MANE-VU Approach to the Development of “Consulting Groups” 

On November 1, representatives from each RPO and the FLMs began a dialogue aimed at 

identifying groups of Class I areas that might serve to focus consultations for purposes of 

the regional haze rule. While it appears that consultations will be conducted state-tostate, the RPO representatives agreed that there may be a role for the RPO staff in 

identifying Class I areas with common visibility issues where a joint consultation process 

might be more efficient. At this point, the focus of the RPO efforts is to help identify 

common Class I “consulting groups” and leave it to the states involved in any future joint 

consultation process to discuss details regarding the nature and extent of state 

contributions to a common Class I group. Another role that the RPOs may play in the 

process is to assist with the scheduling of consultations so as to ensure that RPOdeveloped technical products would be ready and available to facilitate state discussions. 

The Class I states within the MANE-VU RPO have considered the question of how best 

to group common Class I areas from the perspective of forming consulting groups. After 

reviewing monitoring and modeling data related to the sources of visibility impairment 

for each Class I site, they have proposed an approach that would create a single 

consulting group that encompasses all MANE-VU Class I sites. The “MANE-VU 

consulting group” would consist of the Acadia National Park, Maine; Brigantine 

Wilderness (within the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge), New Jersey; Great 

Gulf Wilderness, New Hampshire; Lye Brook Wilderness, Vermont; Moosehorn 

Wilderness (within the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge), Maine; Presidential Range 

– Dry River Wilderness, New Hampshire; and Roosevelt Campobello International Park, 

New Brunswick. 

The Class I states of MANE-VU recognize some differences between the Brigantine 

Wilderness and the northern tier of Class I sites in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. 

However, when viewed from the perspective of contributions to sulfate pollution – which 

is still the dominant form of visibility impairment experienced on the twenty percent 

worst visibility days at all MANE-VU sites – the group found more similarities than 

differences and felt that a single consulting group representing all MANE-VU sites 

offered the best opportunity to engage contributing states in a meaningful consultation 

process. 

MANE-VU, therefore, proposes the addition of the MANE-VU consulting group to those 

already suggested by the Mid-West RPO in their October 19 memorandum. The revised 

“Table 1” on the next page reflects the proposed composition of the MANE-VU 

consulting group in a manner similar to that of the October 19 memo for three other 

proposed consulting groups. The MANE-VU Class I states are planning to contact those 

states listed in the proposed consulting group shortly to initiate the consultation process. 
RPO State MI/MN AR/MO/KY VA/WV MANE-VU 

 

(BOWA, VOYA, 

ISRO, SEN) 

(UPBU, MINGO, 

HG, MACA) 

(DOSO, SHEN, 

JRIV) 

(ACAD, MOOS, 

GRGU, LYBR, 

BRIG) 

MANE-VU Connecticut x 

 Delaware x 

 Maine x 

 Maryland x x 

 Massachusetts x 

 New Hampshire x 

 New Jersey x 

 New York x 

 Pennsylvania x x 

 Rhode Island x 

 Vermont x 

 

VISTAS Alabama 

 Florida 

 Georgia x 

 Kentucky x x 

 Mississippi 

 North Carolina x 

 South Carolina x 

 Tennessee x x 

 Virginia x x 

 West Virginia x x 

 

MRPO Illinois x x x 

 Indiana ? x x 

 Michigan x x 

 Ohio x x 

 Wisconsin x 

 

CENRAP Arkansas x 

 Iowa x 

 Kansas 

 Louisiana 

 Minnesota x 

 Missouri ? x 

 Nebraska 

 Oklahoma 

 Texas 

 

WRAP N. Dakota x 

 S. Dakota 

 Other Western 

States 

 

 

Canada Manitoba 

 New Brunswick x 

 Ontario x x 

 Quebec x 

 Other Provinces