[Federal Register: August 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 149)]
[Notices]
[Page 44921-44923]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04au05-38]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7948-2, OA-2005-0003]
Description of Collaboration With the Environmental Council of
the States Regarding National Environmental Performance Track and State
Performance-Based Environmental Leadership Programs
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice describes and seeks public comment about a
collaborative effort between EPA and the Environmental Council of the
States (ECOS). This effort seeks to integrate performance-based
environmental leadership programs into standard operating procedures
for states and EPA in order to identify, develop, and implement
incentives for top environmental performers that are part of state and
federal performance-based environmental leadership programs. EPA will
convene a public meeting on October 19, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois, to
solicit stakeholder input on the preliminary results of these
collaborations.
DATES: A public meeting will be held on October 19, 2005. EPA will
accept comments until October 31, 2005. EPA encourages those interested
in attending the public meeting to reply to EPA via the docket with
their intent by October 4, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to: Office of Administrator
Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC, 20460. Attention Docket ID No. OA-2005-0003. Comments
may also be submitted electronically or through hand delivery or
courier, see details in section I.B.1 of the Supplementary Information
Section of this notice. The public meeting will be held in Chicago,
Illinois at the Hilton Chicago Hotel, 720 South Michigan Avenue, from 9
a.m. to 12 p.m. CDT.
EPA asks you to submit your information electronically, by mail, or
through hand delivery/courier; simply follow the detailed instructions
as provided in Unit I.B.1 of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Sachs, Office of Policy,
Economics, and Innovation. Phone: 202-566-2884; E-mail:
sachs.robert@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. How Can I Get Copies of Related Information?
1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this
action under Docket ID No. OA-2005-0003. The official public docket is
the collection of materials that is available for public viewing at the
Office of Administrator Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA
West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA
Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number
for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744.
2. Electronic Access. An electronic version of the public docket is
available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system,
EPA Dockets. You may use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to
submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the
contents of the official public docket, and to access those documents
in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the
system, select ``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket
identification number.
When a document is selected from the index list in EPA Dockets, the
system will identify whether the document is available for viewing in
EPA's electronic public docket. Although not all docket materials may
be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly
available docket materials through the docket facility identified in
Unit I.B of this notice. EPA intends to work towards providing
electronic access to all of the publicly available docket materials
through EPA's electronic public docket.
For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper,
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public
docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or
delivered to the docket will be
[[Page 44922]]
transferred to EPA's electronic public docket. Public comments that are
mailed or delivered to the Docket will be scanned and placed in EPA's
electronic public docket. Where practical, physical objects will be
photographed, and the photograph will be placed in EPA's electronic
public docket along with a brief description written by the docket
staff.
B. How and To Whom Do I Submit Comments?
You may submit comments electronically, by mail, or through hand
delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the
appropriate docket identification number in the subject line on the
first page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are
submitted within the specified comment period. Comments received after
the close of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not
required to consider these late comments.
1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as
prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing
address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in the body
of your comment. Also include this contact information on the outside
of any disk or CD ROM you submit, and in any cover letter accompanying
the disk or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be identified as the
submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further
information on the substance of your comment. EPA's policy is that EPA
will not edit your comment, and any identifying or contact information
provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the
comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made
available in EPA's electronic public docket. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment.
i. EPA Dockets. Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to
submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for
receiving comments. Go directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket
, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. To
access EPA's electronic public docket from the EPA Internet Home Page,
select ``Information Sources,'' ``Dockets,'' and ``EPA Dockets.'' Once
in the system, select ``search,'' and then key in Docket ID No. OA-
2005-0003. The system is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means
EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or other contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
ii. E-mail. Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to
oei.docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. OA-2005-0003. In contrast
to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to
the Docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's
e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail
addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public
docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
iii. Disk or CD ROM. You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM
that you mail to the mailing address identified in Unit 1.A.1. These
electronic submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect or ASCII file
format. Avoid the use of special characters and any form of encryption.
2. By Mail. Send your comments to: Office of Administrator Docket,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC, 20460 Attention Docket ID No. OA-2005-0003.
3. By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Office of
Administrator Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC., Attention Docket ID
No. OA-2005-0003. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's
normal hours of operation as identified in Unit 1.A.1.
II. Background
On June 26, 2000, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
launched the National Environmental Performance Track program
(Performance Track). The program is designed to recognize and encourage
top environmental performers who go beyond compliance with regulatory
requirements to attain levels of environmental performance and
management that benefit the environment. The program design was
published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2000 (65 FR 41655). On
April 22, 2004, EPA published a final rule that established certain
regulatory incentives for Performance Track members (69 FR 21737). On
May 17, 2004, EPA published a number of changes to the program,
including the creation of a Corporate Leader designation (69 FR 27922).
Additional information on Performance Track, including up-to-date
member information and program criteria, can be found at http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack
.
The program's current membership includes about 345 members from 46
states and Puerto Rico and represents virtually every major
manufacturing sector as well as public-sector facilities at the
federal, state, and local levels. Since the inception of the program,
Performance Track members report that they have collectively reduced
their water use by more than 1.3 billion gallons--enough to meet the
water needs of New York City's 8 million inhabitants for a day. In
addition, members have cut their generation of solid waste by nearly
600,000 tons and have decreased their energy use by more than 8.4
trillion British Thermal Units (BTUs), enough to power more than 80,600
homes for a year. In 2003 alone, Performance Track members reported
collective reductions in energy use of 5.3 trillion BTUs; reductions in
water use of 566 million gallons; and reductions in solid waste
generation of 300,000 tons.
In addition to EPA, more than 20 states have active state-level
performance-based environmental leadership programs, and an additional
five states are currently developing programs. Nine states established
programs before 2000, with the first program being implemented in 1995.
The combined number of participants in these state programs is greater
than 800. Many of these programs include dual membership with
Performance Track at some level, while some exceed the federal
program's requirements.
The fundamental goal of performance-based environmental leadership
programs is to achieve environmental results greater than those
achieved through traditional regulatory approaches. As such, these
programs tend to focus on environmental outcomes such as reduced
emissions, generating fewer tons of hazardous waste, or lower
discharges of toxics to water, rather than operationally-based output
measures such as the number of inspections or permits issued. These
programs are designed to provide operational flexibility for the
purpose of allowing high performers to focus their resources on
improving their environmental performance beyond regulatory
requirements. They also provide opportunities for state and federal
regulators, as well as the regulated community, to more strategically
target their financial and human resources in order to produce better
overall environmental results.
[[Page 44923]]
III. ECOS Report
The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) is the national non-
profit, non-partisan association of state and territorial environmental
agency commissioners (for additional information on ECOS, visit http://www.ecos.org
). At the request of former EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt,
ECOS prepared a report dated January 13, 2005 describing the level of
support among states for Performance Track and state performance-based
environmental leadership programs and recommended a number of actions
states believe EPA should take to improve these programs' value and
effectiveness. ECOS' recommendations are based on interviews with
environmental commissioners and senior managers from 40 state
environmental protection agencies, as well as with representatives of
the Performance Track Participants Association (PTPA). The PTPA is a
non-profit organization of Performance Track members (for additional
information on PTPA, visit http://www.ptpaonline.org). The ECOS report
is available in the docket for today's notice (OA-2005-0003) and at the
Performance Track Web site at http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/downloads/ECOS_Report_Final_01-13-05.pdf
.
In its report, ECOS recommended several actions that can be
undertaken to strengthen both Performance Track and state performance-
based environmental leadership programs and make them core elements of
the environmental protection system in the U.S. These recommendations
fall into the following four main areas:
Support state programs and state efforts to work with
Performance Track;
Assure program support from all EPA program offices;
Provide better incentives to participants faster; and
Conduct more strategic marketing and education of the
program.
IV. EPA/ECOS Collaboration
EPA and ECOS are committed to actively implementing the
recommendations in the January 2005 report. State environmental
commissioners and EPA senior leaders will collaborate to focus on three
specific areas: state support and EPA strategic planning (a combination
of the first two recommendations); incentives; and recruitment and
marketing. During spring 2005, EPA and ECOS convened workgroups related
to the first two areas. EPA is working informally with states to
coordinate recruitment and marketing efforts. The EPA/ECOS workgroups
are planning to work through the fall of 2005 to accomplish the tasks
outlined below.
Workgroup 1: Support State Performance-Based Environmental
Leadership Programs and State Efforts to Work with Performance Track.
Workgroup 1 (or the Integration Workgroup) seeks to find ways to
integrate Performance Track and state performance-based environmental
leadership programs into current federal and state approaches for
achieving environmental protection. The Integration Workgroup is
investigating ways to obtain support from State and EPA Program and
Regional offices to ensure these programs are recognized among the
Agencies' planning priorities. The workgroup's tasks are as follows:
Assess how to recognize and provide credit for
environmental and compliance outcomes achieved through Performance
Track and state performance-based environmental leadership programs.
Develop guidance for including State performance-based
environmental leadership programs in State/EPA environmental agreements
(e.g., performance partnership agreements and grants).
Develop language for FY '07 National Program Managers
Guidance (and other appropriate Agency guidance) on how performance-
based environmental leadership programs should be recognized and
credited for their contributions to national program goals.
The Integration Workgroup's members represent four state
environmental protection agencies; four EPA regional offices; four EPA
media program offices; and several EPA headquarters offices (including
the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Workgroup 2: Provide Better Incentives to Participants Faster
Workgroup 2 (or the Incentives Workgroup) seeks to revitalize the
system for identifying, developing, and implementing effective
incentives while minimizing transaction costs. This work is intended
modify and to build on existing processes the agency and states use
currently. The workgroup's tasks are as follows:
Develop and implement a revitalized system for
identifying, developing, and implementing incentives for Performance
Track and state performance-based programs.
Evaluate several specific ideas for incentives that may be
of significant value to current and potential program members.
Work with ECOS to evaluate potential regulatory and
statutory options for improving and streamlining the incentives
implementation process.
The Incentives Workgroup's members represent six state
environmental protection agencies; three EPA regional offices; four EPA
media program offices; and EPA's enforcement and general counsel
offices.
V. Notice of Public Meeting
In order to provide an opportunity for stakeholder input on the
EPA/ECOS workgroups, EPA will convene a public meeting on October 19,
2005 in Chicago, IL. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Chicago
Hotel, 720 South Michigan Avenue, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The purpose of
the meeting is to solicit feedback on the workgroups' preliminary
recommendations. The meeting will include brief presentations on
Performance Track and representative state programs, a discussion of
the workgroups' recommendations, and ample time for questions, answers,
and comments. EPA welcomes comments now from interested parties
regarding the charge and tasks of each workgroup.
Draft documents from workgroups 1 and 2 will be available in the E-
Docket in September 2005, and on EPA's Performance Track website. EPA
encourages the public to respond to the Docket to indicate interest in
these issues, and intent to participate or attend the public meeting in
Chicago in October. If possible, EPA encourages potential attendees to
respond to EPA by October 4, 2005 through the Docket to indicate
interest in attending the public meeting. EPA also seeks comment from
interested parties about the draft documents that workgroups 1 and 2
will produce prior to the meeting. Comments may be sent to EPA as
indicated in Unit 1.B. EPA will accept comments until October 31, 2005.
Dated: July 28, 2005.
Charles Kent,
Director, Office of Business and Community Innovation.
[FR Doc. 05-15438 Filed 8-3-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P