[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 204 (Friday, October 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57092-57094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27677]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6462-5]


Assistance for Local Governments That Wish To Design and 
Implement Voluntary Environmental Management Systems (EMS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice; announcement of a program to assist local governments 
that wish to voluntarily develop and implement environmental management 
systems; request for applications.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces its 
intention to assist up to nine local government entities that wish to 
design and implement environmental management systems. Assistance, in 
the form of training and other technical assistance, would be provided 
through a consulting organization funded by EPA. No direct financial 
assistance to participating local governments would be provided. 
Working with EPA, participants would be asked to develop EMSs, using 
the elements of the ISO 14001 International EMS Standard as a baseline 
over a two year period. This program is based on EPA's existing policy 
to promote greater voluntary adoption of EMSs, especially with public 
sector organizations. EPA believes EMSs can help all types of 
organizations improve their overall environmental performance, prevent 
pollution, and improve regulatory compliance.
    This project is being jointly sponsored by several EPA offices 
including the Office of Water, Office of Compliance, Office of Solid 
Waste, and Office of Air and Radiation.


[[Page 57093]]


DATES: Letters of Application from interested organizations should be 
submitted no later than December 16, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Letters of application should be submitted to James Horne, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Wastewater Management, 
401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, Mail Code: 4201, (202) 260-
5802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Horne at (202) 260-5802.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Around the world, the voluntary use of environmental management 
systems (EMS) is increasing as organizations seek to integrate 
environmental considerations into their day-to-day operations, improve 
their overall environmental performance and compliance, and demonstrate 
this performance to outsiders, including regulatory agencies. An EMS 
consists of a series of standard procedures and practices that 
organizations put in place to manage their environmental obligations. 
EMSs do not impose new technical requirements, nor are they a 
substitute for existing regulatory standards. However, an EMS provides 
a framework for an organization to more effectively manage its 
environmental obligations and, hopefully, improve its environmental 
performance over time. By more effectively managing these obligations, 
organizations can also operate more efficiently and reduce costs.
    EPA has recently published a report entitled Aiming for Excellence-
Actions to Encourage Stewardship and Accelerate Environmental Progress. 
Action 2 of this report makes clear that, as a matter of policy, EPA 
will promote and encourage the use of environmental management systems 
that help improve compliance, pollution prevention, and other measures 
of environmental performance. This project, along with a similar 
project that is now completed, reflects the growing awareness and 
support within EPA for voluntary adoption of EMSs.
    While the adoption of EMSs, especially those based on the ISO 14001 
International Voluntary Standard, has occurred mainly in the private 
sector, there is growing evidence that EMSs are entirely applicable to 
operations managed by local governments. The U.S. EPA has been 
strategically promoting the use of EMSs in a variety of venues, 
including with municipal and county governments. The Agency is just now 
completing a two year demonstration program with nine local government 
agencies designed to assist these entities put EMSs in place, using the 
ISO 14001 standard as a baseline. Participants have realized a variety 
of benefits as a result of their participation including, but not 
limited to (1) better understanding of the root causes of 
noncompliance, (2) increased employee awareness of environmental 
issues, (3) lower costs through reduced energy use, and (4) better 
employee morale. More information about this project can be found at 
http://www.getf.org/muni.htm
    U.S. EPA, in partnership with other stakeholders, is interested in 
further promoting the use of EMSs in the public sector building upon 
the successes of our initial program as described above. Accordingly, 
the Agency plans to sponsor another two-year demonstration project, 
scheduled to begin in early 2000, with up to nine participating local 
governments. EPA wishes to support a diverse set of local government 
entities in terms of the type of operation, size of organization, and 
geographic distribution around the country. EPA also believes an EMS 
can provide significant benefits to small organizations. Accordingly, 
we encourage small local governments to apply to participate in this 
program.
    Participants in this program would be asked to:
    (1) Communicate and work with local stakeholders as they develop 
the EMS;
    (2) Adopt meaningful performance objectives for their EMS that 
address pollution prevention, compliance, and unregulated environmental 
impacts;
    (3) Ensure that their EMS contained adequate procedures for 
assuring compliance with all applicable regulations; and
    (4) Share information about their EMS as it is developed and other 
relevant information (implementation costs, benefits, lessons learned, 
barriers to implementation, etc.)
    On-site and group training would be provided by the consulting 
organization retained by EPA throughout the project. This training and 
technical assistance would help participants to:

--Develop an environmental management system suited to their particular 
needs;
--Implement the system and track its performance over time; and
--Communicate effectively and reach out to local stakeholders and 
others about their EMS

Participants would attend periodic workshops to receive more in-depth 
training and share information with other participants.

II. Guidelines for Participation

    Organizations wishing to be considered for participation in this 
project need to:
    1. Submit a letter of application to the person at the address 
listed above by December 16, 1999.
    2. This letter should be signed by a top management representative 
from the organization and contain the following information:

--A brief description of the organization and its responsibilities
--The name of a top management representative and the person who will 
be given the responsibility and authority within the organization for 
leading the work to develop the EMS. This person should be available to 
travel and participate in up to four workshops with other participants 
over the life of the project. These workshops will be held 
approximately every six months
--A willingness to form a core team of other employees that will work 
with this person and an assurance that the core team's efforts will be 
fully supported throughout the project by top management. EPA and its 
consultant will be available to assist participants as they form these 
core teams.
--A preliminary, non-binding indication of the operation(s) within the 
organization that will be developing the EMS (i.e. public works, 
transit operations, etc.). A final determination of these operations 
can occur once the organization is accepted, based on further 
discussions with EPA.
--A description of the reasons why the organization wishes to 
participate and some of the benefits it hopes to realize from adopting 
an EMS.
--Assurance of top management's commitment to fully support the core 
team throughout the life of the project. Top management support, 
visibility, and leadership are essential to the development of a 
successful and sustaining EMS.

    Once all applications are received, EPA and its consultant will 
conduct follow-up interviews with the applicants to discuss in more 
detail the information contained in the letter of application and any 
other issues needed to make a final decision on which organizations to 
select. EPA hopes to have this selection process completed by no later 
than February 15, 2000.

    Note: Applicants will need to have access to the Internet.


[[Page 57094]]


    Dated: October 14, 1999.
Michael B. Cook,
Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 99-27677 Filed 10-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U