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, ( ;1 ~I .'-1 , .~I WESTERN VISTAS ;:; Volume 1, Number 3 7IIe ..._... of tho Grand c.nyon V1",~1/1ly Tranaport CommlUion " July 12, 1993 Visibility Management Options developed In Albuquerque Meetings Meeting at the Albuquerque Convention Center, committee memberS of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transpon Commission began developing options that could be used to manage visibility in the Golden Circle. The wide ranging discussions were designed to provide a variety of ideas. Later, these ideas will be grouped into management approaches, and the most promising ones will be modeled to predict their real impact on visibility. Three core groups (government, non-government, and mixed) brainstormed actual management options, to find what opportunities were available or could be created to manage visibility. Many different ideas were raised, some based in technology, economics and regulatory methods, and others defying categorization. Expansion of existing programs was looked at in many ways. For example, existing regulations could be coordinated, strict pollution controls could be extended to cover larger geographic areas, or could be applied to smaller pollution sources. Consumer education could be expanded, so the public can make 'clean air" choices in personal lifestyles and business operations. Buy-back programs of older, more polluting equipment could be expanded. Other options Iookll(l toward the development of new processes and Ideas. For example, new fuels and cleaner technoJogles could be developed. New ways of determining cost-benefit ratios might include health, visibility, and other effects that are difficult to quantify in dollars, yet are important to all of us. With an Impressive list of management options developed, the core groups then considered frameworks for applying management options. Ideas fOcused on whole-system approaches where visibility is part of a comprehensive air quality management program. Public understanding and support for these frameworks will be necessary for any approach to succeed. Interstate understandings and integration of visibility concerns into large-scale land use, energy, and economic planning were seen as possibilities. Tax incentives and market-based trading of emission allowances (such as is done with acid rain precursors) were seen as possibilities to provide equity. The problem of maintaining the economic competitiveness of the region while providing sufficient environment protection was also discUSSed: A special presentation by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies looked at the potential of renewable energy sources to meet increasing electrical energy demands and perhaps reduce coal burning as an energy source. ,.. '-" .Ii ,~ ~~ ~k :-,~ l '.. ':"'; ';:". ,'.' ..;'':: .< The last set of brainstorming sessions suggested ways of evaluating management options and frameworks. Many evaluation techniques focused on meeting the Clean Air Act's goals, measuring progress over the long term, enforceability of options, and equity among various groups. Using economic principles in evaluating options was also discussed. Some techniques rate visibility management proposals by the visibility improvement obtained for the amount of money spent.This anicle touches only a few of the hundreds of ideas generated in the two-day workshop. Now, the Alternatives Assessment Committee will work with the other Commission committees to refine and distill these ideas into concrete proposals that can be considered for protecting and restoring visibility in the Golden Circle. ;.:c -~'... ~ 'f. \~ :'" ~~~ ',r. ..-~ ~-i;, ~:1. " ~"'-:< ~ :,'o'! ~' t.!iit ".~:j :;.,<--. I GCVTC Committees to Meet All committees of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transpon Commission will meet October 1 ~ inSalt Lake City, Utah. Agendas and other meeting information will be mailed out in early September.