Performance Track Site Visits What You Should Expect, What We Found

1
Performance Track Site Visits What You Should
Expect,What We Found

• First Annual PTPA Conference
• April 24, 2002
• Washington, DC

2
Why Site Visits?

• A program quality assurance measure to assess
  facility implementation of program criteria
• An opportunity for face-to-face interaction among
  EPA, State, and program participants in a
  constructive environment
• An opportunity for facility feedback to EPA and
  States about PT program and other issues
• EPA committed to visit up to 20 of facilities
  per year

3
What Are Site Visits?

• A site visit includes -- interviews with EHS
  staff about EMS, performance commitments, and
  public outreach programs
• -- a review of key EMS documentation
• -- a facility walk-through -- a debriefing
  to discuss findings
• -- an opportunity to meet sr. management

4
What Site Visits Are Not?

• Site visits are not compliance inspections -- we
  will not ask to check your compliance records
• Site visits are not formal EMS audits they
  should not be interpreted as a third party
  certification of your EMS.

5
Selection Criteria

• facilities without a 3rd party EMS assessment
  (self-assessed)
• 3rd party, non-ISO 14001 certified
• ISO 14001 certified
• small businesses
• federal facilities
• facilities with environmental commitments that
  are not easily interpreted from the application

6
Site Visit Logistics

• Advance notice provided we try to work around
  facility schedules
• Site visit protocol sent in advance
• EPA state representatives conduct visit
• Most EPA personnel and many state contacts have
  had EMS auditor training
• Designed to take ½ to a full day, depending on
  size/complexity of facility

7
What We Found - Overview

• 2001 pilot phase of site visits completed
• 45 site visits conducted across all 10 EPA
  regions ( 18 of facilities in program)
• 62 of facilities were in good shape
• Issues found at 38 of facilities most (77)
  were EMS-related
• One facility removed from program

8
Of 17 Facilities with Issues
9
Visited Facilities Nature of EMS Assessment
10
Site Visit Finding Most EMSs in Good Shape
11
Of Facilities with EMS Issues
12
Planning Component of EMS Most Problematic
13
Commitment Public Interaction Issues

• Commitments not feasible, not measurable,
  market factors hinder achievability, required by
  local regulation
• Public Interaction corporate structure makes it
  difficult for facility to report directly on
  environmental performance

14
Site Visit Follow-up/Next Steps

• Letters and summaries sent to each facility
  visited
• Those facilities with issues have been asked to
  respond with a schedule for corrective action
• We have begun the second round of site visits
  our 20 goal is 56 facilities