# State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

State Implementation Plan (SIP) For Regional Haze

Proposal

Appendix B : Overview of MANE-VU Roles and Responsibilities

September 5, 20082 Appendix B Overview of MANE-VU’s Roles and Responsibilities

The Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visi bility Union (MANE- VU) was formed by the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states, tribes, and federal agencies to coordinate regiona l haze planning activities for the region.

MANE-VU was formed to encourage a coordinated approach to meeting the requirements of the USEPA's Regional Haze Rules and reducing visibili ty impairment in major national parks and

wilderness areas in the Northeast and Mid- Atlantic region. MANE -VU provides technical assessments and assistance to its members, ev aluates linkages to othe r regional air pollution issues, provides a forum for discussion, and en courages coordinated actions. MANE-VU also facilitates coordination with other regions.

Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visibility Union Members* (MANE-VU)

Connecticut Pennsylvania

Delaware Penobscot Nation

District of Columbia Rhode Island Maine St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Maryland Vermont Massachusetts U.S. Environmental Protection Agency New Hampshire U.S. National Park Service New Jersey U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

New York U.S. Forest Service
*The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Fish an d Wildlife Service and U.S.
Forest Service are non-voting members.

MANE-VU's structure includes a boar d comprised of State and Tribal Commissioners/Secretaries, Air Program Direct ors and two committees comprised of agency personnel: a Technical Support Committee to assess th e nature of regional haze, the sources that contribute to regional haze and the technical tools that states will use to develop their programs

and a Communications Committee to deve lop outreach messages and approaches.

The Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visibility Uni on’s (MANE-VU) work is managed by the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) and carried out by the OTC, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA) and the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM). The member states along with federal agencies and professional staff from OTC, MARAMA and NESCAUM are al so members of the various committees and workgroups.3 The following are highlights of many of the wa ys MANE-VU has set about to cooperatively address regional haze within its member states and tribes.

• Budget Prioritization: MANE-VU helped es tablish the “Albany Group” which assists MARAMA, OTC and NESCAUM staff in devel oping budget priorities, project rankings, and the eventual federal grant requests.

• Issue Coordination: MANE-VU established a set conference call and meeting schedule for each of its Committees and Workgroups. In addition, its Air Directors regularly discussed pertinent issues.

• SIP Policy and Planning: MANE-VU initiate d a process to track the key milestones needed for SIP development and to jointly develop standard language and technical support documents for this SIP.

• Materials Distribution: To educate its st aff and members MANE- VU included technical presentations at the end of the conference calls . Presentations on haze airplane flights, BART work, inventory topics, etc were an effective educ ation and coordination tool.

• Routine Operations: MANE-VU established routine operations such to address the following topics: budget, grant deliverables/ due-dates, workgroup meetings, inter-RPO feedback, haze rule development, etc.

• Consultation among MANE-VU states, and w ith Midwest RPO and VISTAS regarding

reasonable measures.

Representation on these MANE-VU Committees is provided by all member States.