Author: Joy Scrogum

Joy is a Sustainability Specialist at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has worked on developing & maintaining online resources for the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable since 2001. As part of ISTC's Technical Assistance Program, she works on Zero Waste Illinois projects with clients throughout the state, and waste reduction outreach projects including the Illini Gadget Garage and the Green Lunchroom Challenge. Key past projects include coordinating the International Sustainable Electronics Competition, developing & teaching ENG 498 "Sustainable Technology: Environmental & Social Impacts of Innovations," & Greening Schools, which focused on making K-12 facilities & curricula more sustainable. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyscrogum/
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Spotlight: Clean Manufacturing Technology Institute

Continuing our focus on Indiana P2 programs, the Clean Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI), based at Purdue University, provides technical assistance, outreach, education, planning services and research to facilitate the adoption of pollution prevention/clean manufacturing strategies by Indiana manufacturing facilities.

CMTI offers assistance in all manufacturing sectors, but has special expertise in plastics (including fiber reinforced plastic), wood products, metal finishing, metal and plastic coatings, foundries and motor vehicle parts manufacturing.

CMTI co-founded (in 1996), and continues to manage, the Coating Applications Research Laboratory (CARL) on the Purdue campus. The lab allows manufacturers to test state-of-the-art coating and curing technologies under the guidance of CMTI engineers expert in their application. CMTI also offers ISO14001 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) services businesses and government entities. Training and energy efficiency assessments are also provided by CMTI.

Check out the CMTI web site for an archive of Technology Transfer/Pollution Prevention Case Studies. You can also browse the CMTI Clearinghouse Bibliography online.

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Spotlight: Environmental Stewardship Program

Today we continue to highlight Indiana P2 programs as the GLRPPR/Region 7 conference begins in Indianapolis. Modeled upon the now closed U.S. EPA National Environmental Performance Track Program, IDEM’s Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) is a voluntary program that rewards regulated entities for outstanding environmental performance with regulatory flexibility, public recognition and networking opportunities. Participants use environmental management systems (EMS) to achieve their environmental goals.

Any regulated entity in Indiana may participate in ESP regardless of type, size, or complexity. The program website elaborates upon the eligibility requirements. Participant benefits include, among other things, expedited and flexible permits, reduced reporting frequency, reduced recordkeeping and reporting, a press release, use of the program logo, and opportunities for networking. A complete list of incentives is available on the program web site.

According to the program website, applications for ESP are accepted twice a year, from April 1–May 31 and September 1–October 31. See the application process web page or contact the Indiana Department of Environmental Management at (800) 988-7901 for more information.

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Spotlight: Partners for Pollution Prevention

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the 2009 GLRPPR/Region 7 Conference, which will be held in Indianapolis, IN June 3-5. In honor of the host state for our conference, we’ll be featuring pollution prevention programs this week that call the great state of Indiana home. Today’s spotlight is on the Partners for Pollution Prevention (P4P2).

Organized by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) in 1996, the purpose of P4P2 is to assist industry in sharing pollution prevention successes and to advise IDEM on pollution prevention policy and programs. The Partners represent industry, government, academia and environmental organizations interested in advancing pollution prevention in Indiana, as well as the financial and environmental benefits P2 projects can bring.

According to the program website, there are currently 55 Partners, many of which have received the Indiana Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. The benefits of being a Partner include, among other things, exchanging information on P2 technologies and successes with your peers, being recognized statewide for your P2 efforts and potentially having your P2 projects promoted in IDEM publications.

If you are interested in applying for membership to P4P2, or would like more information, contact IDEM’s Office of Pollution Prevention & Technical Assistance at 800-988-7901 or 317-233-6662. Becoming a member involves committing to the Partners Pledge. New Partners are inducted at quarterly meetings, and Partners are required to complete the annual recertification to share P2 success stories and data.

Check out the Partners Activity page for copies of reports and presentations given at quarterly meetings.  Another major activity for the  Partners is the organization of the Annual Pollution Prevention Conference and Trade Show.

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The 2009 GLRPPR/Region 7 Conference is Less Than a Month Away

Just a reminder that the joint Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) and EPA Region 7 Pollution Prevention Roundtable conference will be held in Indianapolis, IN June 3rd through 5th, 2009.  The conference will take place at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. Please see the conference web page for a tentative agenda, information on Indianapolis attractions and to register for the conference online. If you have any questions regarding registration, please contact Wayne Duke.

Please note that registration fees do NOT include hotel costs, and that you will need to make your own hotel arrangements. A block of rooms is reserved at the Comfort Suites City Centre from June 2 – June 5, 2009 at the government rate of $94.00 and $10.00/day parking; there is a complimentary continental breakfast and free shuttle service for a five mile radius from the hotel. Other amenities include: free wireless high speed internet access, indoor whirlpool/hot tub, and fitness room. There have been a limited number of rooms blocked off for this event. Call as soon as possible to get a reservation. The cut off date for cancellations and registration refunds is May 25, 2009.

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IDEM Honors Valparaiso as CLEAN Community

Valparaiso residents have another reason to be proud of their community as their city government has achieved “CLEAN” status and is embarking on a new, positive environmental initiative through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM’s) CLEAN Community Challenge.

The CLEAN (Comprehensive Local Environmental Action Network) Community Challenge is a voluntary recognition program for units of local Indiana government that make significant commitments to environmental management. IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly presented a plaque and commemorative road sign to Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas during a CLEAN designation ceremony held at City Hall on April 13th.

“Valparaiso is a shining example for other communities through its commitment to increase recycling, improve educational outreach efforts and implement water conservation measures,” said Commissioner Easterly. “I applaud the entire Valparaiso community for its good work in protecting Hoosiers and our environment.”

CLEAN helps communities take steps to plan, develop, and implement a Quality of Life Plan, which focuses on reducing the potential environmental impacts associated with municipal operations. As part of the CLEAN challenge, Valparaiso has committed to achieving several environmental goals over the next three years. These include:  working to increase municipal solid waste diversion to 70 percent while increasing residential and business recycling participation to 75 percent; recycling 100 percent of municipally-generated fluorescent and mercury containing light bulbs; holding workshops to educate residents on rain barrels and rain gardens; constructing a rain garden on city property; and implementing five water conservation measures.

“I am very excited about the opportunity presented to Valparaiso through its participation in the CLEAN Community Challenge,” said Mayor Costas. “By meeting the CLEAN Community Challenge, Valparaiso is positioning itself to further improve our quality of life with an increased public awareness of environmental issues. Through a partnership between the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the City of Valparaiso, our residents will enjoy a healthier and cleaner community.”

The Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge is administered by IDEM in partnership with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Finance Authority. Partner agencies provide financial incentives to Indiana CLEAN Community members, such as better terms and improved opportunities for state grant and loan dollars.

Learn more about the Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge at www.cleancommunities.IN.gov.

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Illinois Governor Signs Executive Order to Reduce Goverment Operations Impact

[Post author: Wayne Duke]

On Earth Day, Governor Pat Quinn signed Exeuctive Order 11. This Executive Order covers the topics of Waste Prevention, Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Water Quality and Conservation, Sustainable Transportation, plus Education and Outreach. The Green Government Coordinating Council is responsible for the implementation of this Executive Order. The P2 Programs at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (on behalf of the University of Illinois) were involved in crafting the Executive Order and will be involved in overseeing the progress of the Order throughout state government, as well as colleges and universities in Illinois. To read the entire Executive Order visit http://www.glrppr.org/docs/GOVExecutiveOrder11.pdf.

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Retirement of “Site of the Month” & Fusion of Newsletter with Blog

For many years, the GLRPPR home page and subsequently the GLRPPR Blog have featured a “site of the month.” This feature was invented as a way of highlighting sites from organizations within the Great Lakes region and beyond which GLRPPR members might find particularly interesting or useful. This feature was created before there were RSS feeds for each Sector Resource on the GLRPPR web site, and before there was an RSS feed devoted to all new additions to the GLRPPR Sector Resources in general.

Upon recent consideration, GLRPPR staff members have decided to retire the “site of the month” and instead do more to highlight a variety of resources as they are added to the GLRPPR web site. Watch in the near future for blog posts highlighting recent additions to the web site or describing resources on the site that you may have overlooked. We’ll also be featuring themes for blogs posts to better foster the sharing of information on specific topics and networking among organizations in the region. More information on themes will be posted soon. Since the LINK newsletter was recently folded into the GLRPPR Blog, we’re hoping that you’ll come to use the blog as a source of information in the same way as you did the newsletter. If you have suggestions for resources or information that you would like to share with other members via the blog, please send your suggestions to our blog coordinator Wayne Duke.

Note that the “site of the month” category will remain on the blog as an archive of the sites that were so featured. The posts describing these sites are of course also cross referenced in appropriate topical categories (i.e. a post about a site related to agriculture would also be found in that category as well). An older list of sites of the month featured on the GLRPPR web site prior to there being a related blog category can also be found at http://www.glrppr.org/news/site_of_the_month.cfm.

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April 2009 Site of the Month: The Sustainable Sites Initiative

The Sustainable Sites Initiative is an interdisciplinary effort by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices. The information on the site is meant to be applied to sites both with and without buildings, including, but not limited to:

  • Open spaces such as local, state and national parks, conservation easements and buffer zones and transportation rights-of-way.
  • Sites with buildings including industrial, retail and office parks, military complexes, airports, botanical gardens, streetscapes and plazas, residential and commercial developments and public and private campuses.

The Initiative site provides a copy of the report Sustainable Sites Initiative Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks – Draft 2008, which focuses on measuring how a site can protect, restore and regenerate ecosystem services – benefits provided by natural ecosystems such as cleaning air and water, climate regulation and human health benefits. This report contains over 50 draft prerequisites and credits that cover all stages of the site development process from site selection to landscape maintenance.

Case studies, dates for upcoming presentations on sustainable sites, and information on the Initiative’s areas of focus (Why Sustainable Sites?; Hydrology; Soils; Vegetation; Materials; and Human Health & Well-being) are also provided.

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Congratulations to 2009 PNEAC Publication of the Year Award Winners

Winners of the PNEAC Publication of the Year Awards were announced and honored at the Printer’s NEHS conference in Indianapolis. Congratulations to the following winners:

Periodicals/Book/Research Report Category
Winner: Flexo magazine, Flexographic Technical Association, for a 4-edition, year-long series focused on environmentally sustainable printing.

Article/Fact Sheet/Case Study Category
Winner: Paul Jakubski, Dow Jones & Company
for the article, “Calculating and Reducing Your Carbon Footprint,” published in the June 2008 edition of GATF World.

Nominations for the award were strong again this year. PNEAC sincerely thanks and commends all who participated in either preparing nominations or authoring nominated publications.

The PNEAC Publication of the Year Award seeks to honor the best and most significant journal article, fact sheet, report or book on the subject of pollution prevention in the printing industry.

Deb Jacobson, of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and Director of PNEAC, said, “PNEAC is extremely pleased to recognize the excellent contributions each of the two winning publications has made to advance the practice of green, sustainable practices within the printing industry. Judges were impressed with how each of the winning publications provided clear, practical guidance for printers seeking to improve environmental performance to meet marketplace, cost and regulatory challenges.”

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PNEAC Offers Industrial Stormwater Permit Guide

The Printers’ National Environmental Assistance Center (PNEAC) website now offers The Industrial Stormwater Permit Guide to assist businesses in complying with federal stormwater regulations.

PNEAC has developed an easy to use on-line tutorial about the Industrial Stormwater Permitting requirements. This program explains federal stormwater regulations for business (not just printers), and the options available for compliance. It also provides detailed guidance on which states have permitting authority and links to state and/or federal forms that industrial facilities must submit to be in compliance with the regulations.

The tool walks the user through the regulations in order for the user to determine whether they must obtain a Stormwater Permit or are exempt from permitting requirements, and then walks the user through the process of completing and submitting the “No Exposure Certification.” It is an easy to use tool utilizing a lesson format which also provides a visual guide for understanding compliant vs. non-compliant stormwater situations.

This new tool was modeled after the EPA Hazardous Waste Manifest Compliance Assistance tool that PNEAC previously developed. You can find the full compliment of compliance assistance tools at http://pneac.org/videotraining/.