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Environmental Management Systems

Today's leading companies and organizations use Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) to move beyond basic compliance towards stewardship.

Through EMSs, an organization sets internal standards, prevents noncompliance, and improves environmental performance.

Companies using EMSs tackle a broad range of issues beyond basic compliance such as energy and water use, transportation, packaging, and even the performance of suppliers.

MPCA encourages the use of high-quality EMSs as tools for environmental improvement and as a means for reducing the cost – to the EMS user and to the state – of maintaining compliance with environmental regulations.

Incentives for Use

Where the following incentives for EMS use apply to your organization, we would like you to consider positioning your facility to take advantage of them. From MPCA’s standpoint, the single most important part of that positioning is to bolster that part of your EMS which assesses how environmental regulations apply to your facility, manages responsibilities under those regulations, and prevents noncompliance.

Flexible EMS Air Permit

This individually issued state permit option allows small and medium-sized air emission facilities that employ a qualifying EMS (audited as conforming to ISO 14001, but registration is not required) to operate under caps of actual emissions set below 100 tons per year for most pollutants.

To provide a regulatory incentive to establish a qualifying EMS, the permit offers relief from minor and moderate permit amendment application requirements, and from some recordkeeping and reporting requirements. This permit option may make sense for your facility if:

• your actual emissions have been declining under an existing Part 70 permit; or
• your facility requires the flexibility to make quick production changes to get products to market in timely fashion; or
• your facility has low actual emissions but requires site-specific permit conditions to operate at the low emission levels, disqualifying you for the registration or capped permit options.

Please call Al Innes (651-757-2457) for more information.

• Facts About State Air Permits with Environmental Management System (EMS) Provisions
  
  
• Rule – the EMS permit option was one of two options published in the State Register under a single proposed rule change. Therefore, the rule and supporting documents mix language for both the EMS permit option and the second option (the “capped permit” option). The pages most pertinent to the EMS permit option are indicated.
  • Original Rule (pp. 7-13 of the document, or pp. 37-43 as numbered in the July 12, 2004 State Register)
  • For the most current language, see Minnesota Rules, Chapter 7007.
    • 7007.0100 Definitions
    • 7007.1102 Incorporations by reference
    • 7007.1105 Eligibility for EMS provisions in state permits
    • 7007.1107 Application and permit content related to inclusion of EMS provisions in state permits

• Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR, pp. 135-173) – background and reasoning behind the EMS permit rule
• Application materials
  • EMS Eligibility Checklist
  • Permit application forms
• IBM permit – the model and template for the EMS air permit.

Other MPCA and EPA Incentives

• Minnesota Environmental Improvement Program ( Minnesota ’s environmental audit law – Minnesota Statutes 114C.20 through 114C.28), 1995, amended 1999.
• EPA Small Local Governments Compliance Assistance policy/guidance
  • 1995 policy
• EPA Enforcement policies
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations (“Audit Policy”), May 11, 2000.
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Compliance-Focused Environmental Management System: Enforcement Agreement Guidance, December 2001.

Information/Assistance

MPCA provides these links solely as a service; no endorsement of any particular site’s content is intended or implied.

• EPA’s Implementation Guide for Small and Medium Sized Organizations
• Home site of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), proprietor of the ISO 14001 standard
• Responsible Care Management System (American Chemistry Council)
• Ford Motor Company's EMS
• Agriculture:
  • Beef (Iowa)
  • Dairy (Wisconsin)
  • Pork (North Carolina)
  • Poultry (Georgia)
  • Soybeans (Iowa)
• Airports:
  • Denver International
• Foam products
• Municipalities
  • City of Denver, Colorado
  • City of Scottsdale, Arizona (multi-department)
• Port authorities
  • Port of Houston Authority
• Public agencies, general
  • PEER Centers – EMS assistance for units of government
• Public works agencies
  • Jefferson County, Alabama (fleet management & general maintenance)
• Ski areas
• Solid waste management
  • City of Berkeley, California (solid waste)
  • City of San Diego, California (solid waste)
• Transportation agencies
  • Tri-Met Transportation District (vehicle service, Portland, Oregon)
• Wastewater treatment utilities
  • City of Gastonia, North Carolina (wastewater)
  • City of Eugene, Oregon (wastewater)
  • City of Lowell, Massachusetts (wastewater)
• Clearinghouses for case studies (may include some material from the sites listed above)
  • EPA sector case studies
  • BSI Management Systems ( England ) case studies
  • Environmental Health & Safety Online case studies

Minnesota’s ISO 14001 Companies

• MPCA’s most current compilation of Minnesota companies registered to the ISO 14001 standard.

Consultant List

• Consultant list – Minnesota-based providers of EMS/ISO 14001 development, registration, auditing, or training services.

Training Providers

• U.S.-based providers of EMS training accredited by RABQSA International (RABQSA, formerly a function of the Registrar Accreditation Board) as of June 2009.
• For RABQSA’s most recent list of accredited EMS training providers, or to search by sector, go to the RABQSA Web site.