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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
11-P-0315
July 6, 2011
Why We Did This Review
We conducted this audit to
determine what improvements
from the Region 7 Kaizen
event for the National
Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES)
program can be applied on a
wider scale, what barriers
existed in the development
and implementation of event
results, and what lessons were
learned from the event.
Background
In August 2008, U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) headquarters,
Region 7, and Region 7 states
conducted a Kaizen (i.e., rapid
process improvement) event to
improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of the NPDES
program. The event resulted in
redesigned processes for
planning inspections and
issuing permits that better
address crucial technical
issues and provide for greater
collaboration between EPA
and states.
For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional, Public Affairs
and Management at
(202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.aov/oia/reports/2011/
20110706-11 -P-0315.pdf
Catalyst for Improving the Environment
Agency-Wide Application of Region 7
NPDES Program Process improvements
Couid increase EPA Efficiency
What We Found
Although Region 7 NPDES Kaizen event participants continued to follow up on
the commitments and action items identified, no single authority was responsible
for tracking the process improvement outcomes. Also, EPA did not have a process
to develop and track quantifiable results and outcomes from the event. Further,
EPA encountered barriers involving scope, performance measures,
implementation, and accountability when planning the Kaizen event. While EPA
and states collaborated to create guidance for Kaizen events, such as the lean
starter kit and primer, EPA did not, nor was it required to, use them to assure that
barriers were overcome in the execution of the Region 7 event.
The EPA Administrator's January 2010 memorandum, "Our Top Priorities," as
well as other recent EPA and state initiatives, discuss the need to improve internal
operations and/or conduct more Kaizen events with the states to more efficiently
protect the environment and public health. The Region 7 Kaizen event for the
NPDES program identified three process improvements (resolution of technical
issues and communication, permitting and enforcement oversight reviews of
states, and annual strategic planning) and one implementation action (data
collection and reporting) that can potentially be implemented in other regions.
Agency-wide permitting process changes could result in better communication;
time and cost savings in the states; and avoidance of duplicate inspections,
reviews, and data reporting. Using lessons learned from the Region 7 Kaizen event
can increase the potential benefits achieved in future process improvement efforts.
What We Recommend
We recommend that the Deputy Administrator direct the Office of Water and
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to identify process
improvements from the Region 7 Kaizen event that can be applied elsewhere. We
further recommend that the Deputy Administrator direct the Office of Policy to
develop a national policy on how to plan, design, and implement business process
improvement events; and direct the 10 regions to work with the Offices of Water,
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and Policy to implement recommended
process improvements. In replying to the draft report, the Deputy Administrator
agreed with applying the results more widely but did not fully respond to our
recommendations on developing national policy.

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