State Innovation Grant Program:
Automotive Body Environmental Results Program (2004 Competition)
EPA
In 2002 EPA introduced the State Innovation Grant Program to support
efforts led by state environmental agencies to test innovative approaches
for achieving better environmental results and improved efficiency in
permitting programs. Between 2002 and 2007, the State Innovation Grant
program competition awarded over six million dollars to support 35 state
projects that test permitting innovation for a variety of regulated entities
including several small business sectors. A summary of the awards by year
appears in the table below.
“Innovation in Permitting” has been the theme of the State Innovation Grant
competition since its inception. In the last three competition cycles states
received awards for projects in the following three categories:
•
The Environmental Results Program (ERP) is an innovative
approach to improving environmental performance based on a system
of the interlocking tools of compliance assistance, self-certification
(sometimes, where permissible, in lieu of permitting), and
statistically-based measurement to gauge the performance of an entire
business sector. The program utilizes a multimedia approach to
encourage small sources to achieve environmental compliance and
pollution prevention. (See: http://www.epa.gov/permits/erp/)
•
Environmental Management System (EMS) is a system involving a
continual cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the
processes and actions that an organization undertakes to meet its
business and environmental goals. EMSs provide organizations of all
types with a structured system and approach for managing
environmental
and regulatory responsibilities to improve overall
environmental
performance and stewardship.
(See: www.epa.gov/ems/info/index.htm)
•
Performance Track is a partnership that recognizes top
environmental performance among participating US facilities of all types,
sizes, and complexity, both public and private.
(See: http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/)
NCEI has provided awards also for projects testing watershed-based
permitting, and for permit process streamlining in past competitions. For
more information on the history of the programs, including information on
solicitations, state proposals, and project awards, please see the EPA State
Innovation Grants website at http://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants
State Innovation Grant Program Statistics, 2002-2007
Competition
Year
2002/2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Cumulative
Total
Proposals
Submitted
29
33
26
25
17
130
Proposals
Selected
6
9
7
6
7
35
Total Program
Funding ($)
$618,000
$1.425 Million
$1.479 Million
$1.243 Million
$1.611 Million
$6.376 Million
Project Background:
The auto body sector in Southern Maine includes
approximately 100 shops that are predominantly
small- to medium-sized business. Although these
facilities are subject to federal and state
environmental regulations for air, water, and waste,
often they are not aware of their environmental
requirements and lack resources to hire staff or
invest in technologies to improve compliance. This
is particularly true for air pollution requirements, a
concern in southern Maine, which has historically
lagged behind in compliance with national ambient
air quality standards for ground-level ozone. To help
address the sector’s compliance issues, the Maine
Department of Environmental Protection (ME DEP)
applied for and received a State Innovation Grant in
2004 to launch a voluntary Environmental Results
Program (ERP) for the auto body sector. An ERP
combines compliance assistance, self-certification,
and statistically-based agency inspections to
improve environmental performance within a target
sector.
Project Description
ME DEP’s primary goals for their ERP were to
promote pollution prevention concepts, increase
public and industry awareness of environmental
health concerns, and bolster environmental
compliance. The state sought to educate auto body
repair shops about all relevant federal and state
environmental regulations, and encourage them to
take on voluntary best management practices
(BMPs) and pollution prevention measures. Specific
program components included:
•
Compliance Assistance:
ME DEP hosted an educational workshop for auto
body shops, and gave them a user-friendly,
compliance workbook for sector operators. The
The State Innovation Grant Program
Maine
workbook covered federal and state regulations,
BMPs and pollution prevention measures for all
environmental media (air, water, and waste).
•
Self-Certification:
ME DEP developed a plain language, multi-media
self-certification compliance checklist for the auto
body sector that closely paralleled the workbook
mentioned above. The checklist was designed to
allow facilities to identify and fix any compliance
issues. If a facility was out of compliance and could
not remedy the violation immediately, facility owners/
operators were instructed to submit a Return-to-
Compliance Plan detailing their process for returning
to compliance within 30 days. Through this program,
ME DEP achieved a 42 percent self-certification rate,
and of the facilities that submitted self-certification
forms, 81 percent recognized that they were out of
compliance for one or more requirements.
•
Agency Inspection and Performance
Measurement:
To measure the ERP’s success, ME DEP conducted
on-site assessments at a randomly selected group
of facilities. The state made comparisons between
the results of assessments conducted before and
after compliance assistance and self-certification to
determine the program’s successes and identify
areas for improvement (see Results section below).
Because Maine’s ERP was a voluntary program, the
state developed several incentives to encourage auto
body shops to participate, including:
•
A period of amnesty for shops in non-compliance
ME DEP’s Small Business Compliance Incentives
Policy (SBCIP) allowed facilities that voluntarily
reported less serious violations to work with ME
DEP’s small business technical assistance staff to
solve environmental violations, within 90 days,
without any enforcement action.
•
Free technical assistance from Maine DEP
ME DEP offered technical assistance to help
facilities implement pollution prevention practices, as
well as training on ways to reduce operating and
waste disposal costs, protect the environment,
improve worker health and safety, and project a
positive image to customers.
•
A recognition program
ME DEP recognized participants that self-certified as
“Environmental Leaders” and provided them with a
decal to display at their facility. The state also
highlighted these autobody shops on ME DEP’s
web-site.
•
Equipment giveaway
ME DEP gave away LaserPaint
(TM)
devices to the ten
facilities that implemented the largest number of
pollution prevention practices. LaserPaint
(TM)
is a
spray paint gun attachment that maximizes paint
transfer efficiency and therefore reduces air
emissions from spray painting.
Results
ME DEP reports that it has achieved most of its
program goals for the ERP Program, and that most
auto body shops were very receptive to the ERP. Auto
body shop owners and operators appreciated DEP’s
assistance, as many of them were unaware of their
regulatory responsibilities. In addition, larger auto
body facilities were pleased that the DEP was also
visiting small to medium sized facilities, assuring that
all facilities in this sector complied with regulations.
ME DEP measured the following changes in auto body
shop compliance with environmental requirements:
Table 1 - Changes in Compliance through Maine ERP
Type
Average % Increase/
(Decrease)
Overall Compliance Rate
10%
Compliance with Hazardous Waste
Requirements
3.7%
Compliance with Waste Oil
Requirements
3.4%
Compliance with Universal Wast
Requirements
52.5%
Compliance with Air Pollution
Requirements
(2.5%)
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
February 2008
EPA-100-F-08-018
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(1807T)
In addition, the number of shops going beyond
compliance by incorporating voluntary pollution
prevention measures and BMPs increased by an
average of 11.6 percent. All environmental indicators
related to water were voluntary measures, and thus
are included in this statistic.
It should be noted that, despite the fact that
compliance with air pollution requirements
decreased by an average of 2.5 percent, the
average rate of compliance with these requirements
remained high (ranging between 87.4 and 92.7
percent), even after this small decrease in the
compliance rate. The fact that one or two shops fell
out of compliance during the ERP cycle slightly
reduced what was an overall very high compliance
rate. The auto body industry’s low compliance rates
for air regulations in the past were the impetus for
Maine DEP’s ERP pilot, and will continue to be a
focus as they expand their ERP initiative.
Maine DEP hopes to expand its auto body ERP to
include additional counties or even the entire state,
with possibilities of also adding a Stormwater ERP;
and making the ERP either a mandatory program or
a voluntary program with threat of increased
regulation for those facilities that do not participate.
Connection to EPA’s Goals
This program directly supports EPA’s Strategic Goal
#5, focused on compliance and environmental
stewardship, by promoting an innovative approach to
improve compliance and pollution prevention. It also
supports EPA’s Strategic Goal #3 by helping
preserve and restore land through improving the way
waste is generated and managed; as well as the
EPA’s Cross-Goal Strategy of promoting innovation
and collaboration with states.
Sherri Walker
State Innovation Grant Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460 (MC1807T)
(202)-566-2186; FAX (202) 566-2220
Program Contact:
Project Contacts:
For more specific information on the Maine
State Innovation Grant, please contact one of
the individuals below:
Julie Churchill
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Innovation and Assistance
Augusta, ME
207.287.7881
Marge Miranda
Project Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 1
Boston, MA
617.918.1825
Josh Sedunda
Technical Lead
U.S. EPA, Region 1
Boston, MA
617.918.1736
Scott Bowles
U.S. EPA, Headquarters
Washington, DC
202-566-2208
| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Title | Maine 2004 final 2-19-08.pmd |
| Author | EPA |
| File Modified | 2008-02-19 |
| File Created | 2008-02-19 |