[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 21, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3036-3038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-1371]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5678-7]
Proposal for Using Voluntary Environmental Management Systems in
State Water Programs
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Announcement of competitive funding proposal to support the use
of voluntary environmental management systems in water pollution
control programs administered by States. Request for applications.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Water at the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announces its intention to provide financial support, through a
competitive grant process, for States that encourage and support the
use of voluntary environmental management systems (EMS), using the ISO
14001 International Standard as a baseline, for facilities under State
water programs in either delegated or non-delegated States. States
should also consider more specific requirements necessary to ensure
that the EMS contain measurable performance objectives and targets that
address: (1) continual improvement of environmental performance, (2)
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pollution prevention, and (3) improved compliance. Facilities would
need to have a history of good compliance and compliance management
programs in place that are consistent with EPA's Self Policing Policy,
issued in December, 1995. Facilities would also need to implement
outreach programs with relevant external stakeholders as they develop
and implement their EMS.
Grants will be provided to States on a competitive basis to assist
in the implementation of this program. The EPA anticipates that 5-7
States will be accepted initially for participation in this program.
While the specific amount of grant funds to be provided to each State
have not been decided, EPA will try to make as much as $100,000
available to each participating state. States could use grant funds
provided by EPA for a variety of activities, including training,
technical assistance, or overall project management.
After final selection, States would be asked to develop a more
detailed workplan, including specific milestones, for implementing
their program covering an initial period of two years.
DATES: Applications from States wishing to be considered for this
program should be submitted no later than March 13, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Applications should be submitted to: James Horne, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Wastewater Management, 401 M
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Mail Code: 4201.
States should also send copies of each application to the
appropriate EPA Regional Water Management Division Director.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Horne, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Wastewater Management, 401 M Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20460, (202) 260-5802. Mail Code: 4201.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Around the world, the use of voluntary EMS's is increasing as
organizations try to improve their overall environmental performance
and demonstrate this performance to outside parties, including
regulatory agencies. While EMS's per se do not guarantee improved
performance or set specific performance standards, they do provide
organizations with a mechanism to systematically analyze the impacts of
their activities on the environment, including compliance with
regulatory requirements, and take steps to reduce these impacts through
pollution prevention, effective compliance management, and continual
improvement of overall environmental performance, including activities
that may not be regulated.
Environmental management systems, if properly implemented, could
potentially support a number of key reinvention activities underway in
both EPA and the States. These include reductions in unnecessary
reporting and monitoring, focusing more on environmental results
instead of levels of activity, and using market-based approaches to
complement ongoing regulatory, compliance, and enforcement programs.
In the future, regulatory agencies can also expect organizations
with EMS's in place to seek greater flexibility from current regulatory
or other requirements for achieving environmental protection. Thus, it
is appropriate for regulatory agencies, in key areas like permitting
and monitoring to consider ways in which they could respond favorably
to organizations that can demonstrate that they have and can maintain a
record of good compliance and can implement management systems that,
over time, will improve environmental performance.
The use of comprehensive EMS's as a supplement to traditional
approaches for ensuring environmental protection has not been a major
point of discussion in developing public policy. Therefore, Federal and
State agencies must proceed carefully in evaluating whether these
systems are indeed a useful tool for improving environmental
performance, including compliance. This evaluation must also take place
through a transparent and inclusive process with all key stakeholders.
The initiative described in more detail below represents an effort
to support and encourage State agencies, through their water programs,
to evaluate the use of EMS's as a tool to promote improved
environmental performance and, as appropriate, identify more flexible
ways for regulators to work with the regulated community. The
initiative is also meant to support long-term integration of these
management systems into the ongoing operations of a major regulatory
program that is jointly administered by EPA and States.
Based on a series of general requirements described below, it gives
States discretion in the way they incorporate EMSs into their water
programs. Finally, this initiative provides financial assistance for
those States selected to participate.
The ISO 14001 International Standard for EMS's has recently been
issued in its final form. Over time, organizations around the world are
expected to seek to become certified to the standard, through the use
of accredited third-party auditors. Certification to the standard may
also become a de facto requirement of doing business in certain
countries, as has been the case with the ISO 9000 standards for quality
management.
Under this initiative, third party certification by accredited
registrars is clearly one option that States may consider when
evaluating facility EMS's. However, States will be allowed to consider
other approaches as long as these approaches include mechanisms for the
conduct of an initial audit of the management system by qualified
personnel and a process for conducting ongoing evaluations of
individual facility's systems based on their performance against stated
objectives and targets.
Within EPA, the Office of Water (OW) has represented the Agency,
through the EPA Standards Network, on the U.S. Technical Advisory Group
(TAG) charged with developing a consensus U.S. position on the ISO
14001 standard. In addition, OW has sponsored a number of demonstration
projects designed to educate organizations on the standard and
encourage their use of it, including small and medium-sized
organizations. Finally, the water program, which is jointly
administered by EPA and States, regulates well in excess of 70,000
individual facilities, both industrial and municipal, the majority of
which are small or medium-sized.
II. Guidelines for Participation
When submitting applications for participation under this program,
States are asked to adhere to the following guidelines:
1. States should use the ISO 14001 EMS Standard, which has just
been issued in final form, as the baseline for evaluating EMS's
implemented by regulated facilities.
2. States can also consider more specific EMS requirements, if
necessary. These more specific requirements should help ensure that
individual facility systems:
(a) have measurable performance objectives and targets that include
pollution prevention, improved compliance, and continual improvement of
overall environmental performance;
(b) have compliance management programs in place that include
environmental audits or objective, documented, and systematic
procedures to detect violations, promptly correct these violations,
analyze the root causes
[[Page 3038]]
of these violations, and take steps to prevent the violations from
recurring;
(c) are developed through an open process for communicating with
relevant external stakeholders, including representatives from the
surrounding community. Facilities are also asked to share information
on the performance of their management systems with these stakeholders.
(d) are comprehensive in scope in order to address all significant
environmental impacts, not just water impacts.
3. States should ensure that facilities have an acceptable level of
historical compliance, as follows:
(a) No criminal convictions ever under any Federal or State
environmental statute for falsifying monitoring data or violations
within the past three years which presented an imminent and substantial
endangerment to public health or welfare;
(b) No criminal actions pending or under investigation;
(c) For civil judicial actions, completion of all injunctive relief
and payment of penalties;
(d) For administrative enforcement actions, in compliance with all
Administrative Penalty Orders (APOs) or Administrative Orders (AOs) and
payment of any assessed penalty; and
(e) No repeat violations as defined by EPA's Incentives for Self-
Policing Policy (60 FR 66706) or similar State policy.
However, these conditions, with the exception of criminal
convictions, could be waived for facilities that demonstrate an
exceptional commitment to implementing an environmental system, based
on the discretion of the State and applicable EPA Regional office.
While States could use this program to facilitate entry into the
Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) by individual facilities,
participation in the ELP is not a requirement for facilities to
participate in this program.
4. As part of their participation in this program, States are asked
to undertake a dialogue with interested stakeholders to determine the
type and timing of incentives and flexibility that would be appropriate
to offer to facilities that implement EMS's based on the guidelines
outlined above. The results of these discussions and recommendations on
specific incentives are to be submitted to EPA within one year from the
initiation of each State's program.
5. Finally, each participating State will be asked to share common
sets of information on their experiences with other States and EPA. EPA
will consider holding a conference after States are selected but before
their programs are initiated to bring together all participants and
identify the common information that is to be shared among the
participants and with other stakeholders, including EPA.
III. Process for Submitting Applications and Matching Requirements
States are requested to submit their applications to the Office of
Wastewater Management at the address listed above no later than March
13, 1997. A copy of the application should also be sent to Director of
the Water Management Division in the relevant EPA Regional office.
While there is no prescribed format for submitting applications,
States are asked to address, to the extent possible, all of the items
identified under Guidelines for Participation above. The primary basis
for evaluating each application will be the degree to which each State
can address these items. In addition, States should indicate clearly a
commitment to integrate this initiative into their ongoing water
programs. Finally, States should indicate a willingness to provide
matching resources of not less than 10% of the total grant amount
provided by EPA to support this program. These matching resources could
be provided either through in-kind services or cash. Specific questions
that each State should address in its application are included below in
Section IV.
Once all applications are received, a panel comprised of
individuals from both EPA Headquarters and Regional offices, will be
convened to make final decisions on each application.
EPA will make every effort to complete the final selection process
and notify the individual States selected by April 18, 1997.
Grant awards will then be made to each State by the relevant EPA
Regional Office within 45 days after this notification. States selected
will then be asked to develop workplans, including specific milestones,
for their programs covering a period of two years as part of the formal
grant application.
IV. Questions To Be Addressed by Applicants
In order to assist States wishing to apply for participation in
this program, EPA is providing the following list of questions to be
addressed in each application.
1. Who in your organization will be responsible for managing your
participation in this initiative? If that person is not in the water
program, how will that person work with persons in the water program?
2. What are the major activities that will be supported with the
grants provided to your State?
3. Similarly, what level of matching resources will be provided and
what major activities will be supported with these resources?
4. What approach will the State employ to determine that each of
the guidelines for State and facility participation in Section II are
met?
5. How will the State integrate this initiative into its on-going
water program?
6. Finally, how will the State integrate this initiative into other
EMS's pilot projects it plans to undertake?
Dated: January 14, 1997.
Michael B. Cook,
Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 97-1371 Filed 1-17-97; 8:45 am]
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