This year, IDEM was awarded funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fund pollution prevention grants that reduce toxics in Indiana. Indiana facilities with ideas for pollution prevention projects, including those identified by an assessment, are eligible to submit a pre-application for an Indiana Pollution Prevention Grant by June 11, 2010.

Projects that reduce the use of any chemical on the Resource Conservation Challenge Priority Chemicals list or the Regional Priority Chemical list or replace a listed chemical with a less toxic substance will receive additional points toward their overall score when evaluated for funding. Also, projects identified by an IDEM assessment conducted between June 2009 and June 2010 will receive additional points toward their overall score when evaluated for funding.

“This new grant offers a wonderful opportunity for businesses and communities to re-evaluate where in their processes positive change can be made,” said IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly. “Pollution prevention opportunity assessments do not cost businesses anything except time, and there are so many benefits that can be achieved from this effort.”

Assessments are provided on-site and can help facilities do a number of positive things, such as: identify ways to minimize risk by reducing or eliminating toxic chemicals, reduce operating expenses, use fewer raw materials, conserve energy, reduce wastes and emissions, meet regulatory requirements, and improve employee safety.

“An added bonus from undergoing a pollution prevention assessment is the positive company image that may result from implementing some of the recommendations,” said Commissioner Easterly.

Expenses such as ongoing program costs, permanent building structures, capital improvement or equipment and site improvements will not be funded through the Indiana Pollution Prevention Grant Program.

To schedule a free, confidential pollution prevention opportunity assessment, contact IDEM at (800) 988-7901. A complete list of priority chemicals can be found at www.idem.IN.gov/5224.htm.

IDEM Assistant Commissioner Rick Bossingham presented a plaque and commemorative road sign to Town Board President Leroy Warren to officially induct Brownstown into the CLEAN program on Monday, Oct. 5, at Brownstown Town Council Chambers.

The CLEAN (Comprehensive Local Environmental Action Network) Community Challenge is a voluntary recognition program for local Indiana government entities that make significant commitments to environmental management.

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 their municipal operations.

“Brownstown’s commitment to environmental stewardship is a shining example for other communities to follow,” said IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly. “I applaud the entire community for its good work in protecting Hoosiers and our environment.”

Brownstown has committed to achieving several environmental goals, including developing standard operating procedures for spill response and training appropriate staff in the use of the procedures by the summer of 2012. Other goals include increasing recycling in town facilities and at town festivals (including the Spring Car Show, Melon Fest, and Hometown Christmas) by 20 percent by August 2012; recycling 100 percent of fluorescent bulbs and rechargeable batteries generated from municipal operations by January 2012, and addressing winter road maintenance by completing a study to determine the feasibility of using a liquid de-icer to reduce sand usage by January 2012.

Leroy Warren, President of the Brownstown Town Board, is pleased with the actions taken by the town to improve their environmental footprint. “We are proud of Brownstown’s initiative in promoting recycling and taking care of the environment.  It was a team effort of town employees and all the residents that helped Brownstown become part of the CLEAN Community Challenge,” he said.

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. Brownstown joins nine other communities participating in the CLEAN program: the cities of Crown Point, Indianapolis, La Porte, Lawrence, Michigan City, Richmond, Tell City, Valparaiso and the town of Fishers.

Last year, the plant, which assembles heads and blocks for heavy-duty diesel engines, fulfilled its ESP commitment to complete several lighting projects, including replacing 1,931 older, less efficient lights with 50 percent fewer but more energy-efficient lights.  This project saved $158,461 in electricity costs and avoided more than 1,800 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year.   To put the energy savings into perspective, the 2.6 gigawatts saved is enough to power 225 average U.S. households for one year.

In addition to the lighting retrofit project, CEP sought alternative methods for the disposal of 500,000 square feet of concrete flooring that was demolished to make way for the construction of a new light-duty diesel engine assembly line.  Instead of putting the material in a landfill, the clean concrete was used to stabilize a heavily-eroded stream bank located near the plant.  More than 870 dump truck loads of material were saved from disposal in the landfill.

“Our obligation as an employer and responsible community citizen is to lead activities like these that improve our environment,” said Dana Vogt, Manufacturing Leader for the Engine Business unit on Cummins Health, Safety and Environmental Council.  ”The efforts by the CEP team once again demonstrates the work they do serves as a benchmark not only within Cummins, but for other businesses as well.   And like so many environmental projects, these also have significant economic benefits.

“What is particularly exciting about these efforts and others like them under way in the Company is the opportunity for employee participation,” continued Vogt.  ”We not only promote these improvements within our facilities, but encourage our employees to take the skills and ideas and put them into practice at home.  Cummins is proud to be a part of this community and will continue to do our part to make it a great place to live and work.”

Cummins’ Columbus Engine Plant is one of 46 Indiana businesses that are ESP members. ESP is a voluntary environmental performance-based leadership program.  Each ESP member is committed to implementing or maintaining measurable environmental improvements, such as reducing water or energy use, decreasing solid or hazardous waste or reducing air emissions.  

To become an ESP member, businesses must maintain an exemplary compliance record, certify that they have adopted and implemented an approved environmental management system and commit to specific measures for continued improvement in their environmental performance.

ESP members qualify for expedited permit review, flexibility in permitting, reduced reporting frequencies, and coordination of compliance inspections.  To maintain ESP membership, companies must report on their environmental initiatives every year and reapply for membership every three years.

“ESP members go beyond environmental requirements that protect Hoosiers and our environment,” said IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly.  ”Cummins Columbus Engine Plant has shown exemplary performance and strong commitment to continued improvement.  Indiana wins when companies use sound business practices to demonstrate their core value of environmental protection.”

Hoosier businesses can apply for ESP recognition from September 1 through October 31.  For details about the program and an application, visit IDEM’s Web site at www.idem.IN.gov/prevention/esp or contact IDEM at (800) 988-7901.

Members of the Indiana Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) implemented environmental improvement projects during 2008 and in the process, achieved monumental results.  There are 45 ESP business members across the state, each committed to implementing or maintaining measurable environmental improvements, such as reducing water or energy use, decreasing solid or hazardous waste, or reducing air emissions. 

ESP members recently reported their 2008 accomplishments to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). During 2008, ESP members implemented pollution prevention initiatives that resulted in the reduction of:

• Water use by 69,413,000 gallons, an amount comparable to 105 Olympic-sized swimming pools;
• Electricity use by 10,939,149 kilowatt hours, a number comparable to the amount of electricity needed to run 4,101 residential air conditioners for one year; 
• Miles driven by 243,789 miles, a distance comparable to driving from Terre Haute to Richmond and back 877 times; 
• Natural gas consumption by 8,999 therms, which is like eliminating CO2 emissions from 1,875 propane cylinders used for home barbeques;
• Carbon dioxide emissions by 13,099,680 pounds, which is the amount of carbon sequestered annually by 1,350 acres of pine forests;
• Copper discharges to water by 3 pounds;
• Solid waste sent to the landfill by 18,135,195 pounds, which is equivalent to the weight of about 47 Blue Whales;
• Volatile organic compound emissions by 820,800 pounds, an amount comparable to emissions from painting the interiors of 34,200 homes;
• Energy use by 2,325 million British Thermal Units, an amount comparable to the energy needed to operate 7 clothes washers for one year; 
• Material use by 2,463,680 pounds, an amount comparable to the weight of 3,079 Monster truck tires; and,
• Hazardous waste by 12,790 pounds, an amount comparable to the weight of one Asian elephant. 

“ESP members go beyond environmental requirements that protect Hoosiers and our environment,” said IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly. “Indiana wins when companies use sound business practices to demonstrate their core value of environmental protection.”

To become an ESP member, businesses must maintain an exemplary compliance record, certify that they have adopted and implemented an approved environmental management system, and commit to specific measures for continued improvement in their environmental performance. 

ESP members qualify for expedited permit review, flexibility in permitting, reduced reporting frequencies, and coordination of compliance inspections. To maintain ESP membership, companies must report on their environmental initiatives every year and reapply for ESP membership every three years.

Hoosier businesses can submit applications to IDEM for the Environmental Stewardship Program from September 1 through October 31 and April 1 through May 31.  For more details, visit IDEM’s Web site at www.idem.IN.gov/prevention/esp or contact IDEM at (800) 988-7901.

“KERAMIDA, Inc. addressed the environmental needs of Indiana’s industries statewide by using KERAMIDA’s proprietary Jumpstart© program,” said Pamela Griesemer, Director of EMS Services for KERAMIDA.  “The Jumpstart© program identifies an industry’s manufacturing and organizational activities that may impact the environment and customizes an environmental management system to reduce such impacts, all within six days of on-site assistance. Having an EMS provides a competitive edge to an industrial facility while it assures its environmental compliance is managed in the most cost-effective way.  An EMS is the first step towards sustainable manufacturing and carbon dioxide reductions.”

IDEM Assistant Commissioner Rick Bossingham explained that IDEM encourages organizations to develop an environmental management system (EMS).  “An EMS can increase efficiency significantly, decrease adverse environmental impacts, and save businesses money, time and resources in the long run,” Bossingham said. “Participating in the Jumpstart© EMS program enabled Hoosier companies and communities to quickly develop an environmental management system tailored to their operations and needs.”

Some examples of gains that can be realized by implementing an EMS include improved energy efficiency, increased waste reduction and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, Bossingham noted that the objective of providing assistance through the Jumpstart EMS Program was to increase the number of Indiana entities using an EMS to improve their environmental performance.

“The Jumpstart©  EMS Program involves the management of participating companies and communities to look at their environmental policies, establish environmental goals, identify procedures for reducing environmental impacts, and examine how they can continue to improve their environmental performance,” said Bossingham. “It is an important part of pollution prevention in Indiana and important to IDEM’s mission of protecting Hoosiers and our environment.”

Communities that participate in the Jumpstart© EMS Program are encouraged to participate in the Indiana CLEAN Community challenge, as well. Businesses that participate in the Jumpstart© EMS Program are eligible for membership in IDEM’s Environmental Stewardship program.

The IDEM-sponsored Jumpstart© EMS Program was made possible by a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The sessions were conducted from December 2008 through July 2009 at no cost to participants.  KERAMIDA, Inc. will continue to offer the Jumpstart© EMS Program to entities interested in their services.

More information about the Jumpstart©  EMS Program is available through KERAMIDA’s Web site at www.keramida.com/Jumpstart-EMS/about-jumpstart.html. For information about IDEM’s ESP, visit www.in.gov/idem/4132.htm. IDEM will be accepting applications for the ESP program from September 1 through October 31. For information about IDEM’s CLEAN Community programs, visit IDEM’s Web site at www.in.gov/idem/4135.htm. IDEM accepts applications for the CLEAN Community Challenge year round.

Our three day session started off with a training day on how to help make a business green. Laura Barnes from the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center led a training session on ways to save money and improve an organizations environmental performance through green business practices. Then Marcus Rivas from Region 7 presented case studies of work done by the Kansas Green Teams. Several members of the Green teams were able to join us by conference phone.

The next day Rick Bossingham, Assistant Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management welcomed us and gave an overview of where Indiana is heading in the environmental field. Tanya Mottley of the U.S. EPA Office of Pollution Prevention (P2) and Toxics then presented the EPA’s Strategic Plan and welcomed comments from participants. Her presentation lead us into a very interesting roundtable discussion of how traditional P2 activities fit into sustainability efforts.

After lunch, Karen Haley, Director of the Office of Sustainability, then told of the environmental efforts underway in Indianapolis. Denise Coogan with Subaru of Indiana gave a witty and informative presentation on how that carmaker has become a zero landfill company. The day wrapped up with Tony Nesky telling us of the Region 5 Sustainability Network and Phil Kaplan of the EPA discussed some of the results of recent P2 projects in the region.

Since Phil Kaplan is retiring soon, GLRPPR presented him with a “Legacy Tree” which will be planted in his hometown of Highland Park, IL. Phil has been a good steward of the environment and a friend to GLRPPR.

Rick Yoder of P2RIC got things rolling on Friday with a discussion of new web tools that could improve information discovery and collaboration. Greg Hume of TechSolve then presented information on his company’s Green Supplier network and collaboration with the city of Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Michal Kopach then told us of the use of an electronic Lab Notebook for Green science at Indianapolis’ own Eli Lilly Company. Cam Metcalf of the Kentucky P2 Center was the final speaker with a talk on the Seven Steps of an Energy Management Program. For the last portion of the day, we went across the street to the Indiana Government Center to attend a webinar with Natalie Hummel of the U.S. EPA on the new Greenhouse Gas calculator tool.

The conference was held at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art in downtown Indianapolis. It was a fantastic facility. And those of us who went to dinner at a local Greek restaurant were full for days after all of the wonderful food.

Special thanks to Jennifer Schick of IDEM for all of her organizing efforts. She was helped by Bobbi Steiff and others at IDEM. Thank you everyone!!

(You can see pictures of the Joint conference on the GLRPPR Facebook page. If you are not yet a Facebook user, join us.)

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.

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.

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.

Given this trend, it seems appropriate to launch a resource collection on the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) site focused specifically on e-waste issues. The GLRPPR Electronic Waste Sector Resource will include links to relevant legislation, news, events, funding opportunities, and contacts. This resource list is under development, so if you are aware of resources for e-waste programs in your state, please feel free to send links to Joy Scrogum for potential inclusion in this new resource list. An RSS feed is available for the Electronic Waste Sector Resource so you can be aware of new resources as they are added.

GLRPPR is a member of the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) a national network of pollution prevention information centers. Another P2Rx center, the Western Sustainability Pollution Prevention Network (WSPPN) has also developed a P2Rx Topic Hub on Electronic Waste. This is linked to within the new Sector Resource on the GLRPPR site and is also available on the main GLRPPR Topic Hub page.