State Innovation Grant
Program
Indiana:
CLEAN Community Challenge, State of Indiana
(Comprehensive Local Environmental Action Network)
The EPA State Innovation Grant Program was established in 2002 to help strengthen EPA's innovation partnerships
with States and Tribes and is a direct result of the Agency's innovation strategy, Innovating for Better Environmental
Results: A Strategy to Guide the Next Generation of Innovation at EPA (http://www.epa.gov/innovation/strategy).
To support the Innovation Strategy, the 2002 grant program focused its efforts on projects that related to one of
four priority issues: reducing greenhouse gases, reducing smog, improving water quality, and reducing the cost
of drinking water or wastewater infrastructure. In addition, EPA sought projects that test incentives that motivate
"beyond-compliance" environmental performance, or move whole sectors toward improved environmental
performance. This series of fact sheets features the State projects selected for funding under the Grant Program.
Contacts:
Karen Teliha
IDEM/OPPTA, 402 West Washington St.,
Rm W041, Indianapolis, IN 46204,
kteliha@dem.state.in.us
Jennifer Ostermeier
U.S. EPA Region 5, Chicago, IL,
ostermeier.jennifer@epa.gov
Adam Levitan
US EPA National Center for Environmental
Innovation, Washington, DC
202-566-1466, levitan.adam@epa.gov
Background
For the past eight years, the Indiana Department of
Environmental Management (IDEM) has managed several
sector specific environmental performance recognition programs
each designed with varying levels of commitment from
participating facilities. In addition, IDEM has just completed a
Toxic Reduction Challenge for industries. IDEM learned from
these programs and will apply them to the Comprehensive Local
Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) Challenge. Lessons
include ensuring buy-in from IDEM management, having
support in place to assist applicants through the process,
working with stakeholders to develop a program they can "sell"
and receive benefits from, monitoring and modifying the
program when problems are found, and developing a system to
track and report progress to participants and stakeholders.
NCEI
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION
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Project Description
The Indiana Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM) received a State Innovation
Grant to develop and implement a voluntary program
designed to encourage Indiana municipalities and
businesses to take positive environmental actions that
could include reduced air, land and water emissions
and discharges. The goal of this program is to improve
Indiana's environment community by community. This
program will form new partnerships among the State,
local government, and business and will encourage
communities to set and achieve their own
environmental goals. Participants must pledge to
become CLEAN Communities and take subscribed
actions in order to be publicly recognized statewide.
They must work with other community members to
implement environmental programs that could include
stormwater issues, recycling and emission reductions
of Indiana's top Chemicals of Concern to the land, air
and water. The Challenge would consist of various
action levels that build on each other until ultimately,
the participants have planned, developedand
implemented an environmental management system
(EMS) that includes input and support from the
community and local business. IDEM believes this
program demonstrates broad, strategic innovation.
The goals of the Indiana CLEAN Community
Challenge include:
1. Creating a voluntary recognition program for
the local government sector
2. Providing increased state consideration for
local concerns through improved
communication, planned compliance and
technical assistance efforts
3. Fostering local government pollution
prevention successes in Indiana
4. Promoting high quality environmental
project implementation at the local level
5. Offering valuable rewards in proportion to
projects implemented
6. Improving overall environmental
performance and quality of life for Hoosier
citizens
7. Tracking environmental performance
associated with EMS implementation
8. Providing cleaner water, improved waste
management, reduced toxics
9. Encouraging municipalities to develop
cross-media EMS plans
Measures of success my include:
• Municipality compliance rates based
on enforcement actions
• Benefits offered by state agencies for
CLEAN participation
• Partnerships formed between various
state agencies as a result of CLEAN
• Permitting improvements resulting
from CLEAN, such as fewer
municipal permit application
mistakes
• Number of municipalities
participating in CLEAN and/or the
number of municipalities expressing
interest
• Partnerships formed at the local level
between citizen groups and local
government as a result of CLEAN
• Public response to projects
implemented within the community
for CLEAN (measurable outcomes
will depend on each particular
project, such as the amount of public
participation in a new recycling or
carpooling program)
• Measurable outcomes over time,
showing environmental improvement
at pilot communities participating in
CLEAN (see discussion above
regarding measurement of results)
Benefits of the Project
There are many benefits the Indiana CLEAN
Community Challenge will provide to municipalities.
IDEM recognizes that the agency's priorities may not
reflect the priorities of a small town. The Indiana
CLEAN Community Challenge allows each
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municipality to identify local environmental concerns,
determine the most feasible solution, and implement a
project with local citizen and business input.
Participating municipalities that successfully implement
projects addressing local environmental issues could
receive several financial and service rewards from
various state agencies. In addition, increased
compliance and technical assistance efforts from IDEM
may improve compliance rates for municipalities as an
entire sector. Moreover, improved education about
upcoming environmental regulations affecting
municipalities may lead to early compliance and less
frequent violations.
Public benefits include a more informed community
with regard to environmental and health issues, more
energy efficient and cost-effective local government,
and an overall improvement in environmental quality
and health for citizens. Because municipalities will be
allowed to choose their environmental goals, Indiana
should see positive results in a variety of local
environmental, health and economic issues.
Project Plan
The project is slated to last three years. Implementation
is set to occur late 2004 with completion and final
reporting in late 2007.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(1807T)
January 2005
EPA^100-F-05-005
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