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Municipalities Wrap Up EMS Pilot "It works!" That was the overwhelming response from the participants in Municipal Environmental Management System (EMS) Implementation Initiative. Funded by the EPA's Office of Wastewater Management and Office of Compliance through a cooperative agreement with the Global Environment & Technology Foundation, the project finale was held at the Bar Association of New York City on July 14 -15, 1999. The fifth and final workshop, conducted by GETF, was the culminating event of the two-year project to implement an ISO 14001 EMS for six municipalities, one city transit system, one county, and a state prison facility.
The two-day workshop provided an opportunity for the participants to reflect on and review their experiences over the last two years and present this information to EPA officials and other interested parties. During day one, the participants discussed reasons for implementing an EMS, hurdles encountered, benefits incurred and lessons learned. Day two of the workshop consisted of municipal presentations, municipal recognition from the EPA for their participation, and panel discussions including EPA and state officials. Michael Finnegan of J.P. Morgan Securities, the workshop's guest speaker, examined the impact a standardized EMS will have on investment decisions. The project participants reported that the project was challenging and difficult to implement but believe their organizations are better off today then when they started. They cited improved internal communication, cost savings, increased efficiency, better management, and a new relationship with state and federal regulators as some of the benefits realized. As the first public organizations to implement an ISO 14001 EMS they believe their "lessons learned" will make it easier for other public organizations who want to follow in their footsteps. The City of Scottsdale, Arizona chose to implement its EMS citywide within each of its 15 departments. Analyzing their compliance issues, the EMS core team unveiled an opportunity for cost savings. Each department was responsible for obtaining their own air quality permits - 23 all told, including associated fees. The Environmental Management Department consolidated the air quality permits into eight, reducing paperwork and saving the city $16,000 a year in permit fees. Officials from the City of Lowell, MA also reported cost savings of $7,400 over a ten-month period due to energy reduction strategies implemented throughout its Wastewater Treatment Facility. Three of the participants cited improved relations with state and federal regulators as a driver and benefit to implement the EMS. The Massachusetts Corrections Institute at Norfolk (MCI-Norfolk) was historically a facility that struggled with compliance issues. Management saw the EMS as a tool that would help them address these issues. MCI-Norfolk's efforts caught the attention of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); the state's regulatory agency. MCI-Norfolk's EMS activities signaled to the DEP that they are taking a proactive approach to address their compliance issues. In response, MCI-Norfolk believes the state has given it much more latitude, is quicker to provided technical support, and has been generally more supportive. As with any new initiative there is always something that could have been done differently. Many of the participants said had they known then what they know now (about EMS), the implementation process would have been much smoother. Given the opportunity to start over, the participants said they would ensure the EMS team is cross functional and that they would secure top management commitment prior to beginning the project. Officials from Wayne County, MI said they should have included on its core team a representative from the finance department. Financial expenditures will be required to fund programs that were developed as a result of the EMS; having a representative from the finance department would save the core team the trouble of educating finance members about the EMS and explaining why the funding is needed. Day two of the workshop began with a presentation by the project participants followed by two panel discussions. Panel I, consisted of Mike Cook, Director of the EPA Office of Wastewater Management, Bruce Weddle, Deputy Office Director, EPA Office of Compliance and George Weyeth, Senior Council in EPA's Office of Reinvention. Panel members discussed their offices' respective position in regards to EMS use by the public and private sector and the possible impact EMS initiatives may have on future policy decisions. Mike Cook, Office of Wastewater Management, said his office looks to the EMS as a tool to enhance environmental compliance and to carry environmental protection into areas where EPA does not have regulatory programs. He also mentioned the partnership EPA has with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to examine the environmental and economic benefits and costs associated with EMS use. Within the next three years, should the study reveal that an EMS results in substantive environmental benefits, the EPA will move to publicly support the use of EMS and develop a rewards program for those with an effective EMS. George Weyeth, The Office of Reinvention, responsible for coordinating policy on EMS across EPA, said his office is very excited about the use of EMS and the potential it has for making future changes on how the EPA goes about environmental protection in the United States. Panel II consisted of top-management from the project participants and state environmental agency officials. The top-management representatives discussed the motivating factors for their participation. Mysore Nagaraja, Vice President, Capital Program Management, New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) stated participation in the program was "The right and responsible thing to do." Like IBM and Ford, NYCTA sent a letter to its contractors and consultants explaining their EMS activities and encouraged them to follow suit. Tim Hall, Superintendent, MCI - Norfolk, said, "State agencies have an ethical obligation to stay on the right side of environmental issues." He added that their use of EMS will help them meet this obligation. Michael Finnegan of J.P. Morgan Securities, the workshop guest speaker, believes that there is a direct correlation between environmental performance and business performance. However, the financial community isn't prepared to make investment decisions for their clients based on the information available because they don't think it's reliable. There is no certainty in assessing environmental performance such that a reliable investment decision can be made - there hasn't been any certainty or credible means of assessing an organization's environmental performance. The introduction of a standardized EMS through ISO 14001 allows improved analysis of an organization's environmental performance enabling the financial community to make better investment decisions. He believes ISO 14001 is the future; once it matures the financial community will take a greater interest. He concludes, "Sustainable development isn't possible without standardization - standardization is the first step." The successful completion of the municipalities' pilot project demonstrates ISO 14001's diverse application. Information and data gathered during the course of the project will be used to generate a report on the effectiveness of an EMS in the public sector. The report will be made available in hard and electronic copy in December 1999. Public officials will find this report useful in their quest to follow in the steps of the nine participants. Municipalities Reap Benefits of EMS
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