Solving Environmental Problems Through Collaboration
A Case Study
For EPA personnel and partners who wish to implement collaborative problem solving projects effectively.
Western Regional
Partnership
Partnership of Governors, Tribes, and Federal Agencies
form "WRAP" to develop innovative measures to improve air
quality in the West
Background
Haze, often generated from hundreds of
miles away, regularly invades western
parks and wilderness areas, obstructing
the spectacular vistas visitors come to
enjoy. Recognizing both the aesthetic
and economic value of unimpaired
views, western governors embarked on
an ambitious program to address the
problem in 1997.
The governors first took up the issue of
regional haze through their participation
in the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport
Commission. The Commission
developed a comprehensive set of
recommendations for addressing
regional haze in parks and wilderness
areas on the Colorado Plateau. To
advance the implementation of these
recommendations, the governors joined
with tribes and federal agencies to form
the Western Regional Air Partnership
(WRAP).
The WRAP, like its Commission
predecessor, is committed to building
political consensus for its actions. To
this end, the partnership has estab-
lished a series of committees and
forums with stakeholder membership to
address technical issues and develop
approaches for improving air quality in
the West.
One of the most important tasks of the
WRAP is to provide a framework for
addressing regional haze throughout
the West. In April 1999, EPA promul-
gated a national rule for addressing
visibility in parks and wilderness areas,
on which the Western Governors'
Association submitted extensive
comments. WGA's comments were
instrumental in developing rule provi-
sions both to implement the recommen-
dations of the Commission and to
protect and enhance visibility in more
than 100 national parks and wilderness
areas in the West.
Why the WRAP Worked
The WRAP is largely a coordinating
organization, carrying no legal authority
unless the states or EPA adopts its
recommendations. Nonetheless, given
the consensus nature of its recommen-
dations, its decisions are usually
adopted by the states without the need
for intervention by the federal govern-
ment.
The WRAP'S committees and forums
seek consensus among the govern-
mental partners and stakeholders,
including large and small businesses,
academia, environmental groups and
other public interest representatives.
Scientific findings and policy options
are presented to policy makers and the
public for appropriate discussion and
response. Typically, the findings and
options go before the WRAP Board,
which consists of state, tribal and
federal representatives. As a coordinat-
ing organization, the WRAP is commit-
ted to bringing together all those who
may contribute to or be affected by poor
air quality.
The Western Governors Association in
Denver and the National Tribal Environ-
mental Council in Albuquerque receive
funding from the U.S. EPA to administer
and support the WRAP. The majority of
the work is done by individuals serving
on the WRAP committees and forums,
with assistance from WGA and NTEC
staff as well as outside contractors. The
WRAP policy and technical forums
prepare annual work plans under the
direction of a planning committee,
focusing on the work products to meet
the strategic goals of the regional haze
program. The WRAP depends on the
great contribution from organizations
and individuals who give their often non-
reimbursable time and effort to commit-
tee and forum work.
The WRAP has demonstrated there is
tremendous value in states and tribes
working together as environmental
stewards. We have a better grasp of the
problem, and we've reached consensus
on innovative regional strategies to
improve air quality.
- Patrick Cummins, Co-Director
of the WRAP
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What Made the WRAP
Unique
The WRAP is a collaborative effort of 13
tribal governments, 13 state govern-
ments and several federal agencies.
The WRAP represents an unprec-
edented, consensus-based approach to
regional air quality planning, with the
goal of protecting visibility in some of
our most cherished national parks in the
western U.S. This investment in
regional planning has resulted in
improved scientific understanding,
regional emissions inventories, regional
modeling, regional policy development,
regional technical tools, and invaluable
experience in inter-state communica-
tion and coordination. The WRAP has
an exemplary record of state and tribal
coordination, which has resulted in the
first-ever emission inventories for 30
tribes. Due to the WRAP'S success as
an organization, EPA established four
other Regional Planning Organizations
in other parts of the country.
Lessons Learned
The efforts and products from the
WRAP have shown that there is an
innovative, alternative way of doing the
important business of environmental
protection. Rather than following the
old paradigm of prescriptive federal
laws and regulations, which, tradition-
ally, are followed by state action, often
contentious federal review, and all too
often by third party litigation, the partici-
pants in the Commission's process
focused jointly on innovative ap-
proaches to problems and solutions.
Regional planning is critical to making
progress on air quality issues that will
only get more complicated, and are
typically less suited to traditional
regulatory approaches and controls.
Results
Visibility in the West has improved
because of the pioneering work of the
Grand Canyon Visibility Transport
Commission, and Western Regional Air
Partnership. These collaborations have
changed the way the West solves its
environmental problems, providing a
model for environmental progress that
federal regulators have adopted.
In 1999, the first major issue before the
WRAP was developing a regional sulfur
dioxide trading market for stationary
sources in lieu of Best Available Retrofit
Technology (BART). On Sept. 25,
2000, the WRAP approved a set of
recommendations for reducing sulfur
dioxide emissions from large industrial
sources, including a backstop "cap-
and-trade" program. Under this
program, a stationary source of emis-
sions receives a certain number of
"allowances," and a source that
exceeds its allowances can purchase
allowances from another source that is
under its limit. A diverse group of
stakeholders, including representatives
from government, industry, environmen-
tal and nonprofit organizations and
academia, developed the adopted
recommendations that were developed
over three years. EPA approved the
WRAPs recommendations on sulfur
dioxide emissions in April 2002 as an
annex to the 1996 report of the Grand
Canyon Visibility Transport Commis-
sion.
Mike Leavitt, former Governor of Utah
and co-chair of the WRAP, expressed
that "reaching a consensus on this
difficult issue took an extraordinary
amount of commitment and hard work by
stakeholders and governmental
representatives. This type of collabora-
tive process focuses on voluntary,
market-based and results-oriented
approaches to environmental and
natural resource management using
what we call the Enlibra principles. This
successful agreement will serve as an
example for future efforts within the
WRAP and for other environmental and
natural resource problem-solving,"
Keys to Collaboration
Exemplified
The Western Regional Air Partnership
demonstrates six keys for collaborative
problem solving.
The haze that regularly invades western
parks and wilderness areas was a
shared problem for western governors.
Many were concerned that obstructing
the spectacular vistas enjoyed by visitors
would lead to shortfalls in tourism
revenue.
The Grand Canyon Visibility Transport
Commission was the convener of
stature, and it provided western
governors with a means to initially
address the issue of regional haze. The
governors in western states were the
committed leaders, for an ambitious
program, that set out to implement the
Commission's recommendations.
The representatives of substance for
the WRAP included western governors,
tribes, as well as federal agencies, and
providing a framework for addressing
regional haze throughout the West was
the clearly-defined purpose.
The formal charter for the WRAP
establishes a commitment to the use of
stakeholder processes to build political
consensus for its actions. The charter
also sets up a series of committees and
forums with stakeholder membership.
For more information
Region 9 Air Program
415-947-4139
http://www.epa.gov/innovation/collabora-
tion
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(1807T)
June 2006
EPA-231-F-06-007
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