SERPPAS Smoke Management and Air Quality

1. SERPPAS Smoke Management and Air Quality Presented by: Rick Gillam U.S. EPA Region 4 Atlanta, Georgia

2. What is SERPPAS? SERPPAS = Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability Partnership of State Environmental and Natural Resource Officials with the Department of Defense and other Federal Agencies Includes States of NC, SC, GA, FL, AL http://www.serppas.org/

3. SERPPAS • Projects: • Strategic Lands Inventory • Longleaf Pine Conservation • Marine Coastal Initiative • Red Cockaded Woodpecker Translocation • Gopher Tortoise Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA)

4. Range-Wide Conservation Plan for Longleaf Pine (RCPLP) “Longleaf pine forests once covered an incredibly vast range. From the Atlantic Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia to the West Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas, these systems encompassed more than 90 million acres of the North American landscape. These forests represented an extraordinary diversity of cultural, ecological and socio-economic values, making them some of the great coniferous forests of the world.” -FromRCPLP Executive Summary

5. RCPLP http://www.cooperativeconservationamerica.org/images/Longleaf-Pine.jpg • Goal:15 year goal to increase longleaf pine acreage from 3.4 million acres to 8 million acres • Plan Calls for: • Maintaining existing longleaf ecosystems in good condition • Improving “longleaf forest types” that don’t currently support healthy longleaf ecosystems • Restoring longleaf ecosystems at suitable sites currently in other forest types or land uses

6. Longleaf Pine Landscapes

7. Prescribed Burning and Longleaf Pine • “Fire is one of the most essential components of natural longleaf ecosystems.” • Benefits include • Scarifying and enriching soils • Promoting seed germination • Reducing vegetative competition • Controlling disease • Diversifying forest structure • Enhancing wildlife habitat • Moderating fuel loads, and • Diminishing the potential for catastrophic events.

8. Longleaf Smoke Management and Air Quality • The RCPLP Lists 2 Key Actions in relation to Smoke Management and Air Quality: • RCPLP Key Action - Through education and outreach, advance awareness of fire’s influence in shaping and sustaining native ecosystems, as well as the benefits of frequent fire management as opposed to wildfire. • RCPLP Key Action - Work cooperatively with the U.S. EPA and the state air quality agencies to address smoke management for fire management and to facilitate increased burning while complying with state air quality laws. Recognize the positive aspects of fire management on air quality in state plans. A key activity is the participation in the development and/or updating of Smoke Management Programs prepared by state air quality and land management agencies.

9. SERPPAS Smoke Management and Air Quality • 2 Focus Areas: • Evaluate current communication and outreach processes and tools • Develop and share consistent data and best management practices • Work groups addressing both of these areas http://www.forestencyclopedia.net/p/p227/i/i207/image_mini

10. Evaluate Current Communication and Outreach Processes and Tools • Develop a consistent message • Inventory of available information • Identify web sites already in use, e.g., goodfires.org and visitmyforest.org • Communicate and educate public • Good Fire vs Bad Fire

11. Develop and share consistent data and best management practices • Work group prepared a DRAFT Document which outlines recommendations for addressing these issues • Copies of the latest DRAFT Document are being distributed at Today’s Meeting • We invite any and all comments on the DRAFT Document, preferably by June 30th

13. Next Steps • Planning to hold a Workshop during the Late Summer/Fall 2010 timeframe • Invite knowledgeable stakeholders from forestry and air quality arenas to provide input on the proposed communication and outreach strategies and the Draft Smoke Management and Prescribed Fire Tracking Document

14. Smoke Impacts on Human Health • The biggest health threat from smoke comes from fine particles (PM2.5) • Fine particles can get into the eyes and respiratory system, where they can cause health problems • burning eyes, runny nose, and illnesses such as bronchitis. • Fine particles also can aggravate chronic heart and lung diseases - and even are linked to premature deaths in people with these conditions.

15. Annual PM2.5 Monitor Data

16. Daily (24 hr) PM2.5 Monitor Data

17. Competing Goals in Relation to Wildland and Prescribed Fire Protect Air Quality and Human Health & Welfare Ecological and Resource Benefits

18. EPA Smoke Management Policy • 1998 Interim Air Quality Policy on Wildland and Prescribed Fires • Attempts to Integrate 2 Public Policy Goals: • To allow fire to function in its natural role in maintaining healthy wildland ecosystems • To protect public health and welfare by mitigating the impacts of air pollutant emissions on air quality and visibility • Available on the following website: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/memoranda/firefnl.pdf

19. Update of 1998 Interim Policy • EPA is currently in the process of revising and updating 1998 Interim Policy to: • Consider current burning practices • Address changes to Clean Air Act rules (e.g., revised PM2.5 standards) • Be consistent with the requirements of the 2007 Exceptional Events Rule • Address agricultural burning

20. Update of 1998 Interim Policy • EPA sent the Draft Updated Policy Document to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other Federal Agencies for review in the Spring of 2010 • Based on comments received during the Federal Interagency Review process, EPA is currently revising the updated document • EPA hopes to have a revised Draft available for public review in Late 2010

21. Questions? Contact: Rick Gillam U.S. EPA Region 4 Atlanta, Georgia 404.562.9049 gillam.rick@epa.gov http://pzrservices.typepad.com/vintageadvertising/vintage_public_service_announcements_psas/