ESP Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility Requirements
There are three eligibility requirements for ESP:
- A standard of environmental compliance;
- Implemented and will maintain an environmental management system (EMS); and
- Committed to continuous environmental improvement.
Environmental Compliance History
ESP members must have a record of compliance with environmental laws and commit to maintaining the level of compliance needed to qualify for the program as expected of "environmental stewards."
IDEM will screen all applications. In evaluating an applicant's compliance record, IDEM will consult available databases and enforcement information sources. IDEM encourages applicants to assess their own compliance record as they make decisions regarding participation in this program. You can check your Federal compliance record for the last two years with EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online. Please note, however, that this tool provides a two-year snapshot and applicants' compliance records are calculated over longer time frames. If you are unsure about your Indiana compliance history, please contact the ESP Program Manager in IDEM's Office of Pollution Prevention and Technical Assistance at (800) 988-7901.
Participation in the ESP will not be appropriate if the compliance screen shows any of the following, under federal or state law:
- Corporate criminal conviction or plea for environmentally-related violations of criminal laws involving the entity or an officer within the past 5 years;
- Criminal conviction or plea of employee at the entity for environmentally-related violations of criminal laws within the past 5 years.
Participation in the ESP may not be appropriate if the compliance screen shows any of the following, under federal or state law:
- Ongoing criminal investigation/prosecution of corporation, corporate officer, or employee at the same facility for violations of environmental law.
- Three or more significant violations at the facility in the past 3 years.
- Unresolved, unaddressed Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) or Significant Violations (SV) at the facility.
- Planned but not yet filed judicial or administrative action at the facility.
- Ongoing EPA- or state-initiated litigation at the facility.
- Situation where a facility is not in compliance with the schedule and terms of an order or decree.
- History of significant problems or a pattern of noncompliance at the entity or at other affiliated entities under the same ownership or control.
Significant Non-Compliance Overview
Overview of Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) and High Priority Violation (HPV) -- Current as of 2/22/02):
Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) and High Priority Violation (HPV) are terms used to describe compliance status related to the violations of environmental requirements that EPA deems the most serious and that may pose a more severe level of environmental threat. The term SNC is used by the Water and RCRA Programs, while HPV is used by the Air Program.
Each EPA and IDEM program uses its own program-specific criteria, based on the applicable statutes and regulations, for determining whether or not a facility is currently in SNC or HPV status. The tables below show examples of the sort of criteria, specific to each program that could lead to these designations, and what is necessary to address or resolve SNC or HPV status.
Examples of HPV and SNC Determination Criteria
- Clean Air Act (CAA) Program HPV
- Failure to obtain a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit
- Violation of an air toxics requirement
- Failure to submit a Title V permit application within 60 days of the deadline
- Violation of an air toxics requirement
- Violation by a synthetic minor of an emission limit that affects the source's regulatory status
- Violation of an administrative or judicial order
- Substantial violations of a sources Title V obligations
- Testing, monitoring, record keeping, or reporting violations that substantially interfere with enforcement or determination of a facility's compliance requirements
- Violation of an allowable emission limit detected during a source test
- Chronic or recalcitrant violations
- Substantial violations of 112 (r) requirements
- Failure to submit the annual compliance certification within 60 days of the due date
- Clean Water Act (CWA) Program SNC
- Failure to comply with permit requirements:
- Major exceedance of effluent limits
- Failure to meet a compliance schedule milestone by 90 days or more
- Submitting a major report 30 days or more past the due date
- Other violations of concern to Director
- Failure to comply with requirements of any enforcement order
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Program SNC
- Determination that the facility has caused actual exposure or has a substantial likelihood of causing exposure of a hazardous waste or constituent
- Chronic or recalcitrant violations
- Substantial deviations from the terms of a permit, order or agreement, or from RCRA statutory or regulatory requirements
- storage of hazardous waste without a permit in excess of the accumulation time allowed by generator status
- disposal of hazardous waste at an unpermitted facility
- lack of financial assurance
Examples of How SNC or HPV Status May Be Addressed/Resolved
- Clean Air Act (CAA) Program HPV
- Facility has demonstrated it has resolved the violation that led to the HPV listing, or
- EPA or the State issues a formal enforcement order to address the HPV violation
- Clean Water Act (CWA) Program SNC
- Facility returns to compliance for a quarter, or
- Formal enforcement action regarding the violation has been taken
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Program SNC
- Facility returns to full physical compliance for all violations, and/or
- Facility is in compliance with a compliance schedule for any outstanding violations
EMS Requirements
During the application process, potential ESP facilities certify that they have adopted and implemented an Environmental Management System (EMS), and that the EMS has undergone an independent assessment in accordance with the criteria set forth in the Independent Assessment Policy [DOC - 40K].
Because each facility is unique, the scope and formality of its EMS will vary according to its size, sector, and complexity. A qualifying EMS includes the following elements:
Policy
An environmental policy committing the facility to:
- Compliance with legal requirements and voluntary commitments;
- Pollution prevention;
- Continuous improvement in environmental performance, including areas not subject to regulations; and
- Communicating environmental information with the public and a process for responding to community concerns.
Planning
- Identification of significant environmental aspects and legal requirements, including procedures for integrating anticipated changes to the facility's requirements.
- Measurable objectives and targets to meet policy commitments and legal requirements to reduce the facility's environmental impacts and to meet the performance commitments made as part of the facility's participation in the program. In setting objectives and targets, the facility should consider preventing non-compliance, preventing pollution at its source, minimizing cross-media pollutant transfers, and improving environmental performance.
- Active, documented programs to achieve the objectives, targets, and commitments in the EMS, including the means and timeframes for their completion.
Implementing and Operation
- Established roles and responsibilities for meeting objectives and targets of the overall EMS and compliance with legal requirements, including a top management representative with authority and responsibility for the EMS.
- Defined procedures for:
- Achieving and maintaining compliance and meeting performance objectives;
- Communicating relevant information regarding the EMS, including the facility's environmental performance, throughout the organization;
- Providing appropriate incentives for personnel to meet the EMS requirements; and
- Document control, including where documents related to the EMS will be located and who will maintain them.
- General environmental training programs for all employees and specific training for those whose jobs and responsibilities involve activities directly related to achieving objectives and targets, and to compliance with legal requirements.
- Documentation of the key EMS elements.
- Operation and maintenance programs for equipment and for other operations that are related to legal compliance and other significant environmental aspects.
- An emergency preparedness program.
Checking / Corrective Action
- An active program for assessing performance and preventing and detecting non-conformance with legal and other requirements of the EMS, including an established compliance audit program and an EMS audit program.
- An active program for prompt, corrective action of any non-conformance with legal requirements and other EMS requirements.
Management Review
- Documented management review of performance against the established objectives and targets and the effectiveness of the EMS in meeting policy commitments.
Environmental Improvement Initiatives
Performance Criteria
To submit a successful application, facilities need to commit to continued improvement in their performance. Future commitments are selected from the Environmental Performance Table [DOC - 86K]. These environmental indicators are grouped as follows:
- Upstream Stage: Material Procurement and Suppliers' Environmental Performance
- Inputs Stage: Material Use, Water Use, Energy Use, and Land Use
- Nonproduct Outputs Stage: Air Emissions, Discharges to Water, Waste, Noise, and Vibration
- Downstream Stage: Products
Facilities are encouraged to commit to more than the minimum. Aspects are chosen by the facility, not by IDEM. Commitments for improvement should relate to the facility's environmental aspects identified in the EMS and should take into account their significance, local environmental priorities, and pollution prevention opportunities.
In committing to continued improvement, facilities should not rely on any actions that represent compliance with existing legal requirements at the Federal, state, tribal, or local levels. Improvements should represent actions beyond existing legal requirements.
Participation in Partnership Programs
IDEM encourages each facility to use the results of its participation in EPA, state, and other partnership programs to identify eligible projects and document its achievements in improving performance. Participation in a partnership program would not on its own qualify a facility, but improvements that occur in the context of such programs would.
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