State Innovation Grant
Program
Delaware:
Auto Body Certification Project
The EPA State Innovation Grant Program was established in 2002 to help strengthen EPA's innovation partnerships with States
and Tribes and is a direct result of the Agency's innovation strategy, Innovating for Better Environmental Results: A Strategy to Guide
the Next Generation of Innovation at EPA (http: / /www.epa.gov/innovation /strategy). To support the Innovation Strategy, the 2002
grant program focused its efforts on projects that related to one of four priority issues: reducing greenhouse gases, reducing
smog, improving water quality, and reducing the cost of drinking water or wastewater infrastructure. In addition, EPA sought
projects that test incentives that motivate "beyond-compliance" environmental performance, or move whole sectors toward
improved environmental performance. This series of fact sheets features the State projects selected for funding under the
Grant Program.
Contacts:
Kimberly Finch
Delaware Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental Control, Dover, DE,
302-739-6400, Kimberly.Fmch@state.de.us
David Byro
US EPA, Region 3, Philadelphia, PA, 215-
814-5563, byro.david@epa.gov
Gerald (Jerry) Filbin
US EPA National Center for Environmental
Innovation, Washington, DC, 202-566-2182,
filbin.gerald@epa.gov
Background
The auto body repair industry consists mainly of small and medium-
sized shops that operate with minimal resources, subject to Federal
and State air, water, and waste regulations. The Delaware
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
(DNREC) recognizes this industry as a sector that is traditionally
not aware of its environmental obligations and therefore, often
operates without permits and/or illegally. It also acknowledges
that some businesses are afraid to ask for and receive compliance
assistance because they fear the penalties that may be assessed
when violations are discovered.
DNREC will develop an innovative permitting approach, modeled
after the Massachusetts Environmental Results Program
(http://www.state.ma.us/dep/erp/erphome.htm). This approach
will use an integrated system of multimedia compliance assistance,
self-certification, and performance measurement to assess and
promote the auto body industry's compliance with environmental
requirements. The Auto Body Certification Project will make
available tools that address the full range of regulatory requirements
for the industry and will help shop owners understand and comply
with applicable requirements. The Auto Body Certification Project
is expected to reduce both air and water pollution and the potential
for enforcement actions and fines.
NCEI
1 £
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION
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Auto Body Self-Certification—
Project Description
DNREC's program relies on auto body shop owners to
certify that they are meeting all applicable
environmental regulations through using a series of
tools that help them easily understand the purpose and
application of these regulations. This approach is
multimedia in nature and encourages owners to exceed,
not just meet, regulatory requirements. Simultaneously,
the program provides information to the DNREC that
helps them measure environmental performance of
individual facilities and assess the impact of
compliance assistance on the industry as a whole. The
three tools of the program include:
/. Compliance Assistance:
This tool includes a range of products tailored to
the auto body sector that clearly explain facilities'
environmental obligations and sound environmental
practices that go "beyond compliance." Examples
include fact sheets, self-assessment checklists,
guidance, and multimedia pollution prevention
strategies and activities. Training is another
important component of compliance assistance and
will take place in site assessments, workshops, and
the PennStar Program (http://pennstar.pct.edu/).
The PennStar Program is a mobile van with staff
who demonstrate the most efficient techniques for
applying auto body paints with spray guns.
2. Self-certification:
The program requires that a senior company official
annually certify that the facility is, and will continue
to be, in compliance with all applicable State air,
water, and hazardous waste management
performance standards. The compliance assistance
activities are designed so that facility managers
better understand the information that is the basis
for their certification.
5. Performance Measurement:
DNREC will be developing statistical methods for
measuring the environmental benefits of
compliance assistance solutions. They will also
measure the environmental performance of
individual auto body facilities and the industry as a
whole. This statistical methodology is designed to
validate the performance of the program itself and
will be used to target facilities for inspections and
compliance assistance. The evaluation tracks
environmental business practice indicators (EBPIs),
which are industry-specific, performance measures
that provide snapshots of facilities' environmental
performance before and after certification, and on
a long-term basis.
In addition to these tools, self-certification information
such as facility address, compliance history, permits,
inspection information, and ambient monitoring data
will be available to DNREC employees and the public
through the existing Environmental Navigator database
and tracking system. DNREC will provide incentives
for facilities to participate, including possible penalty
mitigation, inspection incentives, and some type of
State and/or Federal certificate or recognition of
participation.
The project began in March 2003 and will take place
over a two-year period and has been divided into three
phases.
Benefits of Auto Body
Certification Project
DNREC will improve environmental performance of
the auto body industry and individual facilities by using
holistic, sector-wide approaches that focus on moving
beyond compliance. The Delaware Auto Body
Certification Project will benefit not only the
environment but also the auto body industry, the public,
and the Agency.
Environment benefits: The project can achieve
measurable reductions in the environmental impacts
of auto body facilities. It prompts the auto body
industry to better understand the causes of
environmental problems related to its operations and
provides real tools to exceed the level of pollution
prevention achieved by compliance actions. This will
reduce pollution in air, water and waste arenas.
Industry benefits: The project assists facilities in
understanding their environmental regulatory
requirements and in monitoring their environmental
performance. It also eliminates some costs and gives
auto body facilities more operating flexibility by
replacing some permits and reducing State fees. It also
engenders high-level management commitment to
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environmental performance by requiring company
owners to certify their compliance and allows facilities
to project a positive environmental image to the public.
Improving a shop's environmental performance may
also improve its relationship with the community as
well as the shop's relationship with DNREC and other
regulatory agencies.
Public benefits: The program holds industry
accountable for its environmental performance and
increases public access to understandable information
of the industry's environmental performance and
impacts. The public also benefits by improved
environmental results from limited government
resources.
Agency benefits: DNREC benefits through its
improved ability to track environmental performance
trends and specific environmental practices of the auto
body industry and individual facilities. It will improve
the government's cost effectiveness by allowing
DNREC to dedicate its limited resources to the areas
of greatest concern. Overall, agency performance and
productivity will improve due to automated reporting
at the customer level, reduced labor demands, and
improved availability of information.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(1807T)
June 2003
EPA-100-F-03-028
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