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Summary of Meeting with Performance Track Members and EPA's Office of Air and Radiation
September 29, 2005
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Overall Summary
- “We need realistic incentives that are real incentives and have meaning for the members.”
- Performance Track members appreciate these opportunities to meet directly with EPA program officials and would like to meet again in smaller groups to focus on specific incentives and work on details.
- OAR appreciates the air-related environmental improvements made by Performance Track members, as well as their candor and willingness to partner with EPA.
- All interested parties need to be involved in this partnership and recognize that everyone needs to align their interests to make implementation successful. We need to encourage increased and continuing involvement from states, environmental groups, trade associations, and others who might be interested in the success of this program.
- Performance Track members would like to develop incentives related to expedited permits, providing more effective guidance to states for implementing performance-based incentives and restructuring compliance inspections to be a value-added partnership.
- It is important to recognize the economics for both businesses and regulators. Businesses want certainty in the in the decisions that regulators are making, which requires a long-term commitment by environmental agencies.
- Justifying the capital expenditures for environmental projects often requires a high savings threshold and rapid rate of return to justify the decision at the corporate level.
- Performance Track members can help EPA test ideas that will solve problems. EPA may need to work with a couple of states to work on solutions and develop models that can be replicated.
Follow-Up Actions
Priority Permits - A scoping meeting will be arranged with EPA, states, Performance Track members, and NGOs to develop a proposal to establish a system for expediting air permits for Performance Track members.
State Guidance - A scoping meeting will be arranged with EPA, states, Performance Track members, and NGOs to develop a proposal to establish better and more effective guidance to states for implementing performance-based incentives.
Restructuring Compliance Inspections - A scoping meeting will be arranged with EPA, states, Performance Track members, and NGOs to develop a proposal for restructuring compliance inspections to be a value-added partnership between EPA and Performance Track members.
Community Action for a Renewed Environment - Meetings and/or outreach will be arranged to further solicit and explore potential partnerships with EPA and Performance Track members.
Smart Way Transport - Meetings will be arranged to further solicit and explore potential partnerships with EPA and Performance Track members.
Innovative Approaches to Promote Energy Efficiency - Meetings and/or outreach will be arranged to further solicit and explore potential partnerships with EPA and Performance Track members on Combined Heat and Power Partnerships and ENERGY STAR for Commercial and Industrial Organizations.
General Permits/Permits By Rule, Electronic Permitting, Process Improvement Models - Meetings and/or outreach will be arranged to further solicit and explore potential partnerships with EPA, states, and Performance Track members to work on expanding the use of these tools.
Start-up, Shutdown, and Malfunction Studies (SSM) - Meetings and/or outreach will be arranged to further solicit and explore potential partnerships with EPA and Performance Track members so that EPA may better understand these events.
For a more detailed summary of the meeting, click here (PDF, 28 pp., 185KB, about PDF).
For a list of participants in the meeting, click here (PDF, 3 pp., 83KB)