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Missouri, New Hampshire and Rhode Island Receive Funding for Innovative Environmental Protection Strategies

Release Date: 10/30/2008
Contact Information: Dave Ryan, (202) 564-4355 /[email protected]

(10/30/08) EPA has awarded $825,000 to Missouri, New Hampshire and the Narragansett Bay Commission in Rhode Island to support innovative approaches for improving permitting programs, which impose limits on pollution emissions to the air, water, and land. This funding is taking place under EPA’s State Innovation Grant program, which helps states develop and test leading edge ideas in environmental protection.

The grant recipients will receive $275,000 each to test several permitting innovations, including the use of environmental management systems (EMS) and an Environmental Results Program (ERP) first created by Massachusetts. EMS allows facilities continuously to improve the management of their environmental performance to achieve superior environmental results and find cost efficiencies through elimination of waste. ERP combines three elements: compliance assistance from state governments, self-certification of compliance by regulated facilities, and auditing of a statistical sample of self-certifications to ensure compliance. Sixteen states have used the ERP approach for 11 business sectors, typically for small businesses.

Since 2002, EPA has provided 25 states with 38 State Innovation Grants totaling almost $7.5 million. The 2008 grants will leverage an additional $428,000 in state funding. EPA is now soliciting grant applications for 2009. This latest competition, which began Oct. 9 and closes Dec.10, also focuses on innovation in environmental permitting programs.

More information on the State Innovation Grant Program: https://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants/index.htm

More information on EMS and ERP:
https://www.epa.gov/permits

More information on the 2008 State Innovation Grant projects:
http://epa.gov/innovation/stategrants/2008selection.htm