State Innovation Grant
Program
Rhode Island:
Auto Salvage Environmental Results Program:
Improved Compliance and Performance Through
Innovation
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:
Thomas E. Armstrong
Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (DEM), Office of Technical
and Customer Assistance, 235 Promenade
Street, Suite 250; Providence, Rhode Island,
02908-5767,
Thomas.Armstrong@dem.ri.gov
Chris Rascher
US EPA Region 1, Boston, MA,
rascher.chris@epa.gov
Scott Bowles
US EPA National Center for Environmental
Innovation, Washington, DC
202-566-2208, bowles.scott@epa.gov
Background
Human health and environmental risks associated with auto
salvage operations are diverse and variable — arising from a broad
array of physical, chemical, and biological hazards. Such hazards
include the potential for fire or explosion at improperly managed
sites; the transmission of diseases where yard areas serve as vector-
breeding habitats (eg. mosquitoes); soil, surface water and
groundwater contamination resulting from the improper
management of solid and hazardous waste, including mercury
switches; and air releases of asbestos fibers, fugitive dust and/or
volatile organic compounds. Building upon existing partnerships
and incorporating knowledge from recent successes within the
Rhode Island Automotive Refinishing Environmental Results
Program (ERP) now underway, and Underground Storage Tank
and Exterior Lead Paint Removal ERP initiatives now under
development, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management's (DEM) non-regulatory Office of Technical and
Customer Assistance (OTCA) seeks to advance the ERP concept
by applying "lessons learned" to a currently under-regulated, EPA
priority industry sector — auto salvage yards.
NCEI
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION
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Project Description
OTCA's vision is to reduce environmental health risks
by improving regulatory efficiency and industry
compliance through a comprehensive, multi-media
program patterned after the Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection's ERP model and
consisting of three parts: 1) facility certification, 2)
statistically-based performance measurement, and 3)
on-site compliance monitoring, pollution prevention
and technical assistance. DEM regulatory stakeholders,
industry representatives and project partners will be
recruited to assist OTCA in reaching a goal of 75%
industry-wide voluntary certification with a 20-40%
minimum measurable improvement in selected
environmental business practice indicators (EBPIs) in
the early stages of the program. EBPIs will be selected
to assess improvements (relative to baseline
conditions) in industry performance in air, water and
RCRA compliance as well as pollution prevention; the
potential for release prevention, emissions reduction
and human health/environmental protection will be
key considerations. Outcomes will be measured using
the statistical approach developed for the RI Auto Body
ERP including:
• statistically determined number and randomly
selected locations for baseline and post-
implementation compliance audits (given pre-
specified levels of statistical confidence, power
and compliance rate proportions)
• generally accepted methods for data analysis
and EBPI comparisons
• summary reports that outline findings with
appropriate descriptive statistics.
Benefits of the Project
The proposed approach allows DEM, for the first time,
to take a comprehensive, multi-media, sector-based
approach to environmental compliance and pollution
prevention for this sector, producing these benefits:
• Quantifiable Improvements. OTCA's goal is to
reduce threats posed by physical, chemical and
biological hazards to the greatest extent possible with
75% industry participation and a 25-40% measurable
improvement in environmental business practice
indicators within two years.
• Administrative Efficiency and Program Costs.
Major improvements in administrative efficiency
naturally occur as a result of implementing the ERP
model. By taking a comprehensive, multi-media sector-
based approach, agency staff can spend more of time
on priority sectors/facilities and unlicensed operations.
• Costs/Efficiency Improvements for Regulated
Entities. Costs associated with the improper
management of waste materials or being in
noncompliance can be significant. By participating in
the program, members of the regulated community can
take advantage of an opportunity to come into
compliance with all applicable requirements while at
the same time receiving free on-site/telephone
consultation compliance assistance support.
Participants will also benefit from plain-English
guidance documents (certification workbook, brochure,
fact sheets) and cost-saving pollution prevention
technical assistance. Though regulated entities may
incur some initial costs in terms of facility upgrades to
come into compliance with existing regulations, long-
term savings and efficiencies should be significant.
Project Plan
The start date for the Auto Salvage Yard ERP project
was August 1, 2004, and the project duration is
expected to last three years. ERP certification materials
are expected to be filed with DEM in the third year of
the project, and every two years thereafter.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
January 2005
EPA-100-F-05-010
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