings, 

conference calls, and information sharing. An initial consultation will usually occur 

in the form of a conference call among all parties, unless the parties agree to an 

alternative format. 

8) The timing of consultations will be coordinated with the production of component 

work products and the process of offering opportunities for comments on those 

products. All parties will be sensitive to the time line of the Class I area State or 

Tribe. 

9) For consultations on the regional haze reasonable progress goal and the long-term

strategy, and on their component topics, the Class I States may request that an initial 

consultation be conducted via conference call. When feasible, web meeting tools or 

videoconferencing technology may be used to enable parties to share information 

more easily. 

10) Preparation and notification: 

a. The State designates a contact (which may be the RPP Director/staff) that will 

have responsibility for scheduling and notifying all parties about the 

consultation, and making sure all necessary materials are promptly provided 

to the participants. 

b. Who gets notified: Those parties associated with what is indicated in the rule 

as “reasonably anticipated to contribute to a Class I area” – more specifically, 

the appropriate State Commissioners, State Air Directors, and RPO designated 

contacts. Affected FLM representative(s) and EPA representative(s) will also 

be invited to participate in such consultations. If appropriate, the State 

Commissioner or the State Air Director may wish to notify appropriate state 

or local government staff regarding any and all consultations.

c. How scheduled: the State contact or RPO designee sends out an e-mail to the 

other State or States to arrange for available dates/times. Once arrangements 

are settled, the initiating State or its RPO designee then sends out formal 

notification via certified mail with an agenda, list of participants and call for 

additional materials. Thirty (30) calendar days will be allowed for all parties 

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to review the technical materials prior to the date of a formal consultation 

unless otherwise all parties mutually agree, in writing, to adhere to a longer or 

shorter time frame. 

11) During consultation, the participants should: 

a. Explain the issue/proposal and supporting technical information 

b. Provide answers to clarifying questions 

c. Request that any issues that are not addressed or resolved be submitted in

writing to the State contact and RPO designee. 

d. The State contact or RPO designee will takes notes and prepares a summary 

of the consultation. 

12) Post-consultation and follow up: 

a. The summary will be distributed for review and comment, along with the 

consultation notification e-mail and letter, agenda, and list of participants. 

The finalized documentation will be provided to all participants and other 

interested stakeholders upon request. The summary notes for any consultation 

should indicate areas/items of agreement and disagreement. 

b. The State contact or RPO designee is responsible for compiling an ongoing 

record of the consultation, including any additional meetings/calls that occur 

on outstanding concerns. The State contact or RPO designee will distribute 

documentation on additional meetings/calls to all relevant parties. 

c. Issues that cannot be further discussed or resolved without additional 

information can be taken through pertinent committees involving stakeholders 

to get feedback. 

13) Each RPO will develop a consultation page on their website where the documentation 

will be posted. Each RPO will post all documentation on behalf of the initiating 

State. 

*Note: No specifics on Tribal consultations are referred to in this section at this time. 

VIII. Formal State/Tribal-to-FLM Consultation Process: 

A. As required under 40 CFR §51.308(i)(2), the state must provide the FLM with an 

opportunity for consultation, in person and at least 60 days prior to holding any public 

hearing on any regional haze implementation plan (or plan revision). 

B. As previously described in VII(A) above, a State or group of States initiating a 

consultation with the FLM may request that their RPO serves as a facilitator for such 

consultations. 

C. As noted in the process described in VII(A) above, the affected FLMs will be invited to 

participate in the formal State/Tribal to State/Tribal consultations that occur on 

reasonable progress goals and the long-term strategy. I 

D. Unless required pursuant to applicable statute or regulation, nothing herein should be 

interpreted to require consultation with FLM with respect to any regulatory, enforcement 

or permitting actions. 

E. FLM will be urged to respond in an efficient and timely fashion to the opportunity to 

consult on a regional haze plan and on the specifics of the plan. 

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