State  Innovation  Grant  Program:    Missouri
                   St. Louis Comprehensive Multi-pollutant Management of Air Quality
                   (2008 Competition)
The  State Innovation  Grant  Progi
  In 2002 EPAintroduced the State Innovation Grant Program to supp
  efforts led by state environmental agencies to test innovative approaches
  for achieving better environmental results and improved efficiency in
  permitting programs. Between 2002 and 2007, the State Innovation Grant
  program competition awarded over six million dollars to support 38 state
  projects that test permitting innovation for a variety of regulated entities
  including several small business sectors. Asummary of the awards by year
  appears in the table below.
       State Innovation Grant Program Statistics, 2002-2007
  Competition  Proposals  Proposals     Total  Program
      Year      Submitted   Selected        Funding ($)
    2002/2003
                                              $618,000
                                            $1.425 Million
                                            $1.479 Million
                                            $1.243 Million
                                            $1.611 Million
                                            $0.825 Million
   Cumulative
                                            $7.201 Million
  "Innovation in Permitting" has been the theme of the State Innovation Grant
  competition since its inception. In the last three competition cycles states
  received awards for projects in the following three categories:
  •  The Environmental Results Program (ERP) is an innovative
    approach to improving environmental performance based on a system
    of the interlocking tools of compliance assistance, self-certification
    (sometimes, where permissible, in lieu of permitting), and
    statistically-based measurement to gauge the performance of an entire
    business sector. The program utilizes a multimedia approach to
    encourage small sources to achieve environmental compliance and
    pollution prevention. (See: http://www.epa.gov/permits/erp/)
  •  Environmental Management System (EMS) is a system involving a
    continual cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the
    processes and actions that an organization undertakes to meet its
    business and environmental goals. EMSs provide organizations of all
    types with a structured system and approach for managing
    environmental  and regulatory responsibilities to improve overall
    environmental  performance and stewardship.
    (See: www.epa.gov/ems/info/index.htm)
  •  Performance Track is a partnership that recognizes top
    environmental performance among participating US facilities of all types,
    sizes, and complexity, both public and private.
    (See: http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/)
  NCEI has provided awards also for projects testing watershed-based
  permitting, and for permit process streamlining in past competitions. For
  more information on the history of the programs, including information on
  solicitations, state proposals, and project awards, please see the EPA State
                          ittD://www.eDa.aov/innovation/statear
Project  Background:
  In 2007, The U.S. EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and
  Standards (OAQPS) initiated three pilot projects to address the
  Clean Air Act Advisory Committee's -Air Quality Management
  Subcommittee recommendations for a new approach to the
  process of managing air quality. The objective of the pilot
  program is to forward that mandate by integrating the analysis,
  planning and implementation of the current air quality
  improvement processes into a single multi-pollutant step, called
  an Air Quality Management Plans (AQMP). One of these pilot
  projects focuses on the bi-state area of St. Louis (Missouri and
  Illinois), with a goal of providing a real-world example of integrated
  approaches and comprehensive community planning.

  The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that state environmental
  agencies develop and maintain air pollution control plans, known
  as State Implementation Plans (SIPs), outlining their strategies to
  protect air quality under the CAA. The Missouri Department of
  Natural Resources (MDNR) along with the Illinois Environmental
  Protection Agency (I EPA) have completed dozens of State
  Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals since the Clean Air Act
  was first established, each involving a number of technical steps
  that require significant resources.

  States typically develop separate SIPs for every pollutant of
  concern. This is particularly resource intensive since, for each
  SIP submittal, states are asked to develop updates to emissions
  data, new modeling runs, and specific control strategies
  scenarios. The use of a multi-pollutant planning approach for air
  quality management instead of the traditional pollutant-by-pollutant
  approach will help reduce the duplication of technical efforts,
  ensure that control strategies developed for each pollutant
  examine the effects on other pollutants, and allow for development
  of overall air quality priorities for the state and the community.

  Funds from the EPA National Center for Environmental
  Innovation State Innovation Grant Program will be used to
  advance certain aspects of  MDNR's AQMP development,
  including integrating urban air toxics management into the
  planning for the major criteria pollutants of ozone, particulate
  matter, and lead; more clearly defining air quality priorities for the
  St. Louis area; and continuing development of community
  involvement in the air quality management process.  Overall, the
  states  agencies and stakeholders within the St. Louis community
  hope this process will provide efficiencies, reduce spending, and
  improve air quality, while linking land-use, transportation, energy
  planning, and climate change into the new AQMP.
                            NCEI
                           NATIONAL CENTER FOR
                           ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION

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Project  Description
 The overall goal of the St. Louis AQMP pilot project and the MDNR
 state innovation grant is to provide a new mechanism to accomplish
 air quality planning in the St. Louis metropolitan area and generate
 air quality improvements in a more efficient, timely, transparent, and
 cost-effective manner. MDNR, working with Illinois and in the entire
 St. Louis area, will share the challenges encountered in the
 process, solutions developed, and final project outcomes with other
 states and EPA so that they may learn from MDNR's experience.
 Other overall project goals include:

 •  Completion of all SIP submittals required for compliance with the
    National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in St. Louis,
    including ozone, fine particulates, and lead;
 •  Inclusion of air toxics exposure as a metric when considering
    alternative control requirements for applicable NAAQS;
 •  Greater community involvement in the decision-making
    process, including regulated entities and community
    environmental advocacy groups; and
 •  Consideration of additional air quality issues in the development
    of SIP submittals, such as smart growth and transportation
    planning; environmental justice; and climate change.

 The long term success of this effort will be measured through a
 number of indicators including:

 •  Change in the SIP development and submittal process to
    incorporate lessons learned from the pilot AQMP approach that
    will provide efficiency of scale and effective use of State
    resources;
 •  Reduction in overall timelines for SIP development and submittal;
 •  Reduction in air toxics emissions and exposure; and
 •  Attainment of air quality goalsforthe criteria pollutants.

 The St. Louis AQMP project is one of three national pilot projects
 designed to provide a better understanding of the benefits and
 issues associated with a multi-pollutant approach and communicate
 those findings to other states. MDNRwill also continue work to
 improve air quality through increased public awareness. MDNRwill
 continue to provide opportunities for public interaction for all
 stakeholders at each point in the SIP development and overall
 regulatory process. For example, MDNR will continue to provide
 information regarding air toxics exposure in the St. Louis area to its
 citizens and other stakeholders during the SIP development
 process.

Connection  to  EPA's Goals
 Missouri DNR's project directly supports EPA's Strategic Goal #1
 to protect and improve air quality, as well as Strategic Goal #5,
 focused on improved compliance and environmental stewardship,
               by promoting an innovative approach to enhanced pollution
               prevention.  It also supports, EPA's Cross-Goal Strategy of
               promoting innovation and collaboration with states.

              Project  Contacts:
               For more specific information on the Missouri State Innovation
               Grant, please contact one of the individuals below:

               Jeffry Bennett
               Missouri Department of Natural Resources
               Air Pollution Control Program
               P.O. Box 176
               Jefferson City, MO 65101
               573.751.4817
               jeff.bennett@dnr.mo.gov

               Amy Algoe-Eakin
               U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
               Region 7
               901 North Fifth Street
               Kansas City, KS 66101
               913.551.7942
               algoe-eakin.amy@epa.gov

               David  Beck
               U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
               National Center for Environmental Innovation
               Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
               919-541-5421
               beck.david@epa.gob@epa.gov

               Tom Rosendahl
               US Environmental Protection Agency
               Office of Airand Radiation
               Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
               Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
               919-541-5314
               rosendahl.tom@epa.gov
              Program Contact:
               Sherri Walker
               State Innovation Grant Program
               U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
               Washington, DC 20460 (MC1807T)
               (202)-566-2186; FAX (202) 566-2220
               walker.sherri@epa.gov
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(1807T)
    October 2008
EPA-100-F-08-077

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