STRONGER State Review Process Presentation to the EPA May 2005 Lori Wrotenbery

1980 RCRA Amendments  EPA study ( )  EPA regulatory determination (1988)  Found state and federal regulation to be generally adequate  Recognized regulatory gaps and inadequate enforcement  Developed a three-pronged approach:  Improve existing programs under RCRA, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Clean Water Act  Work with states to improve their programs  Work with Congress on any additional legislation that might be needed

State Review Process  IOGCC Council on Regulatory Needs  Published first Guidelines and began state reviews  State-by-state reviews of regulatory programs against the published Guidelines  Conducted by multi-interest stakeholder teams  Result in written report of findings and recommendations  30 reviews of 19 state programs conducted to date

Purposes of State Reviews  To evaluate state oil and gas programs against published Guidelines  To measure the effectiveness of program implementation  To document program strengths  To identify and recommend areas for state program improvement  To share new or innovative program elements  To increase the understanding of the regulatory process by all stakeholders  To promote consistency among state programs, while allowing flexibility to address unique circumstances

2000 Guidelines Section 1………Introduction Section 2.……...Scope of the Guidelines Criteria Section 3………General Criteria Section 4………Administrative Criteria Section 5………Technical Criteria Section 6………Abandoned Sites Section 7………NORM Section 8………Performance Measures Section 9………Recommendation for Future Work

2005 Guidelines Revisions  Updating and Clarification  Enhanced Oilfield Spill Risk Management  Enhanced Program Performance Measurement  Storm Water Management

Stormwater Guidelines  New section of Guidelines  Drafted by stakeholder team with state, industry, and public interest participation  State programs may be rule-based or rely on operator-specific plans  STRONGER may place links to state and other BMPs on its website as a resource

Guidelines Revision Timetable  Draft Guidelines published May 1, 2005  Comments requested by June 17, 2005  Revised draft to be published by August  Review by IOGCC in September  Implementation of new Guidelines beginning in 2006

State Review Process Strengths  Guidelines standards established by stakeholders  Guidelines recognize regional differences  Focus on program performance  Reviews performed by multiple stakeholder teams  Reviews document program strengths and opportunities for improvement  Follow-up reviews are conducted  Process can fill regulatory gaps  Process is a model for evaluation of other environmental regulatory programs