[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 156 (Saturday, November 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2252-E2254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  TRIBUTE TO THE LOUISIANA-PACIFIC CORP. FOR POSITIVE EFFORTS MADE IN 
                  IMPROVING THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 7, 1997

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer congratulations to 
the Louisiana-Pacific Corp. for turning around its performance in the 
area of environmental compliance. The Louisiana-Pacific Corp. is one of 
the Nation's leading building products manufacturers and operates a 
facility in my district at Olathe, CO. The facility in Olathe 
manufactures oriented strand boards [OSB] which are high-quality 
structural panels used in the construction of homes and commercial 
buildings.
  To be fair, this facility has had its share of environmental 
problems. However, due to an extraordinary effort by the workers in 
this facility along with a solid commitment from the management of the 
Louisiana-Pacific Corp., this facility has completed the hard work 
necessary to meet its environmental compliance responsibilities. This 
is evidenced by a surprise inspection of this facility by the 
Environmental Protection Agency which occurred in August 1997. The 
quotation from the inspection team speaks for itself:

       The general housekeeping of the plant was uncommonly good 
     and the plant operations were well organized. Records and 
     Monitoring data were complete, quickly available and easy to 
     understand. Training was thorough, updated regularly and well 
     tracked. Contingency and safety strategies were in place and 
     well understood by managers and staff. Staff knowledge and 
     attention to environmental compliance was good in all 
     categories.

  The results of this inspection are a source of pride for all at 
Louisiana-Pacific and the Olathe OSB plant. The plant was the pilot 
plant for the roll-out of Louisiana-Pacific's Environmental Management 
System [EMS], which is now being introduced to all of Louisiana-
Pacific's OSB plants and will be introduced to all of Louisiana-
Pacific's business units in 1998.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit for the Record a portion of the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies report regarding their 
inspection of Louisiana-Pacific's Loathe, CO OSB plant and once again 
say job well done to those at the Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

      Preliminary Compliance Agreement Audit of Louisiana Pacific 
                    Corporation--September 16, 1997


                         briefing with lpc ceo

       The Audit Team met with Mr. Mark Suwyn, Chief Executive 
     Officer (CEO), who provided a broad overview of what he has 
     envisioned for LPC's environmental programs and culture 
     changes instituted LPC as a result of the change in 
     management since the Consent Decree and Agreement. The Audit 
     Team viewed a video from series of videos that LPC has 
     prepared for its employees. The video included an address 
     from LPC's CEO to LPC's employees on, among other things, 
     LPC's commitment to environmental laws and regulations. 
     During the Audit Teams meeting with Mr. Suwyn, he also spoke 
     of the Montrose Mill accomplishments in particular and the 
     many changes that have been made at the mill as a result of 
     the Consent Decree.


                   facts and finding from interviews

       The following summarizes the questions asked and responses 
     given by LPC personnel in reference to the Consent Decree and 
     the Preliminary Compliance Agreement.

                    LPC Structure and Montrose Mill

       LPC Structure and Montrose Mill
       LPC restructured in 1996 into a geographical alignment and 
     has been changed from Divisions to Regions. The Montrose Mill 
     is no longer in the North Central Division. The North Central 
     Division manager has been recently assigned to Portland 
     Headquarters. He is currently stationed in Idaho. The 
     Montrose Mill is part of the Northwest Region consisting of 
     the States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and 
     Colorado. Mr. Richard Flather is the Regional Business 
     Manager. Each LPC Region has separate positions for a 
     Regional Business Manager, and a Environmental Manager.
       LPC uses two organizational structures: one for the 
     Business side and the second for environmental compliance 
     purposes. LPC formed five Environmental Compliance Regions:
       Northwest (EPA Regions 8 and 10),
       North Central--East (EPA Regions 1 and 5), EPA Region 2 
     would be included; however, LPS's Environmental Compliance 
     Regional chart does not list any facilities in this Region at 
     the time of this report.
       Western (EPA Region 9),
       South West (EPA Regions 6 and 7), and
       South East (Regions 3 and 4).

           LPC Installation of Facilities Pollution Equipment

       The Montrose Mill installed the Wet Electrostatic 
     Preciptators (WEPS) in 1996 at a

[[Page E2253]]

     cost of approximately $1.5 million and it is being installed 
     at all newer plants with some of the plants having 3 to 4 
     WEPS installed. The Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) was 
     installed at Montrose in 1996 at a cost of approximately $1.6 
     million. In total LPC has invested approximately $100 million 
     in RTO's at eighteen (18) plants and RTO's will be installed 
     at all new constructions and current plants under 
     construction at the cost of $3.0 to $3.5 million per setup.


          New Management Emphasizes and Environmental Program

       After Ms. Elizabeth T. Smith was appointed Director, 
     Environmental Affairs in 1993, she and her immediate staff 
     (four positions) trained the Plant Environmental Managers. 
     The Plant Environmental Managers trained the assigned mill 
     personnel. Ms. Smith meets quarterly with the Regional 
     Business Managers and 20 to 30 Production Managers to ensure 
     that the environmental programs are within compliance and 
     meeting both the Consent Decree and the EPA Preliminary 
     Compliance Agreement. Ms. Smith prepares a quarterly report 
     regarding all environmental matters for the CEO and BOD.
       Ms. Smith in conjunction with Plant Managers and in special 
     cases with the Vice President, hired the Plant Environmental 
     Managers or assigned a Plant Environmental Manager for each 
     LPC plant/facility as directed in the Consent Decree. Ms. 
     Smith stated that LPC is currently replacing the 
     environmental managers with environmental professionals with 
     three to four years of experience before appointments. There 
     are currently four Regional Environmental Managers who report 
     to Ms. Smith. They are:
     Northwest Region--Randy Sandberg
     North Central/East Region--Sue Somers
     South West and South East Regions--Barb McGiness
     Western Region--Dwayne Arino
       The Audit Team reviewed the July 1997 Montrose mill monthly 
     report submitted by the plant Environmental Manager, who has 
     dual reporting to Ms. Smith and the Plant Manager. The 
     reports are used as a monitoring tool and if there appears to 
     be an environmental problem, Ms. Smith contacts the Plant 
     Manager and/or Regional Business Manager. If the issues 
     cannot be resolved in a short period of time and it is a 
     major environmental issue, a Corrective Action Plan is put 
     into effect.
       To assist the Plant Manager in plant operations, he or she 
     has a staff that consists of an Operations Manager, 
     Supervisor of Production, and the Plant Environmental 
     Manager. However, LPC's Plant Manager is totally responsible 
     for environmental and production functions. The LPC Plant 
     Manager is responsible for coordination and training of 
     environmental and safety of plant personnel. Environmental 
     and Safety functions are part of the LPC Plant Manager's 
     position description.
       Ms. Lundquist, VP for Operations, issued the 
     ``Manufacturing--1997 Performance Plan'' that includes a 
     performance evaluation base of 20% for Safety and 15% for 
     Environment to all LPC Plant Managers. The background of the 
     plan states ``Environmental compliance is a must be . . .'' 
     and the objective is to support compliance goals and meet 
     expectations of the Corporate Policy on Protection of the 
     Environment and included as part of performance measures. Two 
     important goals for 1997 are the Manufacturing Managers 
     Tracking System for Correcting Environmental Compliance 
     Issues by August 1997 and identifying best available 
     technology for environmental compliance by December 1997.
       In addition, in July 1997, LPC issued the LPC Environmental 
     Management Charter, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for 
     ``Reporting Suspected Violations of Law'' and Environmental 
     Management Responsibilities matrix listing duties and 
     responsibilities regarding area of concerns: policy, 
     reporting, promote compliance, audits, compliance programs, 
     staffing, training, handbook, meeting, records, records 
     retention, permits, operations, spill, upsets and violations, 
     curtailment, inspections, waste minimization/energy use, 
     environmental contracts, budgeting, plant closure, sale/
     purchase/lease of land, corporate acquisitions/divestitures 
     and Consent Decree for each of the corporate environments 
     consisting of: Corporate Environment, Business Group 
     Environment, Regional Environment, and Plant Environment.
       Ms. Smith Explained the (SOP) for Shut Down of Plants/
     Facilities. Authority extends from the CEO, Director 
     Environmental Affairs, Regional Environmental Managers, Plant 
     Managers, Plant Environmental Manager. Any one of them can 
     close a plant down. She stated however, the most important 
     person who can shut the production down is a production 
     employee if he or she is aware there is a problem. She stated 
     in reality the production employees are the ones who alert 
     management of an environmental problem or potential 
     environmental problems.
       LPC has developed an Environmental Affairs Team ``Center of 
     Expertise'' for managers to contact with problems or 
     questions. In addition, LPC installed an internal ``Intra-net 
     and Environmental Internal WEB Page'' for LPC employees to 
     utilize for information.
       A training course was developed regarding Polychlorinated 
     Biphenyls (PCBs) that explains what PCBs' are, health 
     hazards, regulations, management responsibility, and how LPC 
     will handle monitoring, engineering, emergencies, 
     transportation and disposal of PCBs'.
       In addition, LPC developed ``Doing Something About It . . . 
     '' for an August 14, 1997 training class at New Waverly 
     Complex scheduled for reopening something in 1999 or 2000. It 
     appears to be a very detailed course with a major array of 
     environmental issues and compliance requirements in both 
     English and Spanish.


   standard operating procedures (sop) and management program changes

       There was an in-depth discussion in this area. The 
     following focuses on the major areas discussed. LPC has made 
     major advances in SOP's for internal operations. They are 
     currently in the process of updating their formal evaluation 
     system of performance of Plant Managers to be rated on 
     Production, Environmental, Health and Safety on an equal 
     basis. LPC has developed an Environmental Management System 
     (EMS) for mill operations. The Montrose mill served as the 
     pilot and cutting down the time to respond to problems has 
     been contributed to the EMS process

                Performance Plans, Handbooks, and SOP's

       The Audit Team reviewed the 1997 Environmental Affairs 
     Performance Plan, the Manager's Environmental Handbook, and 
     various LPC SOP's.
       The Audit Team reviewed the 1997 Environmental Affairs 
     Performance Plan dated August 13, 1997, which illustrated the 
     status of programs and projects: as complete, in progress, or 
     initiated. In addition, the plan contained additional 
     projects and efforts for 1997.
       The Audit Team reviewed the Manager's Environmental 
     Handbook, which was very detailed and covered the entire 
     array of environmental acts and programs. This handbook has 
     been distributed to each Plant Manager.
       The Audit Team reviewed LPC's Audit Privileged & 
     Confidential SOP policy written in 1993 and is still the 
     current SOP. Ms. Smith stated that the LPC internal audit 
     process, which proved to be a valuable tool, was a major 
     factor in her efforts to get changes made through the CEO.
       The newly issued SOP for Environmental Audit Corrective 
     Action Process effective April 25, 1997, was reviewed and 
     this SOP explained the basic processes as: Root Cause 
     Analysis, Corrective Action, Monthly Review of Issue Status, 
     Monthly Report to CEO and Issue Corrected. To bring the 
     environmental issue to ``Closure'', the Legal Department, the 
     Department of Environmental Affairs and the Plant Manager 
     must review and agree on the status of the issue and agree on 
     closure. Then, the Legal Department will issue a final report 
     to Senior Management, Director of Environmental Affairs, the 
     Product Line General Manager and the Plant Manager stating 
     that the issue(s) has been resolved. Follow-up audits or 
     inspections by regional or corporate environmental personnel 
     may occur to confirm that an appropriate correction has been 
     satisfactorily completed.
       Interviews were held with Mr. Don Smith, Audit Manager, and 
     Mr. Bill Hossman, Environmental Assessment Coordinator. Mr. 
     Smith stated that LPC uses a standard audit program and does 
     special audits for the legal department and gave risk 
     assessments as an example for special audits. Environmental 
     Audits started in 1993 for specific risk assessments and has 
     been expanded from specific risk to include financial and 
     operations. The LPC audit team gives a two weeks notice and 
     has an entrance and exit meeting with the plant manager. The 
     Legal Department makes an evaluation of the audit report. LPC 
     has 10 to 15 plants plus acquisitions that need audits. They 
     have completed 70% of their audits with a target of finishing 
     remaining audits by end of 1998. As a rule of thumb, each 
     plant is audited every three years. The LPC auditor viewed 
     closed plants as a significant risk and cite the PCB problems 
     at closed plants as an example. Mr. Smith responded to the 
     question, ``Were there common environmental problems at 
     plants that led to changes to SOP's?''. He stated, ``Yes.''


               REQUIRED PUBLISHED LETTERS AND/OR MANUALS:

                          LPC Code of Conduct

       LPC issued the Code of Conduct instituted by the new CEO in 
     April 1996 and distributed it to all employees by mail in 
     April 1996. LPC, in addition, printed a Spanish version of 
     the LPC Code of Conduct. Prior to that date there was no 
     official LPC Code of Conduct publication.

                         Environmental Handbook

       Mr. Harry Merlo, CEO transmitted by mail in January 1994 to 
     all employees a copy of the LPC ``Environmental Handbook for 
     Employees''. The letter in addition enclosed a copy of the 
     ``Corporate Policy on Protection of the Environment'' adopted 
     by the BOD in July, 1993.

                     Manager Environmental Handbook

       LPC issued under CEO Harry Merlo the original ``Manager 
     Environmental Handbook'' on February 24, 1995. A revised 
     version dated May 1997 was distributed to managers in May 
     1997. The latest revision contains four (4) training modules 
     as follows: Management Overview, Waste, Water, and Air.
       In addition, the handbook includes a Questionnaire to 
     assist in the goal of identifying environmental issues that 
     will be addressed in the next 5 years by recommending that 
     Plant Managers utilize the development of Corrective Action 
     Plans as the ``Way to Go''.


[[Page E2254]]

     

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