State Innovation Grant Program: New Hampshire
Encouraging Superior Environmental Performance through Management
Systems, Recognition, and Rewards (2005 Competition)
; btate innovation brant program to support
efforts led by state environmental agencies to test innovative approaches for
achieving better environmental results and improved efficiency in permitting
programs. Between 2002 and 2007, the State Innovation Grant program
competition awarded over six million dollars to support 35 state projects that
test permitting innovation for a variety of regulated entities including several
small business sectors. A summary of the awards by year appears in the
table below.
State Innovation Grant Program Statistics, 2002-2007
Competition Proposals Proposals Total Program
Year Submitted Selected Funding ($)
Project Background:
2002/2003
$618,000
$1.425 Million
$1.479 Million
Cumulative
$1.243 Million
$1.611 Million
$6.376 Million
"Innovation in Permitting" has been the theme of the State Innovation Grant
competition since its inception. In the last three competition cycles states
received awards for projects in the following three categories:
• The Environmental Results Program (ERP) is an innovative
approach to improving environmental performance based on a system
of the interlocking tools of compliance assistance, self-certification
(sometimes, where permissible, in lieu of permitting), and
statistically-based measurement to gauge the performance of an entire
business sector. The program utilizes a multimedia approach to
encourage small sources to achieve environmental compliance and
pollution prevention. (See: http://www.epa.gov/permits/erp/)
• Environmental Management System (EMS) is a system involving a
continual cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the
processes and actions that an organization undertakes to meet its
business and environmental goals. EMSs provide organizations of all
types with a structured system and approach for managing environmental
and regulatory responsibilities to improve overall environmental
performance and stewardship. (See: www.epa.gov/ems/info/index.htm)
• Performance Track is a partnership that recognizes top
environmental performance among participating US facilities of all types,
sizes, and complexity, both public and private.
(See: http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/)
NCEI has provided awards also for projects testing watershed-based
permitting, and for permit process streamlining in past competitions. For
more information on the history of the programs, including information on
solicitations, state proposals, and project awards, please see the EPA State
tion Grants website at httD://www.eDa.aov/innovation/state
In 2005 New Hampshire received an EPA State
Innovation Grant to promote better environmental
performance through the use of Environmental
Management Systems (EMS). These EMS would help
businesses address compliance requirements regulated by
the New Hampshire Department of Environmental
Services (NHDES), as well as promote better
environmental business practices in areas not covered by
federal and state regulations. In New Hampshire only a
small percentage of business are in manufacturing sectors
and most businesses are small businesses with over 90
percent employing fewer than 50 people. The rural nature
of the state and die tendency toward smaller businesses
makes the encouragement and adoption of EMS difficult
and complicated. The grant project will utilize a variety
of educational and outreach approaches to encourage
adoption of EMS by public and private sector
organizations throughout New Hampshire. In addition,
this project will develop a plan, and hopefully implement,
a performance-based reward and recognition program
mirroring US EPA's National Environmental
Performance Track.
Project Description
NHDES is working to encourage systematic
environmental management by NH business and local
government through the use of a variety of innovative
measures, including an Environmental Leadership
Program. The program will attempt to leverage efforts
by business and local government to achieve
environmental compliance and address emerging
environmental problems through a voluntary
performance-based reward/recognition program,
intended to be similar to the EPA National
Environmental Performance Track Program but with a
higher tier for outstanding stewardship, as well as an on-
ramp tier. This project offers the opportunity to capitalize
on stakeholder input and support from local leaders to
test concepts that could be implemented on a larger scale
through Performance Track or in Performance Track-
NCEI
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION
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like programs in other states. These concepts include
partnering on priority issues, on-ramp design,
performance assessment, and selection of benefits to
encourage participation.
The main components of New Hampshire's project
include both outreach and educational activities. The
process, strongly driven by a stakeholder and advocacy
group comprised of academics, business, government,
and environmental organizations, will include strategies
aimed at business, government, and the public to improve
overall environmental management and stewardship
within New Hampshire. The project will include training
seminars geared toward the public and private sectors,
including NHDES staff, regulated entities on a sector
basis, and the public. In addition, NHDES will
implement an outreach program focused on university
business schools, to emphasize the importance of
sustainability concepts for prospective business managers.
NHDES will also focus on educational outreach for small
and medium business enterprises (SMEs) that often lack
knowledge of EMS, as a tool to improve their
environmental stewardship through improved efficiency
practices. Throughout this process, opportunities will be
sought for larger business organizations to mentor SMEs
through projects including but not limited to "greening
die supply chain."
The grant project's last component consists of die New
Hampshire Environmental Leadership Program, a multi-
tiered reward and recognition program loosely modeled
after EPA's National Performance Track Program. This
program is currentiy envisioned to involve three tiers;
die first will allow SMEs to gear up toward the higher
performance level tiers: tier 2, modeled after the
Performance Track program for high-level performers,
and a third tier. This higher tier would require a facility-
specific contractual negotiation, owing to die difficulty
of using a "one-size-fits-all" approach in a highly diverse
but small population like New Hampshire's
manufacturing sector.
This grant funded project will last diree years until
September 2009.
Connection to EPA's Goals
New Hampshire's EMS project furdiers EPA's Strategic
Goals by (Goal 5) promoting environmental innovation
and stewardship through the use of an innovative
management system that promotes "beyond
compliance" performance from industry sectors.
Project Contacts:
Bob Minicucci
New Hampshire Department of Environmental
Services
29 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-2941
rminicucci@des. state.nh.us
Jean Holbrook
US Environmental Protection Agency — Region 1
1 Congress St., Suite 1100
Boston, MA 02114-2023
(617) 918-1816; FAX (617) 562-0816
holbrook. jean @,ep a.gov
Eileen McGovern
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460; MC (1807T)
(202) 566-2881; FAX (202) 566-2989
mcgpvem.eileentSleoa.gov
Program Contact:
Sherri Walker
State Innovation Grant Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460 (MC1807T)
(202)-566-2186; FAX (202) 566-2220
walker.sherri@epa.gov
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(1807T)
October 2007
EPA-100-F-07-039
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