The State Planning Electronic Collaboration System is a user-friendly electronic system that replaces the traditional paper-based submission system and helps state and local air agencies and EPA plan, submit, and review air quality submissions more effectively.
CHALLENGE
Under the Clean Air Act, state and local air agencies are responsible for developing and submitting to EPA State Implementation Plans (SIPs) that provide for attainment, maintenance, and enforcement of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and protection of visibility in certain national parks and other areas. The same agencies may also develop and submit exceptional event notifications and demonstrations to EPA. Both SIP and exceptional event demonstration submissions are frequently comprised of multiple documents containing tens or hundreds of pages. The goal of this project is to update paper and electronic reporting systems.
BENEFITS
The State Planning Electronic Collaboration System (SPeCS) provides the following benefits to state and local air agencies, Tribes, EPA, and the public:
- Streamlined submittals
- Cost savings
- Improved efficiencies across agencies
- Increased transparency through data availability, and
- Accountability of regulated entities and the government.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
All 50 states now use SPeCS for SIPS and the Exceptional Events and Tracking System (EETS), part of the MOSAIC Systems. To date, more than 1,880 SIPs and 181 exceptional event demonstrations have been submitted through the system. Through the E-Enterprise SPeCS initiative, the SIP and exceptional event notification and demonstration submission processes have been streamlined, enabling EPA to manage and track submittals like never before.
Additionally, three online tools released in 2021 now serve as a public dashboard providing SIP element and area status information. The three tools are:
- Nonattainment and Maintenance Area Population Tool
- Nonattainment and Maintenance Area Dashboard, and
- Required State Implementation Plan Elements Dashboard.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Planned updates include:
- Continued system maintenance and other enhancements
- Upgrades to the process for Regional Haze submissions
- Expanding the current SPeCS system to enable additional types of submissions
- Exploring the possibility for the system to accommodate tribal submissions, and
- Exploring the possibility for the system to allow viewing across states of submittal information.
RESOURCES