**DRAFT**

FACA Subcommittee on Ozone, PM, Regional Haze

Implementation Programs

Information Needs Identified by the Communication and Outreach Group

May 1, 1996

The following is a list of information needs identified by the different interest groups involved with this FACA process (state/local governments and regulatory agencies, affected industries, and environmental/public interest groups). Members of the Communication and Outreach Work Group solicited their peers to develop this list. The list identifies the information the various interest groups feel must be included in a successful communication strategy for this process.

I.	STATE/LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND REGULATORY AGENCIES

Questions:

What does integrated implementation mean?

What will the standards be and when will we know?

Will EPA develop national emission standards to support state control efforts?

How will PM and regional haze be measured?

What will be the implementation period?

What federal money will be available for monitoring, plan development and implementation?

Given the current proposed EPA timeline, will we be able to adequately characterize our attainment/nonattainment status through monitoring before EPA designates our areas?

How will the boundaries of nonattainment areas be determined, and how will transport problems be addressed?

How will the revised standards affect existing SIPs?

How is EPA going to factor in "natural events" and "exceptional events" and explain these policies to the public in a way that makes sense?

How much of a safety margin will be built into the standards? Can we anticipate health effects below the standard, and if so, how do we explain how the standard was determined?

How can we explain in layman's terms why multiple exceedences are allowed if the standard is set to protect health?

Education and outreach suggestions:

People I have been talking with generally concur with the audience priorities our FACA work group has set, although media should be dealt with concurrently with other audiences identified. The sense is that these other audiences should be addressed in the following sequential order:

1. Health community -- ask them to take the lead in carrying the health message to the public, in partnership with regulatory agencies. Start now.

2. State and local regulatory agencies that will need to implement new standards and controls. Start now.

3. State and local governments and partner agencies (transportation, agriculture, MPOs). Begin this spring, then take specifics in November when proposed standards are known.

Affected industries -- simultaneous with outreach to other agencies.

4. State legislatures (funding bodies). Will vary by state, but no later than November 1996.

5. Long-term education -- schools, public. Spring 1997 or when funding is available for state and local outreach programs.

This sequence was recommended to first build partnership with health organizations and to educate state and local regulatory agencies, so they can begin to build support among local governments, partner agencies and affected industries to build political, business and public support for the revised standards and the costs of dealing with them.

Suggested themes include:

"Everybody has to breathe"

Primary emphasis on health

Also emphasize pollution prevention (personal and industry)

(Use "new science" as a secondary theme to help address credibility issue -- as we learn more, we know more about health effects.)

A couple of specific recommendations for tools from people I have talked with include:

A video produced by the American Lung Association (perhaps with partners) dealing broadly with the health effects of air pollution and emphasizing how individuals can help care for the air they breathe.

Standard talking points documents targeted to the different audiences to be produced nationally (EPA, STAPPA/ALAPCO) to assure general message consistency, with recommendations for personalizing to local area (use local credible health professionals, regional visualize, etc.).

Some other suggestions include involving local leaders by asking them to help identify credible health professionals and design control strategies or voluntary programs that make sense for their communities. People have also suggested that we stay focused on the behaviors we want to effect (i.e., funding support), not just getting the word out, and to try to personalize the information as much as possible to make it relevant and easy to use.

II.	AFFECTED INDUSTRIES

What are the new standards? When will they be announced?

Is my business affected? Are there circumstances whereby my business could be exempted (e.g. size of the operation)

What must I do to either comply with the new standards or have my business designated as exempt?

Timing issues: When do I have to comply?

Compliance options that would be acceptable to EPA

Interrelationship among the three standards -- how does one standard affect the other

III.	ENVIRONMENTAL/PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS

Environmental/Public Interest Group Information Needs and Concerns regarding PM/Ozone/Regional Haze FACA Subcommittee

Concise information in plain english regarding the health and environmental need for revised standards.

Concise information in plain english about the regional nature of the fine PM/ozone/regional haze problem, and the role of the FACA subcommittee in developing control strategy recommendations.

Access to this information via the Internet, preferably the World Wide Web. It was recommended that EPA establish a web page specifically for the FACA subcommittee process.

Graphics on PM10/2.5 and ozone source emissions and trends.

Information on other related activities (e.g., OTAG, Grand Canyon Visibility, WESTAR).

Recommendation that EPA issue a press release on the	subcommittee process and the regionality of the ozone/PM air pollution problem (observation that EPA press releases get better coverage than those of environmental/public interest groups).

Identify a single contact at EPA for environmental/public interest group contact on the PM/ozone/regional haze implementation issue. The EPA contact can either obtain the requested information from other agency staff, or direct inquiries to appropriate agency staff for follow up.