[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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)

[[Page 3037]]

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]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P