as groundwater protection and storage permanence. NRAP is developing a method for quantifying risk profiles of multiple types of carbon dioxide storage sites to guide decision making and risk management. NRAP is also developing monitoring and mitigation protocols to reduce uncertainty in the predicted long-term behavior of a site. NRAP relies on expertise and resources from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the NETL-Regional University Alliance. Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships In 2003, DOE awarded cooperative agreements to seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) because geographical differences in fossil fuel use and geologic storage opportunities across North America dictate regional approaches to capture and storage of and other greenhouse gasses. Each RCSP has developed a regional carbon management plan to identify the most suitable storage strategies and technologies, aid in regulatory development, and propose appropriate infrastructure for carbon capture and storage commercialization within their respective regions to safely and permanently store . NETL manages the partnership and the projects. The RCSPs comprise more than 400 organizations covering 43 states and four Canadian provinces and include representatives from state and local agencies, regional universities, national laboratories, non-government organizations, foreign government agencies, engineering and research firms, electric utilities, oil and gas companies, and other industrial partners. The following are the seven RCSPs. Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership • Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium • Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership • Plains Reduction Partnership • Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership • Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration • West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Technologies NETL's fossil fuel research, development, and demonstration focus on efficient energy use and clean energy production from domestic fossil fuel resources. Onsite research, development, and demonstration address key energy and environmental concerns and solve issues that slow commercialization of domestic fuel power systems, fossil-fuel resource development, and environmental mitigation and waste management technologies. NETL works with modeling and theoretical research as well as bench- to demonstration-scale development and demonstration of technologies and concepts. Coal NETL addresses critical research and development challenges for near-zero emissions power production from coal. Continued use of coal electric power production is enabled through NETL's research, development, demonstration, and, ultimately, deployment of advanced systems and technologies that increase overall plant efficiency while reducing emissions like carbon dioxide () and nitrous oxides (). Projects within the coal program are part of DOE's Clean Coal Research Program.