Cal/EPA Environmental Management System Project
Meeting Summary: Northern California Working Group
March 16, 2000   San Francisco, California

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I. Introductions
Richard Corey, Cal/EPA team member from the California Air Resources Board, opened the meeting by welcoming those in attendance. Participants introduced themselves.

II. Relevant Activities Since Last Meeting
Resource Renewal Institute (RRI) Conference - Bob Stephens gave a brief overview of the proceedings of the RRI conference, which was held on October 26, and 27, 1999 at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland, CA. A copy of the proceedings was mailed to each member of the Working Group.

Multi-State Working Group Meeting (MSWG) - Bob Stephens gave a brief overview of the November 9 and 10, 1999 meeting of the MSWG which was held in Oakland. The minutes from that meeting were mailed to each member of the Working Group. Bob also discussed a report from the Aspen Institute referred to as A Call to Action to Build a Performance Based Environmental Management System. The report is on the web at www.aspeninstitute.org or individuals can call (410) 820-5338 for copies.

Training - Richard Corey explained that the training that had been discussed at earlier meetings has been completed. Evaluations of the training sessions were sent to each member of the Working Group. There is, however, a possibility of additional training, which would be discussed later in the meeting.

Web Site - Renee Lawver, Cal/EPA team member from the Integrated Waste Management Board, informed the members that the EMS web site is up and running. The site can be accessed at www.calepa.ca.gov/EMS

Legislative Report - Bob Stephens reported that the first legislative report required by AB 1102 had been sent to the legislature in time to meet the January 1, 2000 deadline. A copy of the report was mailed to each member of the Working Group. Bob also reported that the next report is due April 1, 2000 and was in draft form.

III. Upcoming Events
National EMS Conference - Keith Smith, Cal/EPA, handed out material on the June 5 and 6, 2000 MSWG Conference. The conference will be held at the Bahia Resort Hotel, 998 W. Mission Bay Drive in San Diego, CA (858) 488-0551. Members that are planning to attend the conference were encouraged to call and reserve a room by May 4, 2000 to receive the meeting room rate.

The agenda for the conference is still being developed but currently consists of three tracks: (1) EMS Implementation, (2) EMS and Public Policy, and (3) EMS and Business. There is a small amount of grant money from the U.S. EPA for NGOs that wish to attend. To apply for grant money, NGOs should contact Jennifer Smith Grubb at (510) 540-3315 or e-mail her at www.smithjen@ix.netcom.com.

Additional Training - Jennifer Smith Grubb, Project Manager, queried members of the Working Group about additional training needs. She also described a training proposal from the instructors of the course EMS and Public Policy: A Participatory Learning Experience. The Working Group members were asked to notify Jennifer at (510) 540-3315 or www.smithjen@ix.netcom.com regarding any additional training they felt would be beneficial.

Public Hearing - Richard Corey announced that the public hearing required by AB 1102 would be held in late May 2000. There will be two public hearings, one in Northern CA and one in Southern CA. Further discussion of the public hearing process and the specifics of AB 1102 was the subject of a later agenda item.

U.S. EPA - Bonnie Barkett, U.S. EPA, invited members of the Working Group to attend the April 10, 2000 public meeting in San Jose on that agency's proposed Aiming for Excellence program. This program will recognize and encourage facilities that achieve better environmental performance than is required under existing regulations. For information on this program and the April 10 meeting, Working Group members can contact Bonnie at (415) 744-1908 or barkett.bonnie@epamail.epa.gov.

IV. Explanation of the Public Hearing Process
Richard Corey explained the purpose of the item was to review the requirements of AB 1102, explain the legal requirements of a public hearing, and then describe how Cal/EPA will conduct the public hearing required by AB 1102.

AB 1102 Overview - Requirements of the legislation include:

• At least one public hearing to select no more than eight pilot projects.
• The purpose of the pilot projects is to answer whether and how an EMS provides better public health and environmental protection and greater public information.
• Provides optional language for developing evaluation and monitoring parameters and a model MOU.
• Quarterly reports to the legislature beginning January 2000.

Public Input Process:

• State law requires 10 working day notice for a public hearing.
• Requires adequate announcement of a public hearing. This can be satisfied by one or more of the following: newspaper, web page, mailing list.
• Requires public record. This can be achieved by tape or video recording and note taking, and/or use of a stenographer.

• The Public Hearing Officer must be an authorized individual with the implementing agency.
• Comment period for this public hearing will be 30 days.
• Comment period begins when the Hearing Notice is issued.
• Comments can be written or presented orally at the public hearing.
• Documents to be presented at the public hearing will be available on the web or the public can send for them.
• The public can submit written comments during the 30 day comment period or they can present oral or written comments during the public hearing.

Cal/EPA Public Hearing

• There will be a hearing in Southern California on May 22, 2000.
• There will also be a hearing in Northern California on May 24, 2000.
• The draft documents will be sent to Working Group members for their review and comment prior to public distribution.

V. Working Group Input into Draft Documents
Copies of the draft documents to be presented at the May Public Hearings (Project Selection Criteria, Project Descriptions, Project Plans, and Project Monitoring & Evaluation Criteria) were sent to the Working Group members prior to this meeting. As an overview, various members of the Cal/EPA EMS team briefly described the documents for the Group.

Andrea Lewis, Cal/EPA's Assistant for Quality Programs, led the Working Group members through an exercise to elicit their thoughts/comments on each document.

VI. Closing Comments
Richard Corey briefly discussed the next steps in the process of preparing for the Public Hearings. The documents that will be presented at the Public Hearings will be sent to the Working Group members for their review and comment. After the comment period, the documents will be revised and posted on the web site with the notice of the Public Hearing.

VI. Meeting Evaluation
The following is a summary of the results of the meeting evaluation by the Working Group members.  All those who completed the evaluation form felt that the meeting met its stated objectives and their expectations.

Which portions of the meeting were most helpful to you?

• The exercise.
• Discussion of draft documents.
• Updates on the MSWG.
• Update on activities since last meeting.
• Stayed close to time scheduled.

Which portions of the meeting were least helpful to you?

• Updates on past events.

What additional information regarding EMSs would be useful to you?

• How an EMS audit is conducted.

Please contact Cal/EPA EMS Pilot Project Manager, Richard Corey, at (916) 323-1079 or by e-mail, at rcorey@arb.ca.gov for more information about the Northern California Working Group.