1. 2007 National Environmental Partnership Summit
May 7 – 10, 2007
New Orleans, Louisiana
Stacey Martindale
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Office of Pollution Prevention & Technical Assistance
Explanation of OPPTA

2. Comprehensive Local Environmental Action Network
Due to the nature of our office, we are host to several voluntary environmental recognition programs
Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge is one of those programs

3. CLEAN Program Development:
Create technical contact
Increase partnerships and recognition
Used other programs as models
Developed membership incentives
Received EPA Innovations Grant
Sought assistance from local PEER Center
Received training
In the past, OPPTA did not conduct technical outreach to local governments, nor did IDEM have an environmental recognition program for proactive communities going above and beyond their environmental requirements
Decided to develop a voluntary program to provide local governments with a single point of contact at IDEM for local government environmental concerns and increase partnerships between IDEM and communities
Plus wanted to recognize those communities who proactively manage their environment impact and search for community sustainability practices
Aware of ISO EMS standard, but thought that was too resource intensive for cash-strapped communities, looked at EPA’s NEPT program for ideas
Took components of ISO standard and NEPT program, and met with various sized communities around the state asking for feedback during program development
Formulated CLEAN for Indiana communities
Developed “carrots” or financial benefits for participating as suggested by communities; developed partnerships with other Indiana state agencies and environmental organizations
Received EPA Innovations Grant funding as CLEAN was designed not only as a recognition program, but also as an innovations in permitting-type program to improve compliance rates and reduce permitting burdens at the state
Little experience in EMSs, especially as it concerns local government sector, so we sought expertise in the Local PEER Center at Purdue University
Completed ISO EMS Lead Auditor training and additional two-day EMS overview course

4. Drivers for municipalities:
Regulatory obligations
Public concern for the environment
Public image
Growth management
Efficient use of public funds
Operational realities
During program development, we found several drivers communities to implement an ISO EMS-type system
Operational realities – high turnover, varied locations, and varied time schedules
May improve insurance and bond rates

5. Why does an EMS work? Establishes commitment Assigns responsibility
Ensures competence and awareness
Includes all levels and functions
Formalizes communication
Tackles a few challenges at a time
Requires monitoring, evaluation, and correction
Additionally…

6. CLEAN: Voluntary recognition program Implement a Quality of Life Plan
Manage local government services with the potential to impact the environment
Regulatory, financial, and recognition incentives for members
Instead of developing an ISO EMS, communities must create a Quality of Life Plan with input and support from community members and businesses
Cities, towns, and counties are eligible to participate
QLP is for managing municipal services

7. For example, imagine this funnel as the activity of snow plowing…

8. Plan, Do, Check, Act: Identify operational activities (Plan)
Identify opportunities for improvement
Implement action plan (Do)
Check plan for effectiveness (Check)
Adjust plan as needed (Act)
Similar to the ISO EMS, the QLP utilizes the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle
Identify operational activities, evaluate legal and other requirements, and prioritize aspects and impacts—refer to funnel example
Identify opportunities for improvement and develop and plan for action, in other words, must develop a plan to best manage that particular activity and reduce the environmental impact

9. Benefits of a QLP: Increased efficiency
Improved ability to meet compliance requirements
Improved environmental awareness
Better relationships
Public recognition
As proven by ISO EMS programs, a QLP has the same benefits:
Increased efficiency, which leads to reduced costs and greater operational consistency
Improved environmental awareness, involvement, and competency
Better relationships with regulators, local citizens, and surrounding businesses
Public recognition for environmental awareness

10. CLEAN Implementation:
Piloted with 3 communities
Revised program recognition levels
Added regulatory benefits
Developed sample materials
During the development period, we decided to pilot the program before rolling it out for all communities to participate
Piloted CLEAN program with 3 communities; IDEM selected three Indiana communities from a wide-range of applicants to pilot the CLEAN program, considering location, size, geographic and environmental setting, plus other factors
Signed an MOA with each pilot stating the commitments from the community and IDEM for purposes of CLEAN
Initially piloted program with 2 recognition levels: Level 1-Committed CLEAN Community and Level 2-Outstanding CLEAN Community
QLP requirements were the same, except yearly monitoring and self-auditing was only required by Level 2 members; therefore, the financial incentives were only provided to Level 2 communities
Pilots were not interested in pursuing Level 1 designation because wanted to be rewarded for their efforts
Now simply have one level, all communities pursue same designation with same requirements and membership benefits
Also made other slight program adjustments over time as suggested by pilots
Loads of EMS resources on web, but very few formulated for local government sector
Developed sample materials like Cleanville QLP, How to Develop a Mission Statement, Identifying Aspects and Impacts worksheets

11. Program Shortcomings:
Overwhelming—must limit operations
Restrict designation and benefits
Unfamiliar territory
Time intensive
Sporadic progress—management support
Found it overly complicated to include all municipal departments in QLP, so recommend starting small and only include a few operations, and expanding over time
Communities must include operation in QLP in order to have that department recognized in CLEAN designation and to receive benefits in that department—for example, DPW can’t receive recycling grant benefits if community wrote QLP and received CLEAN designation for their WWTP and vice versa
Working through process with pilots, we discovered it was tougher than we initially thought—familiar concept in manufacturing industry, but entirely new concept and lingo to public sector
Began hosting “CLEAN workshops” instead of just CLEAN presentations—provided overview of CLEAN program requirements and background on EMSs in general including definitions, and why, how, and when they work
IDEM and CMTI conducted confidential site visits to assist communities with identifying operations, aspects and impacts, and overall compliance assessment
Became very time intensive for IDEM because had to assist pilots more than anticipated
Met with pilots monthly to assist with homework and explain/teach the next component of QLP development
Found explaining and identifying aspects and impacts to be most difficult, so developed Municipal Operations Environmental Impact Expert database (with EPA Demonstration Grant funding)
Researched and developed list of project ideas in various categories that municipalities could implement
Implemented monthly pilot conference calls so pilots could bounce ideas off each other to overcome roadblocks and answer questions
Found that because it’s a voluntary program, hard to get buy-in by stakeholders/needed individuals
Progress was sporadic because of voluntary nature and is not always a priority

12. Program Successes: Two CLEAN Communities
Received 3 non-pilot applications
Added regulatory incentives
Regional implementation
Environmental improvements at pilots
Recognized two of the pilots as CLEAN Communities last summer
Received 3 non-pilot applications (applications from communities other than the 3 pilots)
Currently have about 12 communities working on QLP development
Recently added regulatory incentives to list of benefits with the formation of ESP
Receiving support and assistance from EPA Region 5 folks to designate more communities—NW Indiana initiative—for regional implementation
Tracking environmental and Quality of Life improvements at pilots

13. Recommendations: Feedback from potential participants Keep it simple
Focus program on Quality of Life
Provide meaningful benefits
Develop agency partnerships
Provide training opportunities
Recommendations for developing and implementing a similar program:
Meet with and receive feedback and comments from prospective program participants—listen to what their needs and desires are, and then develop a program to fit that need because needs can vary from region to region
Imperative to have top-management support in each community to make QLP development a priority
Keep it simple—don’t complicate the program with multiple recognition levels or varying levels of participation
Focus the program advertisement and marketing on Quality of Life issues, not just environmental or compliance issues otherwise communities may not take an interest—allow program to reflect individual community goals, not just state/agency goals
Provide benefits that are useful to encourage communities to pursue recognition and reward them for their efforts
Partner with other program areas to provide benefits, which also creates open communication with those other program areas that work with local governments
Provide training opportunities for agency program managers--attend ISO EMS training, NEPT Site Visit training, anything that will help you become more familiar with the implementation process of EMS type programs

14. CLEAN hot topics: Recycling of various materials
Energy use and efficiency
Smart growth
Green building concepts
Environmental Purchasing Policies
Fuel use
Areas of environmental focus and improvement for Indiana communities

15. Contact information:
Stacey Martindale
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Office of Pollution Prevention & Technical Assistance
(317)
(800)