jvEPA
          United States
          Environmental Protection
          Agency
           Office of International Activities
           Mall Code 2650R
           http://www.epa.gov/oia
May 2000
160-K-00-001
Promoting  a
Sustainable Future:
A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation

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Promoting a Sustainable Future:
     A Decade ofEPA-Polish Cooperation
                   Table of Contents
  Prologue
  Air Protection
    Krakow Air Quality Project
 4-5
  Water Protection
    Krakow Water Quality Project
    Raba Watershed Management Project
    Blue Thumb Project
    Agriculture and Water Quality Project
 6-7
 8-9
10-11
12-13
  Waste Management
    Biosolids Reclamation Project
    Underground Storage Tank Project
    Brownfields Redevelopment Project
14-15
16-17
18-19
  Policy Demonstrations
    Brownfields Policy Project
    Local Environmental Action Program (LEAP): Pilot Phase
    LEAP: Replication Phase
    Enforcement and Compliance Project
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
  Education and Training
    Environmental Management Training Center Project
    Krag Environmental Education Project
28-29
30-31
  Epilogue
                                                       32

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     STAROGARD GADANSKl
 ALEKSANDROW KUJAWSKI
           *      FALENTY* •
                       WARSAW
POLAND
         CZESTOCHOWA

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                                  Prologue

                  IRON CURTAIN RISES TO REVEAL DIRT, DEATH
                               - Boston Globe (1989)

       EASTERN EUROPE BREATHES THE AIR OF FREEDOM, AND CHOKES
                              - New York Times (1994)

When the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, the eyes of the world focused with
excitement on the historic changes sweeping through Central and Eastern Europe. As
these fragile new democracies emerged from behind the Iron Curtain, the world also saw
significant environmental degradation, one of the unfortunate legacies of the previous
regimes, and their attention to industrial production at all costs.  In Poland, statues in the
historic city of Krakow literally were melting away because of air pollution from a near-by
steel mill. For many Polish and international observers, the blurred faces of these statues
symbolized the importance of improving Poland's environment for current and future
generations.

Under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989, and with financial
support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the .U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was tasked to work with officials in Krakow to
help them improve air and water quality for the city's residents.  These programs, along
with many other bilateral cooperative activities in Poland which  followed in subsequent
years, are described in the following pages.

Although the events of 1989 certainly gave greater impetus and attention to U.S.-Polish
cooperation, EPA was privileged to have established bilateral professional relationships
with Polish environmental experts even before the fall of the Berlin Wall. This cooperation
initially took place under the auspices of the Polish-U.S. Agreement on Scientific and
Technological Cooperation. Then, in 1987, the importance of strengthening environmental
cooperation with Poland was underscored by the signing of an official Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between EPA and the Polish Ministry of Environment, Natural
Resources, and Forestry, an agreement which remains active today

Although EPA is proud  to have been a part of the success described in these pages, we
recognize that none of it would have been possible without the professionalism, dedica-
tion and expertise of our Polish and  U.S. partners.  Some are mentioned in these pages by
name, others by organizational affiliation. However, there are  countless individuals and
organizations, too numerous to mention individually, who also made an important
contribution to the success of EPA-Polish environmental cooperation over the past decade.

EPA also would like to express its appreciation to USAID for its financial support, without
which much of this work would not have been possible.

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                         Air Protection
                                                      Promoting a Sustainable Future:
 Project Overview

 In 1989, then-U.S.
 President George Bush
 traveled to Krakow and
 made a commitment
 that the United States
 would provide support
 to improve the air
 quality and to set up a
 state-of-the-art air
 monitoring network
 for the city.  EPA's
 support for air quality
 management in Krakow
 over the last 10 years
 was conducted in two
 phases: Phase I was
 the establishment of
 the air quality net-
 work. Phase II was the
 introduction of
 additional tools and
 methods to better
 understand and
estimate air  pollution
 in Krakow, with a focus
on air pollution from
motor vehicles.
 Krakow
 Air Quality Project
 Krakow is the historic capital of Poland, a
 city spared the ravages of war and
 adorned with many old churches and fine
 buildings. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,
 these churches and buildings were threat-
 ened by emissions from the giant Nowa Huta
 Steel Mill, from coal burned for home-
 heating, and from motor vehicles with no
 emission controls.  Under the Support for
 Eastern European Democracy (SEED) Act of
 1989, the United States provided EPA with $1
 million to establish an air monitoring net-
 work in Poland.
Key Objectives

• Develop an air quality monitoring network
to provide information for emergency and
long-term control strategies

• Disseminate information in order to
improve air quality and educate and inform
the public

• Transfer key U.S. tools and approaches to
enable the development of an effective air
quality management program in Krakow.
                        Project Activities

                        • Monitoring Air Quality

                        In the first phase of EPA's collaboration in
                        Krakow, EPA and Polish experts worked
                        together to design and set up a state-of-the-
                        art, automated, ambient air quality monitor-
                        ing network in Krakow.

                        In spring of 1991, a shipment of 20 tons of
                        U.S. air monitoring equipment reached
                        Krakow. EPA specialists worked with their
                        Polish counterparts to install the monitoring
                        stations and after two months of trial runs,
                        the system was officially commissioned on
                        November 7,1991. The ceremony was
 attended by officials from the United States
 and Poland.

 The seven-station system is tailored to
 reflect the air monitoring situation in
 Krakow, with each station measuring
 different pollutants, including sulfur
 dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide,
 particles, ozone, and heavy metals. In
 addition to the seven fixed stations, the
 system also includes one mobile air monitor-
 ing unit.

 • Disseminating Information

 The data from the air quality monitoring
 system in Krakow have been extensively
 used to educate and inform scientists,
 school children, factory workers, and the
 general public. The information was
 presented in a variety of ways, including
 yearly reports, monthly bulletins, videos,
 slides, the annual State of the Environment
 Report, and press coverage. For the last
 several years, air pollution information from
 the monitoring network has been displayed
 on an electronic display board in Krakow's
 main square.

 •  Managing Urban Air Quality in Krakow

 The second phase of EPA's collaboration with
 Krakow on air quality was designed to
 address the air pollution problems caused
 by the increase in mobile source pollution.
 The goal was to establish a basis for more
 informed decision-making through the use
 of improved data, analytical tools (including
 improved monitoring and modeling tech-
niques) and transportation control options.
EPA worked with experts in Krakow to
develop tools and information to enable the
 Voivodship (region) and the City of Krakow to
make reliable decisions on air pollution
control measures, including:

   •  Updating the current air monitoring
   network to monitor pollutants associated
   with mobile sources such as non-methane
   organics and volitile organic compounds;
   adding more ozone samplers; and equip-
   ment to measure fine particulates (parti-

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A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                               Air Protection
   cles with a diameter of less than 2.5
   microns, known as PM^)
   • Reconfiguring the air monitoring
   network to better capture pollution from
   mobile sources.  In addition, the network
   was rearranged to reflect the additional
   area added to the former Krakow Voivod-
   ship, now the Malopolska Voivodship,
   during the administrative restructuring
   that took place in Poland in 1998-1999
   • Performing special air pollution studies
   to capture the volatile organic compounds
   in the air in Krakow, particularly those
   associated with mobile sources
   • Providing training in air monitoring,
   specifically training to run the new
   samplers
   • Providing emission inventory training
   and assistance in developing an emission
   inventory for all sources in Krakow
   • Developing an updated emission
  inventory for Krakow, including station-
   ary sources, mobile  sources, and area
  wide sources
   • Conducting dispersion modeling
  training, both for experts in modeling and
  for managers
   • Transferring a dispersion model
  (CalPuff) to Krakow, and beginning trial
  runs of the model
   • Organizing a Transportation and Air
  Quality Workshop in Krakow to bring
  together experts from Poland, the United
  States and European cities to share
  information and experiences on transpor-
  tation and  air quality issues
  • Setting up a small office within the City
  of Krakow that will work on air pollution
  and transportation issues in collaboration
  with the Voivodship Environment Depart-
  ment and
  • Organizing a final Krakow Urban Air
  Conference sharing lessons learned and
  tools and approaches with other cities in
  Poland.
 Contacts

 Poland

 Jerzy Wertz
 Environmental Protection Department
 Malopolska Region
 ul Ractawicka 56
 30-017 Krakow, Poland
 Tel:  48-12-633-11-22
 Fax: 48-12-633-18-33

 Konrad Pawel Turzanski
 Voivodship Inspectorate
 State Inspectorate for Environmental Protection
 PI. Szczepanski 5
 31-011 Krakow, Poland
 Tel: (48-12) 422-4895
 Fax: (48-12) 422-3612

 United States

 Jane Metcalfe
 U.S. EPA
 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (2670R)
 Washington, DC 20460
 Tel:  (202)564-6451
 Fax:  (202)565-2411
 metcalfe.jane@epa.gov

Thomas Hartlage
 U.S. EPA
National Exposure Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711  USA
Tel: (919)541-3008
Fax: (919)541-4609
hartlage.thomas@epa.gov
Key Results

 • Krakow now has a state-
 of-the-art air monitoring
 network, an updated
 emission inventory for all
 sources of air pollution, and
 an air dispersion model for
 Krakow.
 • Air pollution experts in
 Krakow are now technically
 trained in air monitoring,
 emission inventory and air
 dispersion modeling, and
 are continuing the project
 with little assistance from
 EPA.
 •  Krakow will become one
 of the first cities in Poland
 to develop and put in place
 an air quality model, which
 is a requirement tor
 accession to the European
 Union.
 •  The project convinced
 the City of Krakow and the
 Voivodship to establish a
 joint office, providing the
 institutional infrastructure to
 generate reliable
 information on air quality
 and transportation issues,
 and the ability to make joint
 policy decisions based on
 the best information
 available.
 • Information from this
 project will be disseminated
 to other Polish cities and to
 other countries in the
 region.

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                        Water Protection
                                                     Promoting a Sustainable Future:
Project Overview

Under the water/
wastewater project,
EPA helped the City of
Krakow upgrade the
Raba and Rudawa
drinking water treat-
ment plants, the
Paszow and Myslenice
wastewater treatment
plants, and a central
laboratory which
supports drinking
water and wastewater
facilities. EPA pro-
vided  equipment,
supplies, replacement
parts,  and appropriate
training for Krakow
personnel.
 Krakow
 Water Quality Project
The genesis of the Krakow Water Quality
Project began with a proposal, offered by
then-U.S. President George Bush during his
visit to Poland in July 1989, that the United
States work with Poland to assist Krakow
with its air and water pollution problems.

Under the Support for Eastern European
Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989,
approximately $4 million was provided to
EPA for the water/wastewater project in
Krakow.

Under an interagency agreement, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers assisted EPA by
acquiring equipment and arranging for its
shipment to Krakow. A private engineering
firm under contract to EPA helped select the
equipment and prepared technical specifica-
tions used by the Corps in its purchase.  The
primary Polish partner is the water and
sewer utility serving the city of Krakow,
MPWiK.
                       Key Objectives

                       •  Upgrade two drinking water treatment
                       plants, two wastewater treatment plants, and
                       a central laboratory which supports drinking
                       water and wastewater facilities in the City of
                       Krakow

                       •  Train Polish experts to manage equipment
                       and laboratory
                       Project Activities

                       • Rudawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant

                       This plant draws water from the Rudawa
                       River and provides about one fourth of
                       Krakow's water supply. The equipment
                       provided by the United States, combined
                       with local investments, enable the plant to
 produce a higher quality of drinking water
 than it could produce prior to the initiation
 of the program.

 •  Raba Drinking Water Treatment Plant

 This is a relatively new plant that was
 completed in 1986 and provides about one-
 half of Krakow's water supply. The equip-
 ment EPA provided for this plant includes:
 air blowers, equipment to add chlorine and
 ozone to the water, analytical equipment to
 control plant operations, and analytical
 equipment and other facilities for a remote
 monitoring station at the water intake.

 •  Myslenice Wastewater Treatment Plant

 The Myslenice wastewater treatment plant is
 located on the headwaters of the Raba
 reservoir from which the Raba plant draws
 its water. The plant was converted to a
 biological nutrient removal system. In
 addition to improving the wastewater
 treatment facility, the City of Krakow
 installed a monitoring station and an early
 warning system for the Raba reservoir at the
 Myslenice site.

 • Paszow Wastewater Treatment Plant

 The major portion of this plant is a primary
 facility, but there is a secondary plant that
 treats approximately 0.3% of the flow. The
 secondary treatment system was converted
 to a demonstration plant for biological
nutrient removal studies to determine how
to produce effluent for industrial reuse. An
existing building on the site was used for
studies to investigate the physical/chemical
treatment of the secondary effluent to
remove additional phosphorus and suspend-
ed solids by coagulation with metal salts

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A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                            Water Protection
and filtration.
•  Central Laboratory

In view of the high level of pollution in the
waters used for human consumption, more
definitive and faster analytical techniques
were required to identify the magnitude of
the pollution problem and help protect
public health. The effective use of the high-
quality laboratory equipment is a cost-
effective way to protect public health as
Krakow implements an improved pollution
control program.
 Contacts

 Poland

 Wojciech Studnicki
 City of Krakow Water & Sewage Utility Company
 ul. Senatorska 1
 30-106 Krakow, Poland
 Tel: (48-12) 421-0008
 Fax: (48-12) 421-4412
 office@MPWiK.krakow.pl

 United States

 Charles E. Gross
 U.S. EPA
 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (4204)
 Washington, DC 20460
 Tel: (202)260-7370
 Fax:(202)260-0116
 gross.charles@epa.gov

 Ron Hotter
 U.S. EPA
 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (4607)
Washington/DC 20460
Tel: (202)260-7096
Fax: (202)401-6135
Key Results

  • The quality of the
  drinking water
  available to Krakow
  residents has
  improved
  significantly.
  • Raw water can
  now be monitored
  before it enters the
  treatment process
  because of new
  testing equipment
  and methodology.
  •  The water and
  wastewater utility in
  Krakow can  now
  perform a full range
  of analytical tests to
  monitor the quality
  of raw water
  entering the  water
  treatment processes
  and to measure the
  effectiveness of the
  treatment
  processes.
  • U.S. firms were
  provided with the
  opportunity to
  introduce their
  equipment and
  services into the
  Polish market.

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                         Water Protection
                                                      Promoting a Sustainable Future:
Project Overview

The Raba River in
Poland flows through a
beautiful mountainous
region outside of the
City of Krakow.  The
area is mostly rural,
known for tourism,
forests, and farmland.
The Raba River sup-
ports the Dobczyce
Reservoir, which
supplies sixty percent
of the drinking water
for Krakow.  The
Reservoir is  threatened
by pollution from raw
sewage, from runoff
from agriculture, roads,
and landfills, and from
settling particles from
air pollution. Accord-
ing to some estimates,
the reservoir could
become unusable in  as
little as six years.
Communities in  the
Raba River area,
facing the consider-
able challenge  of
protecting a resource
used outside their
boundaries,  formed
the Union of Upper
Raba River Communi-
ties and Krakow
(Union). The Union's
purpose is to protect
the water quality in the
watershed and  in the
Dobczyce Reservoir.
 Raba Watershed
 Management Project
In 1992, the U.S.- based Water Environ-
ment Federation (WEF) entered into a
cooperative agreement with EPA to
provide technical assistance in selected
Central and Eastern European countries,
including Poland.  Because WEF is a
professional association for the wastewa-
ter industry, the program was designed to
use WEF members to provide pro bono
technical assistance. In 1995, WEF began
working with the Krakow Voivodship and
the Union for the Raba River watershed to
provide technical review of projects,
training, and information on watershed
protection and associations in the United
States. WEF's assistance helped the Union
gain critical funds for watershed protec-
tion projects, promoted cooperative
approaches to resolving the region's
problems, helped validate the work of the
Union, and provided ideas for new
approaches to watershed protection.
Key Objectives

• Develop a watershed management plan
to protect and improve the water quality
of the Raba River

• Improve skills and knowledge of
mediation, and technical issues through
training courses

• Foster sustainable relationships
between Polish government officials and
the Union in order to improve the Raba
River watershed.
Project Activities

•  Review of the Raba River Watershed
Management Plan

A team of WEF experts reviewed the Raba
River watershed management plan that had
been prepared by a consulting firm.  This
review helped the Union acquire a funding
commitment from the Polish Government for
the construction of wastewater treatment
plants.

•  Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

A WEF volunteer held a series of classes in the
use of mediation and ADR in resolving envi-
ronmental disputes. ADR was successfully
used to resolve a wastewater treatment plant
siting dispute.

•  Training

WEF volunteers taught workshops on a variety
of technical subjects including biological
nutrient removal, biosolids management, storm
water management, and highway spill protec-
tion.

•  Technical Assistance

A WEF volunteer evaluated plans for the
upgrade and expansion of a wastewater treat-
ment plant.  The same volunteer provided
technical information to the consulting firm
working with the Union.

•  Technical Exchange

The director of the Union and several of the
members (mayors of communities in the
watershed) toured the United States to study*
watershed protection measures, and the
structure of U.S. watershed associations.  A
staff member from the Charles River Water-
shed Association (CRWA) later visited the Raba
River watershed and discussed CRWA's activi-
ties.

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A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                           Water Protection
           Water Environment
               Federation"
Contacts

Poland

Andrzej Spbczak
Union of Upper Raba River Communities and
Krakow
Rynek 9
32-400 Myslenice, Poland
Tel: (48-12) 274-1753
Fax: (48-12)274-2743

United States

Tiffin Shewmake
Water Environment Federation
601 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA 22314 USA
Tel: (703) 684-2400 ext. 7245
Fax: (703)684-2492
tshewmake@wef.org

Ron Hoffer
U.S. EPA
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (4607)
Washington, DC 20460 USA
Tel: (202)260-7096
Fax: (202)401-6135
hoffer.ron@epa.gov
Key Results

 • Training and technical
 reviews supported the
 goal of protecting the
 Raba River watershed.
 Programs were
 designed and
 implemented in support
 of this goal.
 • Strong local leaders
 now have a vision and a
 clear idea of how to use
 assistance programs to
 improve quality in the
 Krakow region.
 • Professional
 volunteers brought
 valuable experience and
 enthusiasm to the
 technical program.
 Some volunteers
 became vested in the
 program and conducted
 their own initiatives.
 • A case study was
 written about the Raba
 River Union by WEF to
 encourage broader
 dissemination of the
 watershed management
 approach.
                                                                                              RZGW
                                                                                              KRAK6W

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                         Water Protection
                                                                             Promoting a Sustainable Future:
 Project Overview

 Blue Thumb began as
 an information
 exchange in 1994 when
 representatives from
 the Krakow water
 utility and other local
 government officials
 visited Water For
 People (WFP) in the
 United States. Discus-
 sions with practicing
 utility professionals
 and interviews with
 environmental educa-
 tion groups brought
 the group to a consen-
 sus: collaborative
 communication
 mechanisms must be
 learned and employed
 to build  understand-
 ing, support and
creative solutions  for
water service changes
in Krakow.
 Blue Thumb Project
 In Poland, as in so many parts of the
 world, the long-term provision of safe and
 sufficient drinking water at a reasonable
 price relies less on the technical aspects
 and more on the voice and involvement of
 the customer.  Unfortunately, consumers
 often lack an understanding of what it
 takes to supply safe drinking water in
 sufficient quantity and quality. There is a
 dire need to educate people on the origin
 and protection of their drinking water, on
 the related health and environmental
 issues, and on the rationale behind capital
 improvements and rate increases by the
 local water utility.

 Water utilities, though, often suffer from a
 lack of public trust, more because of a
 traditional "top-down", technical and
 economic approach than actual miscon-
 duct. This makes effective communication
 with the public more complicated. The
 challenge is for utilities and local govern-
 ment to find supplemental, effective ways
 to build trust and to work with the cus-
 tomers in a two-way decision-making
process. It was this need to build public
awareness of and involvement in drinking
water issues that led to the Blue Thumb
Project in Krakow.
                        Key Objectives

                        •  Provide public awareness and education
                        materials for the general public concern-
                        ing safe drinking water

                        •  Create an open line of communication
                        between utilities and their customers in
                        order to develop a two way decision-
                        making process to make safe drinking
                        water choices.
  Project Activities

  • The Blue Thumb Project

  After reviewing various public communica-
  tions programs, Polish experts decided to
  adopt the Blue Thumb Project.  Blue Thumb is a
  campaign developed by the American Water
  Works Association (AWWA) that provides
  public awareness and education strategies and
  materials on drinking water. To help in the
  effort, WFP committed to hire a Blue Thumb
  coordinator with a local non-governmental
  organization (NGO), the Regional Environmen-
  tal Education Center, known by the Polish
  acronym ROEE. Funds also were provided for
  the development of Blue Thumb activities and
  distribution of materials.  From 1995 through
  1998, in partnership with EPA, WFP provided
 ROEE with direct financial support and donat-
 ed services.

 ROEE's approach to Blue Thumb continues to be
 the engagement of students and teachers to
 reach the general public, including government
 officials.  Water-related materials and activities
 have been borrowed from the North American
 water community. WFP volunteers from the
 AWWA membership have reinforced ROEE
 efforts with occasional on-site support and
 training on public communications, outreach
 and education methods.

 Blue Thumb's success has continued beyond
 WFP  and  EPA support. USAID and the Polish
 National Fund for Environmental Protection
 also provided funding to spread the Blue Thumb
 project throughout Poland. The annual "Water
 Week" continues with local corporate support.
 Also,  a Peace Corps volunteer was assigned to
 ROEE to help with Blue Thumb and other
 activities.  A web site on the work is now
 complete.

 Results from ROEE's Blue Thumb project have
 been felt elsewhere.  The Krakow Water and
 Wastewater Utility, an original participant in
 the information exchange to the United States,
has not only opened its doors to facility tours,
but also has hired a  public relations profession-
al and developed a strategic communications
plan that addresses many of the issues brought
                                                    10

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A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                           Water Protection
to light by Blue Thumb. Blue Thumb has also
been replicated in Krakow's sister city of
Lviv, Ukraine with ROEE serving as a
training resource for Ukrainian NGOs and
local government.

The Blue Thumb project underscored a
number of lessons.  One is the need to bring
all stakeholders to the table to address
complicated issues such as urban water
supply. Also, the work has shown the need
to have a local implementing group, like
ROEE, at the helm.  It is best positioned to
deal with local interests and politics, and
ultimately is the institution to continue the
work after initial support is complete.
Finally, the collaboration among a local
NGO, national and local governments, and
supporting efforts of volunteers from a
North American professional group have
proved to be  a feasible and cost-effective
development model.
Contacts

Poland

Miroslaw Gaweda
Regional Environmental Education Center
12 Slawkowska Street
31-014 Krakow, Poland
Tel: (48-12) 421-6796
Fax: (48-12)429-5372
www.most.org.pl/roee/

United States

Paul A. Sobiech
Water For People
6666 West Quicy Avenue
Denver, CO 80235  USA
Tel: (303) 734-3491
Fax: (303) 734-3499
www.water4people.org

Ron Hoffer
U.S. EPA
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (4607)
Washington, DC  20460  USA
Tel: (202)260-7096
Fax: (202)401-6135
hoffer.ron@epa.gov
Key Results

 • Many sustainable
 activities have been
 prompted by the Blue
 Thumb project including
 an annual "Water
 Week," citizens' water
 monitoring committees,
 field trips to  local water
 and wastewater
 treatment plants, video
 programs, water-friendly
 awards, workshops for
 students and teachers,
 and the formation of
 Blue Thumb clubs.
 Over 140 clubs have
 been formed with more
 than 4,000 students and
 their teachers participat-
 ing.
 •  Membership and
 participation  in Blue
 Thumb has been
 expanded to include
 business owners, city
 officials, water and
 sewage utility operators,
 civic leaders and the
 media  in Krakow.
                                                                                               THUMB
                                                                                                KCIVK
                                                                                           WATER For
                                                                                              PEOPLE
                                                      11

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                        Water Protection
                                                                              Promoting a Sustainable Future:
 Project Overview

 Poor agricultural and
 rural waste manage-
 ment practices
 contribute signifi-
 cantly to the degra-
 dation of surface and
 ground water quality,
 and may thus also
 affect urban popula-
 tions who depend on
 these sources  for
 drinking water. As
 nearly 100 percent  of
 Poland  lies within the
 Baltic Basin, the
 effects  of poor
 agricultural practices
 extend  beyond
 Poland's borders and
 affect much of
 northern Europe
 through  contamina-
 tion of the Baltic Sea.
 The Poland Agricul-
 ture and WaterQual-
 ity Protection Project
 was a four year effort,
 begun in 1992,
 designed to address
 agricultural water
 pollution issues
 through a multi-
 focused  approach.
This project ad-
dressed  these
objectives through
 multi-level education
efforts, assistance in
policy development
and demonstration  of
sustainable farming
and waste manage-
ment practices in
selected watersheds
in northeastern and
northwestern Poland.
 Agriculture and Water Quality
 Project
 Approximately 38 percent of the Polish
 population lives in rural areas. The agricul-
 tural sector provides 25 percent of the
 employment and utilizes about 65 percent
 of the nation's land area. Thus, agriculture
 and related activities have a direct impact
 on large segments of the human population
 and ecological infrastructure of Poland.
 The Polish Agricultural Water Quality
 Project (PAWQP) was a cooperative effort
 between EPA and the Polish Ministry of
 Agriculture and Food Economy. The
 project was implemented by the Center for
 Agricultural and Rural Development
 (CARD) at Iowa State University in Ames,
 and the Institute for Land Reclamation and
 Grassland Farming (IMUZ) near Warsaw.
Key Objectives

•  Create a social, economic and political
climate that encourages the recognition of
agriculture related water quality issues

•  Develop solutions for agriculture related
water quality issues

•  Promote institutional innovation and
policy changes that can result in long-term
commitment to sustainable agriculture and
improved water quality in Poland.
Project Activities

• Demonstration Farms

Demonstration farms were developed to
display economically and environmentally
sustainable agricultural practices, encour-
aging participation by farmers, agricultural
advisory centers, local officials, schools
and other agricultural professionals in
adopting such practices in rural areas.
 These farms were used to demonstrate a wide
 range of environmentally and economically
 sustainable agricultural practices. The goal
 was to improve human and animal waste
 handling, agricultural chemical handling,
 runoff control, and erosion control while
 maintaining or improving production and
 profitability. Sustainable technologies and land
 management practices demonstrated on the
 farms included:

 • Manure storage and handling
 • Domestic waste water management
 • Integrated fertilizer application methods
 • Integrated pasture management
 • Introduction of legume crops as nitrogen
   sources
 • Introduction of clover onto grasslands
 • No-tillage permanent grassland
  renovation
 • Cover cropping.

 • Education and Dissemination of
 Information

 Information on sustainable practices was given
 to the public, farmers, future farmers, govern-
 mental and non-governmental institutions and
 agricultural and environmental professionals.
 Through informative leaflets and training
 programs, the results from the farm demon-
 strations were extended broadly throughout
 Poland.

 The project team worked with an environmen-
 tal organization to organize and pilot a training
 program for local community leaders. The
 training demonstrated the benefits of merging
 advanced agriculture science and practice with
 well-trained local community leadership to
 solve agriculture and water quality problems
 and support longer-term economic and social
 development.
                                       .t*'
 • Institutionalization and
 Policy Development

 Efforts were designed to provide a strong,
broadly based  foundation for development of
 sustainable agriculture in Poland. By assisting
in the establishment of programs within central
 and regional governmental institutions to
                                                     12

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A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                            Water Protection
address agro-environmental issues and
bridge institutional barriers, a closer cooper-
ation between the agricultural and environ-
mental research and regulatory communities
was achieved.

Specifically, the project established a work-
ing group to coordinate activities between
the Polish Ministries of Environment and
Agriculture.  An additional working group
was established to assist the Ministry of
Agriculture in developing the institutional
capacity to address agro-environmental
issues.  Throughout the project, project staff
coordinated closely with bilateral and
multilateral donor organizations to leverage
other sources of funding and to  ensure the
expansion of sustainable agricultural activi-
ties throughout the region.
Contacts

Poland

Andrzej Sapek
Institute of Land Reclamation and
Grassland Farming (IMUZ)
Falenty 05-090
Raszyn, Poland
Tel: (48-22) 720-0531

United States

Walt Foster
U.S. EPA
901 N. 5th Street (DISOENSV)
Kansas City, KS 66101 USA
Tel: (913) 551-7290
Fax: (913) 551-9290
foster.walt@epa.gov
                                                           j

                                             $   I
                                         •

Key Results

 • The demonstration
 farm project helped
 to secure financial
 commitments from
 Polish local and
 national government
 organizations.
 •The project
 sponsored a large
 conference for
 decision-makers
 throughout Poland
 and surrounding
 Baltic Basin
 countries to
 exchange
 information on
 sustainable
 agriculture and rural
 development.
 •  Papers and reports
 were presented by
 project staff and
 published in a
 variety of fora in the
 United States and
 Europe.
 •  Based on the
 success of the
 project, a number of
 additional projects
 sponsored by the
 World Bank,
 Sweden, Denmark,
 France are now
 being implemented
 throughout Poland
 and the Baltic Sea
 region.
                                                       13

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                         Waste Management
                                                      Promoting a Sustainable Future:
 Project Overview

 Past efforts to reveg-
 etate coal and smelter
 waste pile sites in
 Katowice using topsoil
 were either too
 expensive (for the coal
 sites) or ineffective
 (for the smelter sites).
 From 1994 through
 1999, a team of
 scientists from the
 United States and
 Poland worked
 cooperatively to
 develop  a regional
 plan that would utilize
 biosolids (sewage
 sludge) from local
 wastewater treatment
 plants to revegetate
 the coal  and smelter
waste piles in the
 region.   The team
 members represented
the fields of wastewa-
ter treatment,
agronomy, and soil
 Biosolids
 Reclamation Project
Although the revegetation of coal waste
piles was often done with biosolids in
the eastern part of the United States, no
successful work had ever been done or
documented on the more toxic smelter
wastes anywhere in the world. The
methodology developed for the Biosolids
Reclamation Project proved to be a low-
cost and effective solution and shows
great potential use throughout the world,
especially where cost is the greatest
constraint to effective reclamation.
Key Objectives

• Develop a regional plan to utilize
biosolids from local wastewater treatment
plants to revegetate several different types
of coal and smelter waste piles in Poland

• Provide a remediation solution that was
affordable in the local economy and which
could be widely replicated

• Analyze soil samples to determine the
geochemistry of the area in order to select
the most suitable revegetation species.
                        Project Activities

                        • Project Silesia

                        From 1994 through 1999, a team of scien-
                        tists from the United States and Poland
                        worked cooperatively on the biosolids
                        effort.

                        The wastes found on the demonstration
                        sites, especially the smelter waste sites,
 were phytotoxic (poisonous to plants) and
 contained high levels of lead, cadmium and
 zinc. The team determined that a combination
 of biosolids and lime would be the key compo-
 nents of the revegetation effort. The limestone
 is needed to adjust the acidity level of the soil.
 The biosolids supplied high levels of phos-
 phate, iron, organic nitrogen, other organic
 mater and soil microbes. This combination
 proved to be a suitable growing medium which
 reduced soil acidity (pH) and counteracted the
 bio-availability of the lead. In order to authen-
 ticate the methodology and to ensure that it
 could be replicated at other sites, careful
 scientific methods and documentation were
 used.

 • Analyzing the Geochemisty and Choosing a
 Tolerant Grass

 Before any work was performed on the sites,
 samples needed to be taken and analyzed.
 This analysis included pH, total sulfur, zinc,
 cadmium and lead as well as electrical conduc-
 tivity and solubility.  Next, dozens of metal-
 and salt- tolerant grasses and cultivars were
 grown in laboratory test pots containing the
 waste materials in order to evaluate the best
 species for application at the sites.  Based on
 the results, a mixture of several species of
 grasses and legumes were selected and used.
 Legumes were determined to be important in
 include in the vegetative cover because they are
 long lasting and help replace nitrogen in the
 soil. Grass species selected needed to be
 resistant to both salinity and heavy metals.

 • Raising the pH

After the sites were graded, a 15-centimeter
layer of waste lime (a waste product of the coal
mining process) was applied.  A mixture of
biosolids, additional waste lime and smelter
waste was plowed and incorporated in the
upper level of the smelter sites.  The waste lime
                                                     14

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A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                         Waste Management
was added to raise the pH. Raising the pH
suppresses the migration and plant uptake
of heavy metals which cause the phytotoxi-
city. Only high quality biosolids (low in
contaminants and pathogens) were used.
The chemical and physical properties of the
biosolids are able to restore soil-like charac-
teristics and fertility to many different waste
sites, barren areas, or deserts where water
retention and fertility limit plant growth.
Also, biosolids have the ability to limit the
uptake of heavy metals into the plant's root
system in a pH controlled or adjusted
environment.
       Virginia
                         Tech
 Contacts

 Poland

 Thomas Stuczynski
 Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation
 Pulawy, Poland
 Tel:  (48-83)831-3421
 Fax: (48-83) 831-4537
 ts@iung.pulawy.pl

 Franciszek Pistelok
 Center for Environmental Survey and Control
 ul. Owocowa 8
 40-158 Katowice, Poland
 Tel: (48-32) 599-616
 Fax: (48-32) 597-030

 United States

 Kenneth Pantuck
 U.S. EPA
 1650 Arch Street (3WP21)
 Philadelphia, PA 19103  USA
 Tel:  (215)814-5769
 Fax: (215)814-2318
 pantuck.kenneth@epa.gov

 W. Lee Daniels
 Department of Crop  and Soil Sciences
 Virginia Technical University
 Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
Tel:  (540)231-7175
 Fax: (540)231-7630
wdaniels@vt.edu
Key Results

 • The methodology
 developed by the project
 provides a template for
 remediating similar sites
 in other locations around
 the world.
 • The methodology
 provides for the benefi-
 cial use of two waste
 products: biosolids and
 lime.
 • The methodology is
 inexpensive and highly
 effective, especially
 when compared to the
 cost and effectiveness of
 using topsoil for reclama-
 tion.
 •  The beneficial use of
 biosolids is an important
 aspect of a regional
 sludge management
 program.
 •  The vegetative cover
 on the waste piles
 reduces wind and water
 erosion of metal-rich
 dusts and the associated
 medical risks from
 inhalation and ingestion.
 •  The vegetative cover
 decreases erosion and
 run off contamination of
 surface and groundwater
 supplies.
 •  The project has
 improved aesthetic and
 social value for the
 communities which
 surround the sites.
                                                      15

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                        Waste Management
                                                      Promoting a Sustainable Future:
Project Overview

The goal of the
Underground Storage
Tank (UST) Project was
to assist local deci-
sion-makers in
Katowice to develop
an underground
storage tank  manage-
ment program and to
identify gasoline
stations in the Upper
Silesia region which
require an  environmen-
tal assessment.

To meet this goal, EPA
partnered with a
project development
and implementation
team consisting of
representatives from
the Regional Imple-
mentation Unit (RIU),
the Center for Environ-
mental Survey and
Control (OBiKS), and
the Voivodship
Inspectorate for
Environmental Protec-
tion (WIOS ).  The
team developed and
implemented  a pilot
program for the
inventory, reconnais-
sance, prioritization,
and assessment of
leaking underground
storage tank facilities
in the Katowice
Underground
Storage Tank Project
As of 1994, Poland had minimal require-
ments for the  assessment or remediation
of leaking underground storage tanks
which have the potential to endanger
underground water supplies, surface water
supplies (such as streams), and nearby
homes.  Historically, underground storage
tanks were not installed with corrosion
protection or leak detection.  Unprotected
tanks and piping eventually corrode and
leak, but without systems for detection,
leaks may continue to contaminate the
subsurface for a long time before there are
obvious impacts. Although Poland has
general requirements for periodic tank
tightness testing, there currently are no
specific requirements for ongoing leak
detection at existing underground storage
tanks in Poland.
Key Objectives

• Assist local decision-makers in develop-
ing an underground storage tank manage-
ment program

• Identify underground storage tanks
which require an environmental assess-
ment

• Train local officials to assess leaking
underground storage tanks

• Develop a process to inventory and
prioritize underground storage tank sites

• Assess gasoline stations in order of
environmental priority to prepare for
remediation.
                        Project Activities

                        • Training to Assess Leaks in Under-
                        gound Storage Tanks
In May 1995, EPA provided training to techni-
cal representatives from various provincial and
local governments, industry, private environ-
mental consulting firms, as well as representa-
tives from the Czech Republic. The objective of
the training was to present methods in assess-
ing whether underground storage tanks at
gasoline stations are leaking and in determin-
ing the magnitude and extent of the leaks.

In the classroom, EPA provided a framework
for conducting site assessments. In order to
reinforce classroom presentations and to give
opportunities to practice what was learned, the
participants also conducted an actual field
assessment of a gasoline station.  The field
assessment included sampling of soil, soil gas,
groundwater, and surface water. A semi-
quantitative field analytical method was used
so that data would be readily available for
review. The students were then able to use  this
"real time" data to develop their own conclu-
sions.

The use of an actual assessment reinforced
classroom discussions and exercises demon-
strated some of the  logistical difficulties that
always arise in field work, and challenged
preconceptions of the class. For example, many
participants thought it would be highly unlike-
ly for the tanks or piping at the gasoline station
to be leaking since the station was only 15 years
old and well maintained. These perceptions
changed after the participants found contami-
nated soil and groundwater during the assess-
ment.

•Inventory and Prioritization:
Creating Tools for Decision-Making

During the second phase of the project, EPA's
main role was as facilitator leading discussions
among Polish experts on identifying sites,
collecting  site information, and prioritizing
actions. On the basis of these discussions, the
project team developed a process to gather and
verify this information, then developed a
computer  database and a method to prioritize
the sites.
                                                     16

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A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                        Waste Management
To manage all of the data collected, the
project team developed a flexible computer
database system to be used as a decision-
making tool which could contain scanned
maps as well as detailed facility information.

In a workshop held in Katowice in 1997, EPA
facilitated discussions to determine the
parameters to use to prioritize the sites. By
selecting certain attributes and deciding
how these attributes should be considered,
the project team was able to develop an
algorithm which ranked the gasoline stations
in the database relative to their potential for
leaking.

• Reconnaissance and Assessment

By the fall of 1998, the project team began
conducting reconnaissance visits at 12
gasoline stations in the Katowice Voivodship.
As a result of the reconnaissance visits, the
project team updated the information in the
database and re-ranked the sites.  One site
was selected from the re-ranked list and a
full environmental site assessment was
conducted in November 1998.
Contacts

Poland

Wojciech Stawiany
Center for Environmental Survey and Control
ul. 8 Owocowa 8
40-158 Katowice, Poland
Tel: (48-32) 599-616
Fax: (48-32) 597-030

United States

Cheryl Atkinson
U.S. EPA
1650 Arch Street (3EDOO)
Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA
Tel: (215) 814-3392
Fax:(215)814-5718
atkinson.cheryl@epa.gov

Joel Hennessy
U.S. EPA
1650 Arch Street (3WC11)
Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA
Tel. (215)814-3390
Fax (215) 814-3113
hennessy.joel@epa.gov
Key Results

 • In December 1998, the
 project team held a final
 workshop and project
 closeout seminar in
 Katowice to present the
 computer database and
 ranking system along
 with the results of the
 reconnaissance visits
 and site assessment.
 • The workshop high-
 lighted the need for the
 control of surface
 spillage at every
 gasoline station, as well
 as the need for ground-
 water monitoring to act
 as a leak detection
 mechanism at older
 stations.
 • The Voivodship
 Inspectorate now has a
 computerized data-base
 system to use as a tool
 for the continuation of
 assessments at gaso-
 line stations.

                              	

                      \


                                                       17

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                         Waste Management
                                                        Promoting a Sustainable Future:
 Project Overview

 Stimulating the safe
 redevelopment of
 environmentally
 compromised proper-
 ties --which are
 commonly are referred
 to as  Brownfields-- is a
 significant concern  to
 the local officials.
 Due to the high
 population density
 and past and present
 industrial activities,
 the remaining "green
 fields" - or open
 space tracts -- are
 limited and, therefore,
 highly valued. There
 are many tracts of land
 which  have been
 impacted by past
 industrial practices
 that are  not being
 adequately utilized.
 These  abandoned or
 under-utilized  proper-
 ties often have
 existing  or near-by
 infrastructure (i.e.,
 roads, railroad tracks
 and utilities) making
 these  properties, but
for environmental
concerns, prime
candidates for
redevelopment.
 Brownfields
 Redevelopment Project
 EPA and its Polish partners conducted a
 pilot study to evaluate the safe conversion
 of a property formerly used for zinc
 smelting and the manufacture of metallic
 oxides to productive future use as an
 industrial park.  The former Warynski
 smelter property is situated in Katowice
 Voivodship, located in the Upper Silesia
 Region in southern Poland. Emphasis was
 placed on utilizing this pilot project to
 begin to establish uniform processes for
 assessing environmental risk which could
 be replicated at other properties in the
 future.

 The Warynski Smelter property encom-
 passes approximately 60 hectares located
 in the gmina (city) of Piekary Slaskie.
 Smelting and other operations related to
 mineral ore processes were conducted on
 the property from 1927 - 1990.  The owner
 of the Warynski site,  Orzel Bialy, has
 decommissioned and dismantled the
 smelter and other buildings to ground
 level.  The site is no longer in use by the
 company.  The entire property is covered
 with a thick layer of mining wastes which
 looks like soil, but it is rich in heavy
 metals (cadmium, lead and zinc) and is
 more acidic than natural soil.  The proper-
 ty is sparsely vegetated because the waste
 material is toxic to most plants.

 Current Polish law requires that industrial
 users return a property to "natural bal-
 ance" when they are finished with a
 property.  However, the "natural balance"
 standard is undefined and difficult to
 enforce as the state formerly owned most
 of the polluting industries. It is generally
 understood that the respective gmina
 makes a case-by-case determination as to
whether or not a property has been
returned to natural balance, releasing the
former user of further restoration respon-
sibilities.
 Piekary Slaskie officials were interested in
 acquiring or facilitating the legal transfer of the
 property provided that it is safe for prospective
 users. They believe that the community would
 benefit if the property were converted into one
 or more of several uses, in order of priority:
 industrial park; recreational; retail outlets or
 shopping center; and/or a solid waste landfill.
 Piekary Slaskie officials determined that their
 highest priority was to move existing mini-
 industries out of residential areas. It was their
 strong desire to locate both existing and newly
 formed mini-industries to an industrial park to
 be created on the former Warynski property.
 Public park lands and athletic fields are also a
 priority in the region.

 The project team, led by the Institute of Ecolo-
 gy of Industrial Areas (IETU), included  the
 Orzel Bialy Mining and Metallurgical Works
 (current owner), the Piekary Slaskie gmina
 (responsible for land use planning) and EPA.
 EPA provided technical assistance to the IETU
 team throughout the project. IETU utilized
 Polish technical contractors to perform select
 activities. Additional funding was provided by
 the Katowice Voivodship Fund for Environmen-
 tal Protection and Water Management.
Key Objectives

•  Assess the health risks to industrial workers,
recreational users and construction workers,
associated with the redevelopment of the
property

•  Identify cost-effective construction methods
to allow safe reuse of the property
                                                                  Project Activities

                                                                  •  Assessing Risk

                                                                  With the current owner no longer using the
                                                                  property and the gmina interested in putting
                                                                  the property back into productive use, a risk
                                                                  assessment was conducted to determine
                                                                  whether prospective users would be subjected
                                                                  to increased health risks if no special construc-
                                                                  tion methods were employed to address the
                                                      18

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A Decade of EPA- Polish Cooperation
                         Waste Management
mining wastes.  IETU toxicologists per-
formed the human health risk assessment
utilizing standard EPA methods which were
provided during a 1995 risk assessment
training in Katowice.

•  Planning for Redevelopment

According to current plans, the property
would be subdivided into parcels suitable for
small businesses.  Construction activities
would include installation of subsurface
utilities (i.e., water, sewer, electric) in "clean
trenches" leading to each parcel.  The clean
trenches would allow future maintenance
activities to be performed without risk to
workers. The land surface in the vicinity of
each business would be capped with con-
crete to reduce potential exposure to indus-
trial workers and their customers. The
concrete would provide a durable wear
surface which is suitable for light industrial
traffic. The surrounding areas would be
revegetated to cover exposed waste material
and reduce resuspension of metal dust.  The
revegetation component of the project would
utilize soil conditioning and pH adjustment
techniques developed in the biosolids project
described previously.  Institutional controls
would need to be placed on the redeveloped
property to ensure that prospective land
users are aware of the subsurface contamina-
tion and that the integrity of the concrete cap
is maintained.
 Contacts

 Poland

 Rafal Kucharski
 Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas (IETU)
 6 Kossutha Street
 40-833 Katowice, Poland
 Tel: (48-32) 254-6031, ext. 296
 Fax: (48-32)254-1717
 sas@letu.katowice.pl

 Eleonora Weislo
 Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas (IETU)
 6 Kossutha Street
 40-833 Katowice, Poland
 Tel: (48-32) 254-0029
 Fax: (48-32) 254-1717
 wci@ietu. katowice. pi
United States

Eric Newman
U.S. EPA
1650 Arch Street (3HS23)
Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA
Tel: (215)814-3237
Fax:(215)814-3002
newman.eric@epa.gov

Dawn loven
U.S. EPA
1650 Arch Street (3HS41)
Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA
Tel: (215)814-3320
Fax:(215)814-3015
ioven.dawn@epa.gov
Key Results

 • Risk assessment and
 environmental data were
 collected for future use
 in the redevelopment of
 the Warynski site.
 • The future land use for
 the Warynski property
 has been determined to
 be most suitable for an
 industrial park.
 • Brownfields
 redevelopment
 techniques were
 developed which can
 now be replicated at
 other sites in the
 Voivodship and
 elsewhere in Poland.

                                                       19

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                        Policy Demonstrations
                                                       Promoting a Sustainable Future:
 Project Overview

 The large number of
 abandoned and
 underutilized indus-
 trial sites throughout
 Poland require the
 development of
 policies, strategies
 and programs which
 will encourage the
 redevelopment of
 those  sites. In order
 to develop workable
 policies and programs,
 officials need to have
 a common under-
 standing of the
 current situation in
 order to move
 forward. The
 Brownfields Policy
 Development Project
 brings stakeholders
 together in the
 Katowice region to
 address the
 brownfields issues
 using their knowledge
 and experience to
 show that brownfields
do not need to be
 percieved as a
problem but, rather a
hidden resource with
a great potential to
enhance economic
renewal.
 Brownfields
 Policy Project

 EPA and the Slaskie (Katowice) Voivodship
 have been involved in a variety of land
 recycling and redevelopment (brownfields)
 activities.  Initially, EPA provided support
 for several seminars to be conducted by
 the United States Environmental Training
 Institute (USETI) providing an introduc-
 tion to the basic concepts involved in
 brownfields redevelopment. EPA also
 worked cooperatively with the Institute for
 Ecology of Industrial Areas (IETU), the
 city of Piekary Slaskie, and officials from
 Orzel Bialy smelter to redevelop a pilot
 brownfield site as described previously.

 While the conduct of the pilot project had
 significant merits in demonstrating the
 usefulness of following a step-by-step
 program for the development of a particu-
 lar brownfield site, it did not address the
 broader issues of policy development and
 program development and implementation
 on a Voivodship-wide basis.  Based on
 discussions between EPA and the Institute
 for Ecology of Industrial Areas in Katow-
 ice (IETU), it was determined that a
 Steering Committee should be established
 in order to determine the future of brown-
 fields redevelopment on a regional basis.
 Working with the Slaskie Voivodship
Marshals Office and the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection,
an initial group of regional and local
officials, city and urban planners, as well
as academicians with an interest and/or
knowledge of brownfields issues was
assembled.
                        Key Objectives

                        • Determine what benefits and barriers
                        exist to the development of brownfields in
                        the Katowice region

                        • Determine what measures need to be
                        taken at the national, regional and local
                        level to overcome the identified barriers
 • Determine the relevant stakeholders at the
 national, regional and local level

 • Use the information and data gathered from
 the process to develop a brownfields policy for
 the region

 • Use the policy to develop and implement
 brownfields programs and initiatives.


 Project Activities

 • Initial Meeting of Steering Commitee

 The inaugural meeting of the "High Level
 Steering Committee for the Establishment of a
 Brownfields Program in the Slaskie Voivodship"
 was held in May 1999. At that meeting, the
 Steering Commitee determined the major
 impediments to brownfields redevelopment
 and prioritized them in basic categories. Each
 category was then assigned to a sub-committee
 for exploration. The chairs of the subcommit-
 tees agreed to report their findings at the
 second meeting.

 •  Four Committees Created

 The steering committee established six areas of
 concern and grouped them into four research
 committees. The charge to the committees was
 to detail the specific barriers to brownfields
 redevelopment within the  topic assigned to the
 committee, identify possible solutions, and
 make recommendations for further actions.

 •  Second Meeting of Steering Committee

 The second meeting of the Steering Commitee
 was held in December 1999.  Each committee
 gave a short oral presentation of their written
 reports. The reports detailed and expanded on
 the barriers to brownfields redevelopment; how
 to overcome those barriers; how to create
incentives for brownfields development; and,
how to set appropriate clean-up standards that
would facilitate redevelopment while protect-
ing human health and the environment.

Among the key themes identified for further
discussion were the regional role vis-a-vis
                                                     20

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A Decade of EPA- Polish Cooperation
                       Policy Demonstrations
brownfields policy and program develop-
ment; the role of local authorities; resource
allocation for the implementation of policies
and programs; the necessity to develop an
inventory of possible brownfields sites; and
site prioritization.

•  Coordination with the Slaskie Parliament

The Steering Commitee determined that it
was necessary to coordinate with the local
Parliament regarding the development of
brownfields policy. An effort to formalize
the Steering Committee within the structure
of the Voivodship and the local Parliament
was undertaken.
Contacts
Poland

Iza Ratman-Klosinska
Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas (IETU)
6 Kossutha Street
40-833 Katowice, Poland
Tel: (48-32) 254-6031, ext. 269
Fax: (48-32) 254-1717
rat@ietu.katowice.pl

United States

Franceses Di Cosmo
U.S. EPA
1650 Arch Street (3DAOO)
Philadelphia, PA 19103  USA
Tel: (215)814-5549
Fax: (215)814-2901
dicosmo.francesca@epa.gov
Key Results

  • The Brownfields
  Steering Committee
  within the Voivodship
  structure has been
  formally established.
  • Preliminary research
  has been completed on
  the barriers and benefits
  of brownfields redevel-
  opment.
  • The brownfields
  strategy identification
  process has begun to
  be developed.
  • Further development
 of roles and responsibil-
 ities both inside and
 outside of the Steering
 Committee has been
 accomplished.
 • A distribution system
 of reports and informa-
 tion to key decision-
 makers has been
 developed.
 • The roles of funding
 organizations including
 the National Fund,
 Voivodship Fund,
 EcoFund, and State
 Treasury Fund have
 been expanded.
                                                        21

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                        Policy Demonstrations
                                                     Promoting a Sustainable Future:
Project Overview

The Local Environmen-
tal Action Plan (LEAP)
Pilot Project in Poland
began in 1994 to
demonstrate concrete
examples and new
approaches to local
environmental man-
agement and  sustain-
able economic
development. The
demonstration
communities of Radom
and Elk  revealed how
local governments and
citizen-based commit-
tees can work to-
gether to implement
low-cost solutions to
solve pressing local
environmental issues
by setting environ-
mental  priorities,
educating and involv-
ing the  public, and
developing local
environmental action
plans. In addition to
EPA funding, this
project  also received
financial support  from
the  Charles Stewart
Mott Foundation and
the  German Marshall
Fund.
 Local Environmental
 Action Program (LEAP):
 Pilot Phase
Beginning in the early 1990s, Poland
adopted new laws that increased local
governments' responsibilities to manage
environmental problems and stimulate
local economic development. Over the last
ten years, Polish communities have made
significant environmental improvements.
However, the environmental and economic
issues facing Polish communities have
been so vast, that there has been a grow-
ing need for a system that helps target
limited financial resources toward the
most urgent environmental problems.

Working with the U.S.-based Institute for
Sustainable Communities (ISC) and its
Polish partner, the Institute for Sustainable
Development (ISD), two pilot communities
in Poland created Local Environmental
Action Plans (LEAPs) to prioritize their
problems. LEAPs rank environmental
problems, identify cost-effective strategies
for environmental protection, and involve
the public in important community
decisions.

Radom and Elk, the two pilot communi-
ties, offer a model for setting environmen-
tal priorities, developing a plan of action
for solving these problems, getting the
community involved in the process, and
successfully implementing solutions.
                       Key Objectives

                       • Identify and rank local environmental
                       problems according to relative risks to
                       human health, ecological systems, and
                       quality of lif e

                       • Develop a Local Environmental Action
                       Plan (LEAP) that identifies specific
                       strategies for reducing the most severe
                       environmental risks and implement the
                       most cost-effective strategies
 •  Promote public awareness and understand-
 ing of environmental issues to increase public
 support for environmental investments

 •  Strengthen the capacity of local and regional
 government to manage and implement envi-
 ronmental programs

 •  Disseminate and replicate the skills and
 experience  gained in the demonstration
 communities to a broader number of Polish
 municipalities.
Project Activities

• Establishing Environmental Priorities

In September 1995, the Radom Project Commit-
tee identified depletion of the deep groundwa-
ter aquifer and air pollution from transporta-
tion sources as the two top priority problems
facing the community. The Elk Project Com-
mittee identified pollution of Lake Elk and air
pollution from low-level emission sources as
the top two priorities in October 1995.

• Creating Local Environmental
Action Plans and Implementation Plans

Local project committees prepared  LEAPs that
identified a range of strategies for solving the
top priority problems in each community. The
Radom and Elk City Councils approved these
plans in March 1997.

• Soliciting Public Involvement

Project committee members set environmental
priorities and developed appropriate solutions
to these problems and initiated numerous
public outreach activities to involve the greater
community.  The Radom project committee
hosted a tree planting activity for Earth Day
1996 which involved 2,000 residents, while in
Elk, the project committee sponsored a series
of "family bicycle days" to tour the  recently
developed bicycle route.
                                                    22

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 A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                    Policy Demonstrations
 • Implementing Water Conservation
 Programs

 The Radom Regional Environmental Education
 Center implemented a comprehensive water
 conservation education program through the
 city. After the pilot program has been complet-
 ed, the municipality plans to expand the
 program to the rest of the city based upon a
 careful evaluation of the pilot stage.

 • Constructing a Purification System

 The municipality of Elk recently completed
 construction of a purification system for storm
 waters entering Lake Elk. The system will
 remove crude oil derivatives from 60% of the
 storm waters flowing in Elk.

 • Disseminating Results

 ISC and ISO representatives participated in
 numerous forums promoting the project,
 including a presentation at the Environmental
 Action Program (EAP) Task Force in Warsaw in
 February 1996. ISD published five issues of the
newsletter, Rad-Elku Bulletin, providing project
updates to 200 interested communities and
observers.  Copies of the project's final report
were distributed to 250 municipalities.
 Contacts

 Poland

 Andrzej Kassenberg
 Institute for Sustainable Development
 ul. Lowicka 31
 02502 Warsaw, Poland
 Tel: (48-22) 646-0510
 Fax: (48-22) 646-0174
 ine@ikp.atm.com.pl

 Jerzy Borycki
 Radom Technical University
 Chrobrego 27
 26-600 Radom, Poland
 Tel: (48-48) 341-509
 borycki@kivx.man.radom.pl

 Slawomir Chilicki
 Municipality of Elk
 ul. Marszalka J. Pilsudskiego 4
 19-300 Elk, Poland
 Tel: (48-87) 1Q-37-14
 slawomir-chilicki@elknet.pl

 United States

 Paul Markowitz
 Institute for Sustainable Communities
56 College Street
Montpelier, VT 05602  USA
Tel: (802) 229-2900
Fax:(802)229-2919
pm@iscvt.org
Key Results

 • The municipality of
 Radom, with
 assistance from an
 ISC/EPA grant,
 completed
 installation of water
 saving equipment in
 a total of 1800
 residences.
 •  The community
 surrounding Lake Elk
 is moving closer to
 making Elk a
 sustainable city.
 •  Projects have
 begun to be
 replicated in other
 communities with
 similar issues.
 •  The LEAP
 methodology and
 U.S. experiences on
 local environmental
 management was
 transferred
 successfully to
 Poland.
 • Polish experts
 gained an enhanced
 knowledge of
 comparative risk
 analysis
 methodology, as well
 as techniques for
 enhancing public
 participation.
                                                      23

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                        Policy Demonstrations
                                                    Promoting a Sustainable Future:
Project Overview

The replication phase
of the Local Environ-
mental Action Program
(LEAP) in Poland was
designed to promote
the broadest possible
dissemination of LEAPs
to municiplities
throughout the
country.  The main
goals of the LEAP
replication  phase were
to reduce implementa-
tion costs (by eliminat-
ing much of the  direct
involvement of U.S.
experts), and to revise
the LEAP methodology
to reflect Polish
conditions. This was
accomplished by
working in several
Polish municipalities
facing different
environmental chal-
lenges, which were
selected through a
national competition.
Local Environmental
Action  Program (LEAP):
Replication Phase
Based on the success of the pilot phase
of the Local Environmental Action
Program (LEAP) in Radom and Elk, EPA
became convinced that the LEAP frame-
work could make a useful contribution to
sustainable development planning in
Poland. However, it was clear that wide-
spread dissemination could not happen
without first adapting the  U.S.-developed
methodology to reflect conditions in
Poland. In addition, it was necessary to
reduce the significant implementation
costs which generally would be beyond
the reach of most Polish municipalities.

In an effort to accomplish  these dual
objectives, EPA entered into a cooperative
agreement with the Polish National Fund
for Environmental Protection and Water
Management (the National Fund), which
agreed to serve as the Polish national
coordinator for the LEAP replication
effort. Using funding from EPA, the
National Fund sponsored  an open tender
for a Polish team to manage the LEAP
replication phase.  The tender was won by
a consortium consisting of the National
Foundation for Environmental Protection
and COWI-Polska. The management team
held an open competition  to select several
Polish communities to participate in the
LEAP replication program.
                        Key Objectives

                        • Encourage replication of the LEAP
                        methodology throughout Poland

                        • Facilitate adaptation of LEAP method-
                        ology to reflect Polish conditions

                        • Decrease implementation costs and
                        increase dissemination of LEAP approach.
Project Activities

As a result of a national competition, the
communities of Starogard Gdanski and Chelm
were selected to undergo a complete LEAP
process assisted by the Polish management
team. In addition, the communities of Tczew
and the powiat (municipal association) of
Aleksandrow Kujawski were selected to
undergo an abbreviated LEAP process. This
decision was intended to meet the particular
needs of these communities, while providing a
unique opportunity to make the LEAP method-
ology as flexible as possible for communities
unable to devote the time and resources to the
full 18-month process.
• Detailed Environmental Action Plans Based
on Community Input and Priorities

With active support from the Polish project
management team, each participating commu-
nity produced a detailed action plan to address
local environmental priorities  based on a
participatory and transparent process.

• Increased Attention to Benefit-Cost
Analysis

The Polish LEAP replication process focused to
a greater extent on assisting community
experts to determine appropriate environmen-
tal actions based on an assessment of relative
benefits and costs. This aspect of environmen-
tal decision-making had not been addressed as
directly in previous iterations of LEAP. In fact,
a simple, user-friendly model was developed
within the framework of the project to assist
community decision-makers in conducting
simple benefit-cost analyses.
                                       4
• Training Course for Regional Officials

Another product developed within the LEAP
replication project was an intensive, three-day
course for regional officials designed to famil-
iarize them with the components of the LEAP
process. The initial training was provided for
approximately fifty officials from the Lublin
and Kielce regions of Poland in November 1999.
Based on the success of this training, the
                                                    24

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A Decade of EPA- Polish Cooperation
                   Policy Demonstrations
materials currently are being translated into
English so that they can be made available to
LEAP practitioners in other countries, particu-
larly in Central and Eastern Europe.

• Innovative Information Campaign
to Disseminate LEAP

After the conclusion of the LEAP process in the
selected communities, and with the assistance
of the National Fund, the Polish project man-
agement team printed a LEAP brochure, a
detailed LEAP Guide, and recorded compact
disks (CDs) describing the LEAP process.  The
team also made several speeches on public
radio and published articles in newspapers and
magazines. The brochure and CD is being
mailed to communities, powiats and regional
authorities.  Additional information on LEAP
activities in Poland also is available on their
website: www.las.info.pl
Contacts

Poland:

Ryszard Jacek Rogowski
National Fund for Environmental Protection
  and Water Management
Konstruktorska 3A
02-673 Warsaw, Poland
Tel: (48-22) 849-0079
Fax: (48-22) 849-2098
rjr@nfosigw.gov.pl

Tomasz Podgajniak
Beata Wiszniewska
National Foundation for Environmental
   Protection
Krzywickiego 9
02-078 Warsaw, Poland
Tel: (48-22) 8,25-1428
Fax: (48-22) 825-2127
nfos@warman.com.pl
Key Results:

  • The LEAP
  methodology was
  successfully adapted to
  Polish conditions with
  little outside
  involvement.

  • A variety of Polish
  communitites had an
  opportunity to utilize the
  LEAP process to make
  decisions on
  environmental issues
  with broad public
  participation.

  • An active media
  campaign and training
  for local officials has
  created an increased
  demand for LEAPs in all
  parts of Poland.
                                               United States:

                                               Anna Phillips
                                               U.S. EPA
                                               1300 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. (2650R)
                                               Washington, DC 20460   USA
                                               Tel: (202) 564-6419
                                               Fax:(202)565-2412
                                               phillips.anna@epa.gov
                                                                   National
                                                                   Foundation for
                                                                   Environmental
                                                                   Protection
                                                      25

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                         Policy Demonstrations
                                                      Promoting a Sustainable Future:
 Project Overview

 A negotiated compli-
 ance program sched-
 ules the completion of
 various environmental
 improvements that will
 achieve full environ-
 mental compliance
 with the law at an
 individual facility. The
 goal of the EPA
 compliance project
 was to increase the
 role of local govern-
 ment in the implemen-
 tation of national and
 regional environmental
 policy in Poland.
 Under the proposed
 use of compliance
 periods, local govern-
 ment can actively
 participate in the
 process of formulating
 the content of envi-
 ronmental commit-
 ments of facilities that
 affect the environment
 in their area. This
 allows the opinion of
the local community
to be taken into
account and will
 increase public
participation in  the
decision-making
process.
 Enforcement and
 Compliance Project
 The goal of this project was to provide a
 legal basis for the negotiation of compliance
 agreements between Polish inspectors and
 industrial facilities, in order to improve
 environmental performance and compli-
 ance with regulations.  Previously, Polish
 inspectors would assess fines for non-
 compliance, and industry would either not
 pay, or pay without making the necessary
 changes to processes which created the
 pollution.  With a negotiated compliance
 agreement in place, government inspectors
 agree to a phased-in approach to pollution
 reduction in exchange for the commitment
 of the regulated industry to make the
 necessary technical and financial invest-
 ments.  This results in significant environ-
 mental improvement over the medium and
 long-term. EPAs primary partner for this
 project was the Polish State Inspectorate for
 Environmental Protection (GIOS).
Key Objectives

•  Evaluate different compliance models for
application in Poland

•  Develop proposals for changes to the
current enforcement framework

•  Introduce the practice of specifying
compliance periods as a part of the issuing
of environmental permits

•  Develop a training course to enhance the
negotiation skills of all stakeholders as a
means for developing and implementing
compliance schedules in the future
 Project Activities

 • Proposing New Solutions to the
 Current Enforcement Framework

 Teams were formed both in Poland and in the
 United States to study and evaluate different
 compliance models. During the first phase of
 the project, the U.S. and Polish teams con-
 ducted a series of information exchanges and
 study tours which resulted in the submission
 of a program of solutions and changes to the
 current enforcement framework in Poland.
 Once the Polish team developed a working
 proposal, there was a considerable effort to
 meet with various stakeholders in the Polish
 environmental community to understand
 their concerns and needs as it related to the
 proposal.  It was recognized that for this new
 mechanism to become a part of the Polish
 environmental compliance program, legisla-
 tive  changes  were necessary and would need
 to be incorporated into the government's
 European Union harmonization efforts. The
 centerpiece for this harmonization effort is
 the new draft environmental framework law
 for Poland in which the compliance programs
 concept has been incorporated.

 •  Addressing Negotiation Issues

 Concerns were raised by stakeholders relat-
 ing to the components of a negotiated compli-
 ance agreement. In response, the Polish team
 contracted with the law department of a
 Polish university to research these issues. In
 addition, EPA wrote and presented papers on
 U.S. practices to provide possible models.

 • Testing of Compliance Program Concept

The goal of the second phase of the project
was to introduce the practice of specifying
compliance periods as a part of the issuing of
environmental permits. Four facilities were
identified by the Polish State Inspectorate as
demonstration sites:
 • Hutu Cynku "Miasteczko Slaskie"
  (Katowice)
 • Huta "Czestochowa" (Czestochowa)
 • Petrochemia  Flock SA (Plock)
                                                     26

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A Decade of EPA-Polish Cooperation
                      Policy Demonstrations
 •  Zaklady Szotowe "Kedzierzyn" SA
   (Opole)

Each of the firms are included on the "List of
80" worst polluters in Poland. By participat-
ing in the test negotiations, the facilities, if
successful, were given conditional removal
from the "List of 80".

•  Conducting Negotiations Training

EPA was asked by its Polish partners to
develop a negotiation course tailored to the
compliance process. A three-day compliance
negotiations training course was conducted
in June 1997 for all participants in the four
pilot negotiation projects and other inspec-
torate officials. The course focused on the
basic principles of negotiations, helped the
participants build skills in two-party and
multi-party negotiations, and presented a
framework which the stakeholders could
actually use during the demonstration
project negotiations. For the purposes of the
demonstration project, the course was
delivered as a workshop.  In September 1999,
the course was again presented to other
individuals who may be involved in further
pilot negotiations.  A cadre of in-country
facilitators was trained so that the course
could be delivered on a continuous basis.
Contacts

Poland

Andrzej Miloszewski
Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (GIOS)
Ministry of Environment
52/54 Wawelska Street
00-922 Warsaw, Poland
Tel: (48-22)825-1524

Zbigniew Kamienski
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Ministry of the Environment
52/54 Wawelska Street
00-922 Warsaw, Poland
Tel: (48-22)825-8473
zbigkam@mos.gov.pl

United States

Thomas Maslany
U.S. EPA
1650 Arch Street (3WPOO)
Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA
Tel: (215)814-2050
Fax:  (215)814-2301
maslany.tnomas@epa.gov
Key Results

 • The negotiation
 process encouraged
 facilities, regulators, and
 local communities to
 view the development of
 a compliance program
 as a collective task that
 focused on solving
 environmental problems
 in a way that best meets
 each of their respective
 needs.
 • The training and
 participation in the
 negotiation process has
 improved the skills of
 facility management in
 other business areas.
 • Polish experts agreed
 that the law needs to be
 amended to formally
 recognize this process
 and provide greater
 flexibility for the
 negotiators.
  • The team agreed that
 additional economic
 incentives and
 accountability
 mechanisms to promote
 responsible enterprise
 behavior should be
 considered.
 • The team also agreed
 that the program can be
 expanded to include
 facilities which are
 included on the "list of
 80" but are exeriencing
 compliance problems.
                                                        27

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                      Education and Training
                                                       Promoting a Sustainable Future:
Project Overview

With EPA support
and working with
local non- govern-
mental organiza-
tions (NGOs),
universities, and
government
agencies, the
Institute for
Sustainable
Communities (ISC)
helped establish
the Environmental
Management
Training Center
(EMTC) in Poland.
The EMTC's  goal is
to improve  environ-
mental management
capacity through
training, informa-
tion dissemination,
and networking
activities. The EMTC
project was an
integral part of the
EPA's environmental
and institutional
strengthening
assistance activities
in Poland.
 Environmental Management
 Training Center (EMTC) Project
 The idea for EMTCs evolved after discussions
 with governmental officials and knowledge-
 able NGOs in various countries in Central and
 Eastern Europe (CEE).  These discussions
 revealed that the successful integration of
 environmental protection activities into
 processes of economic restructuring and
 revitalization required the establishment of
 effective environmental management training
 organizations and adequately trained staff to
 manage and operate them.
Key Objectives

•  Increase the governmental, insititutional,
and public capacity for effective environmen-
tal decision making and management in
Poland

•  Improve the skills and knowledge of a wide
range of Polish professionals working with
national, regional, and local governments,
industry, NGOs, universities and others in the
environmental field

•  Improve communication and information
dissemination as well as establish collaborative
relationships among various governmental
agencies, local organizations and professionals
working in the field of environment

•  Create a corps of Polish trainers able to
design and deliver appropriate courses in the
field of environmental policy and management

•  Create a sustainable institution able to
coordinate the delivery of trainings
Project Activities

•  Training Courses

A two-step "train-the-trainer" approach was
used at the Polish EMTC. EPA staff trained
local facilitators who, in turn, adapted and
delivered courses. Course materials included
a number of environmental management
topics.  EPA facilatators conducted the first
delivery of a course to local trainers.  The
local trainers then worked with the the EPA
facilitators in order to prepare to deliver the
courses on their own.  Ultimately, local
trainers took over course delivery entirely.
With each course delivery, the materials were
adapted to use greater amounts of local data
and case studies.

The courses included:

  •  Environmental Compliance and
    Enforcement

  •  Environmental Impact Assessment

  •  Risk Assessment

  • Hazardous Waste Site Ranking

  • Environmental Economics

  • Environmental Policy

  • Environmental Auditing

  • Chemical Preparedness and Prevention

  • Public Outreach

  • Financing Environmental Investments

  • Contract Management

  • Community Environmental Action
    Planning
                                       .:
  • Solid Waste Management Planning

  • Environmental Impact Assessment II
     (Polish-designed course)

  • Training of Trainers (facilitation skills)

  • Fundraising for NGOs
                                                    28

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A Decade of EPA- Polish Cooperation
                      Education and Training
 •  EMTC Network

In addition to the Polish EMTC, ISC has also
helped to establish EMTCs in Hungary,
Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine with EPA sup-
port. To further support the EMTCs in all
countries and to build capacity for shared
fundraising projects, an EMTC Network based
at the Regional Environmental Center (REC) in
Hungary was established. This network
provided the EMTCs with a newsletter, elec-
tronic bulletin board, and conferences to
facilitate communication  and share successes
and concerns. Affiliation with the REC also
facilitated the EMTCs' access to European and
other funding sources.
 Contacts

 Poland

 Zbigniew Naklicki
 Environmental Management Training Center
 ul. Zwirki i Wigury 93
 02-089 Warsaw, Poland
 Tel: (48-22) 658-38-19
 Fax: (48-22)658-38-90
 emtc@free.ngo.pl

 United States

 Jill Arace
 Institute for Sustainable Communities
 56 College Street
 Montpelier, VT 05602 USA
 Tel: (802)229-2900
 Fax: (802)229-2919
jarace@iscvt.org
Key Results

 • An independent
 center was estab-
 lished to deliver on-
 going trainings that is
 self-sustaining
 through contracts,
 fees, and diversifica-
 tion of donors.
 • EPA modules were
 adapted and deliv-
 ered on a variety of
 environmental
 management topics.
 •  Building the
 capacity of Polish
 facilitators allowed
 these trainers to
 continue to deliver
 trainings without
 outside assistance.
 •  A total of 131
 trainings on 16 topics
 were delivered to
 2,817 participants
 from government
 agencies,  universi-
 ties, industries,
 private enterprises
 and NGOs through
 mid-1998.

-------
                      Education and Training
                                                       Promoting a Sustainable Future:
Project Overview

In April 1994, with
support from EPA,
the Institute for
Sustainable
Communitites (ISC)
began a pilot
project to assist in
the development of
community- based
environmental
education curricu-
lum for middle
schools and teacher
training colleges in
Poland. The project
was named "Krag",
symbolizing a group
of people with
linked arms singing
around a traditional
Polish campfire. ISC
worked in partner-
ship with the
Regional  Center for
Environmental
Education (RCEE) in
Plock to  assist
Polish communities
and schools in
developing commu-
nity- based environ-
mental education
materials for grades
4-8.
 Krag Environmental
 Education Project
The Institute for Sustainable Communities
(ISC) uses a community-based approach to
education which bridges school-based
learning and real life community issues. It is
designed to prepare young people and their
teachers to understand the complex relation-
ships among the environment, society and
economy, and to develop their skills to make
scientifically grounded and socially respon-
sible decisions about their future.

The Krag Environmental Education Project
introduced interactive, community-based
education methods to teachers and teacher
trainers in Poland through a pilot project in
the Voivodship of Plock. The middle school
environmental education curricula devel-
oped and the courses adopted by the teacher
training college in Plock were replicated in
150 communities throughout Poland. The
Krag project continues to support replication
activities and has helped secure government
funding for community- based environmen-
tal education throughout Poland.
Key Objectives

•  Demonstrate specific environmental
education activities to Polish teachers
including practical, hands-on approaches to
learning and teaching

• Assist the Plock RCEE in working with
schools to develop and implement communi-
ty- based environmental education curricula
for grades 4-8

• Assist in the development of an on-going,
self-sustaining network of teachers and non-
governmental organizations to support the
advancement of environmental education

• Share program results widely to stimulate
the establishment of new community- based
environmental education projects in Poland
by replicating the project and by preparing
Polish teachers to be workshop trainers

•  Provide organizational and technical support
to schools as they develop and implement an
environmental education program

•  Strengthen the institutional capacity of the
Plock RCEE to provide targeted environmental
education trainings to additional Voivodships in
Poland and to disseminate the lessons learned
in Plock to a national audience.
Project Activities

•  Teacher Training for Environmental
Eduation

During the first 18 months of Project Krag,
teachers, professors, governmental officials,
and representatives of NGOs and industry
participated in a series of four training work-
shops in community-based curriculum devel-
opment; hands-on teaching methodologies;
team building; and field-based environmental
education. Three new training manuals
consisting of high quality environmental
education materials were translated and
distributed at the workshops.  The 50 partici-
pants, primarily educators, became enthusias-
tic leaders in promoting community- based
environmental education curricula and activi-
ties in their local communities.

•  Development of Curriculum Models

The curriculum developed for grades 4-8
provides a framework covering a wide array of
environmental issues.  Communities can then
add their own data to meet local needs.

•  Building a Network of Environmental
Educators

While most participants were from the demon-
stration region, the Plock Voivodship, represen-
tatives from Gdansk, Olsztyn, Zamosc, Radom,
and Elk also attended the workshops.  This
helped form a network of environmental
educators in Poland.
                                                    30

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 A Decade of EPA- Polish Cooperation
                       Education and Training
 • Disseminating Information to
 Environmental Educators

 Phase I culminated in a Project Krag environ-
 mental education conference in December
 1995, which included the dissemination of the
 high qualtiy project curriculum and newsletter
 to a national audience of 100 participants.

 •  Replicating Community-Based
 Environmental Education

 With the success of Phase I of the project, the
 Polish National Fund for Environmental
 Protection and the EPA funded Phase n in
 1996-1997 so that the project could be adapted
in three new Polish regions: Suwalki, Sieradz,
and Skierniewice.
 Contacts

 Poland

 Katarzyna Rogucka- Maciejowska
 Plock Regional Center for Environmental
    Education
 Stary Rynek 20
 09-400 Plock, Poland
 Tel: (48-24) 268-3774
 Fax:  (48-24)268-377424
 plorcee@plohp.plock.ids.edu.pl

 Witold Lenart
 Center for Environmental Studies
 University of Warsaw
 ul. Zwirki I Wigury 93
 02- 089 Warsaw, Poland
 Tel: (48-22) 820-0381, ext. 688
 Fax:  (48-22)826-1965
 amagnusz@plearn.edu.pl

 United States

 Andrea Deri
 Institute for Sustainable Communitites (ISC)
 56 College Street
 Montpelier, VT 05602 USA
Tel: (802) 229-2900
Fax: (802)229-2919
aderi@iscvt.org
 Key Results

  • The RCEE devel-
  oped a popular and
  replicable teacher
  training program in
  Poland that has
  targeted approximate-
  ly 750 educators to
  date.
  • The project partners
  developed a high
  quality curriculum and
  education guide with
  lesson plans in the
  communities of Plock
  Kutno, and Zychlin
  written by Polish
  educators.
  • The Project Krag
  newletter provided
  Polish educators with
  a much-needed forum
 for exchanging
 information and
 experiences related to
 their environmental
 education work.
 • With funds from the
 GE Fund, ISC helped
 the project publish the
 Guide to Community
 Based Environmental
 Education
 • The project led to
 the creation of a
 national network of
 environmental
 educators in Poland.
 • A national advisory
 commitee was formed
 to enhance credibility
 and fundraising
 possibilities.
 • The Plock RCEE
 has become an
established, indepen-
dent association.
                                                      31

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                                Epilogue

The news headlines of 1989 which focused the attention of the world on the Central and
Eastern European struggle to improve environmental quality now seems a distant
memory.  If new headlines were written today to capture the accomplishments that EPA
and its Polish partners have achieved together over the past decade, they might look
something like this:

            WATER QUALITY IMPROVED FOR KRAKOW RESIDENTS
       City Receives State-of-the-Art Disinfection and Analytical Equipment

        AGRICULTURE RUNOFF IN POLAND REDUCED VIA INNOVATIVE
                      WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
   World Bank, European Union Finance Replication of Approach Throughout Poland

                  LANDMARK COMPLIANCE AGREEMENTS
                   CONCLUDED WITH POLISH INDUSTRY
            Pilot Facilities Gain Provisional Removal from Worst Polluters List

Of course, effective environmental protection is an ongoing process. So, in spite of the
successes described in the previous pages, there still is much to do in Poland and in the
United States to ensure that environmental quality is enhanced and maintained well
into the future.

Although financial support from the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) will not be available in future years, EPA is confident that the strong relation-
ships that have been forged with our Polish partners over the past decade will continue,
albeit in a different form. As Poland continues to improve its environment-and as it
looks ahead to membership in the European Union and other Western structures—EPA
is ready to provide whatever support we can in order to share a bright, sustainable
future with our Polish colleagues and friends.
For further information on EPA programs in Poland, please visit the EPA website at
www.epa.gov/oia, or contact:

                                Anna Phillips
                                  U.S. EPA
                     1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (2650R)
                         Washington, D.C. 20460 USA
                              Tel: (202) 564-6419
                              Fax: (202) 565-2412
                             phillips.anna@epa.gov

                             Francesca DiCosmo
                                  U.S.EPA
                           1650 Arch Street (3DAOO)
                         Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA
                              Tel: (215) 814-5549
                              Fax: (215) 814-2901
                          dicosmo.francesca@epa.gov
                                    32

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