What is the Palmetto Air Quality Collaborative?

The Palmetto Air Quality Collaborative (PAQC) is a 4-year planning initiative to develop innovative strategies to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollution in South Carolina. This initiative intends to lay the groundwork for lowering air emissions, engaging communities, and supporting workforce and economic development opportunities. The PAQC is co-led by the SC Office of Resilience (SCOR) and SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program.

 South Carolina Priority Climate Action Plan

The PCAP was submitted to the EPA on Friday, March 1, 2024.

South Carolina Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) (PDF)

DRAFT South Carolina Priority Climate Action Plan

Draft Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) (PDF)

All comments and feedback for the draft must be returned to the PAQC no later than February 14th, 2024, to be considered for revisions.

Please email draft PCAP comments and feedback to: PAQC.Comments@scor.sc.gov

Prompts for comments and feedback:

• Reduction measures: suggested improvements or edits to text, suggestions for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions, additional measures to include.
• Overall feedback on the report: content that needs clarification, missing information, contradictions, or redundancies.

 

You may include as many comments as you would like in your submission. Please include your name, organization, and contact information so we may reach out to you if we have questions about your comments. Due to the limited time remaining to complete the PCAP, we request that comments be tailored in the following formats:

 

Comments about reduction measure ideas:

Reduction Measure:

Section and page number:

Comment:

 

Comments for report as a whole:

Section and page number:

Comment:

Provide Input

Your input is essential. Please take our survey using the link above!

This survey is designed to collect input from stakeholders about emissions reduction priorities, current activities, and concerns. The survey will be open throughout the planning process. However, please respond by December 22, 2023, to ensure your feedback is considered for the first set of deadlines:

• Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), due March 1, 2024. The PCAP will include a statewide greenhouse gas inventory and proposed measures to reduce emissions and air pollution.
• Implementation Grant Applications, due April 1, 2024. The EPA CPRG program is offering competitive grants for states, regional agencies, municipalities, and tribes to implement emissions reduction measures and plans. 

Most questions are optional, although we hope you will answer as completely as possible. Once you submit the survey, you may return and complete it again if you wish to provide additional information or project ideas. This survey is anticipated to take less than 15 minutes. 

Responses received from Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lexington, Newberry, Richland, and Saluda Counties will be shared with the Central Midlands Council of Government for consideration in the Central Midlands planning process. For more information about that process, contact Jory Fleming, jfleming@centralmidlands.org

Coordination with other CPRG grantees in South Carolina

SCOR will share survey information with the Councils of Governments (COGs) who are also participating in the CPRG program.

• Responses received from Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lexington, Newberry, Richland, and Saluda Counties will be shared with the Central Midlands Council of Governments for the Central Midlands planning process. For more information, contact Jory Fleming, jfleming@centralmidlands.org.
• Responses from Anderson, Greenville, Spartanburg, and Pickens Counties will be shared with the Appalachian Council of Governments for the Upstate planning process. For more information, contact Chip Bentley,  bentley@scacog.org.
• Responses from Chester, Lancaster, and York Counties will be shared with the Catawba Regional Council of Governments for the Charlotte area planning process. For more information, contact Stephen Allen, sallen@catawbacog.org.

Sign Up for the PAQC Mailing List

Please sign up for our mailing list using the following link if you are interested in updates and information for our initiative.

Resources

• PAQC Information Sheet (PDF)
• PAQC Overview: This video is an overview of the Palmetto Air Quality Collaborative (PAQC). It covers the planning process, key dates and times, and groups that are a part of the initiative. It also serves as the recorded version of the Action Team kickoff webinars from the week of December 11, 2023.
  • Video link: PAQC Overview Recording (mp4)
  • Presentation Slides link: PAQC Overview Presentation (PDF)
• Greenhouse Gas Overview: This video discusses greenhouse gasses (GHG), the greenhouse effect, and why emissions reduction is beneficial. 
  • Video link: PAQC Greenhouse Gas Overview (mp4)
  • Presentation Slides link: PAQC GHG Overview Presentation (PDF)
• PAQC Stakeholder Interagency Coordination Group, kickoff meeting on October 23, 2023. 
  • Presentation Slides link: PAQC Interagency Group Kickoff 10/23/23 (PDF)
• Action Teams
  • Information Sheet: Action Team Info Sheet (PDF)
  • Kickoff Webinars: The Action Teams kickoff webinars took place December 11-15, 2023. The presentation linked below compiles all 6 webinars’ information into one document. For more information about the kickoff, please watch the PAQC Overview recording in the section above.
    • Presentation slides link: PAQC Action Teams Kickoff Webinar Presentation (PDF)
  • Round Two Webinars: A second series of meetings were held January 8 – 10, 2024. All six Action Teams discussed specific reduction measures that were suggested to the PAQC through the stakeholder input survey or by email. Additionally, Action Teams discussed data gaps and limitations, quantifying reduction measures, and benefits, challenges, or constraints of the reduction measures.
    • Presentation slides link: Action Teams Round 2 All Slides
• Open House Webinars
  • SCOR hosted two webinars open to the general public on January 30 and January 31, 2024. Webinars provided an overview of the SC Office of Resilience, the CPRG program, and the Palmetto Air Quality Collaborative before providing a high-level overview of the components of the Draft Priority Climate Action Plan. Key components of the PCAP were discussed in further detail, including the draft statewide greenhouse gas inventory and reduction measures.
  • Presentation slides link: PAQC Open House Webinars Jan 30 & 31, 2024
• List of websites and resources: this list provides additional information about CPRG, climate science, greenhouse gases, and the PAQC.
  • PDF link: Websites and Additional Information

FAQs

The PAQC receives funding from the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law and established funding for greenhouse gas (GHG) planning and implementation efforts. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was authorized through the IRA to establish the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG). States, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), tribes, and U.S. territories were eligible to receive funding from CPRG to develop strategies for reducing GHG emissions and other harmful co-pollutants.

South Carolina is one of 46 states that accepted funds from the CPRG. In addition, the Columbia and Greenville-Spartanburg MSAs received funding. Phase I of the CPRG provided states with $3 million and MSAs with $1 million. Phase II of CPRG will provide $4.6 billion nationwide in competitive implementation grants. SC Office of Resilience (SCOR) and SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) are partnering as co-leads for this grant.

SCOR and SC DHEC are receiving funding from the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Program (CPRG) and formed the Palmetto Air Quality Collaborative (PAQC) to complete the EPA CPRG deliverables and requirements.

The PAQC Intergovernmental and Interagency Coordination Group is comprised of the SC Office of Resilience, SC DHEC, SC Energy Office, and other state agencies. Representatives from the 10 South Carolina Council of Governments (COGs), Association of Counties, and the Municipal Association will be invited to participate as well. It is a diverse, multidisciplinary advisory committee created for the purpose of providing enhanced feedback to SCOR and DHEC at all stages of the planning grant life cycle, and will assist with developing and reviewing the three main deliverables for the CPRG program.

Action Teams will be formed based on sector and other cross-cutting interests. They will help identify and assess measures to be included in the PCAP, Implementation Grant applications, and the CCAP. Learn more about the Action Teams here.

Key Dates and Timeline

More Information and Updates Coming Soon!

Please check back soon for more information as we continue to plan and organize this project. If you have any questions, please contact us.