2000 Accomplishments and Priorities

Accomplishments during First Half of 2000

1. Strategic Vision. Cal/EPA embarked on a comprehensive strategic planning process that updated the vision, mission, and goals of the Agency. The Office of the Secretary worked closely with Cal/EPA boards and departments, the Resources Agency, and representatives of environmental and business organizations, including the California Environmental Dialogue (CED), to update the plan. Cal/EPA has produced a "strategic vision" that sets forth the direction for California’s environmental programs and will serve as the basis for strategic plans being prepared by Cal/EPA boards and departments. The strategic plans will indicate how to achieve statewide environmental performance goals. Measuring and reporting progress toward those goals is crucial. Thus, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is developing environmental indicators that will provide an improved understanding of the overall condition of the environment to program managers, the public, the regulated community, and other stakeholders.

2. CalFed. Secretary Winston Hickox represented Cal/EPA in the high-level policy discussions that led to the signing of "California's Water Future: A Framework for Action," a historic agreement between the State of California and the federal government focusing on the CalFed Bay-Delta program. The agreement, announced by Governor Gray Davis and U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, pledges to restore the Bay-Delta ecosystem, improve water quality, enhance water supply reliability and assure long-term stability for agricultural, urban and environmental uses. The plan's highlights include investing $800 million of state and federal money over the next seven years in water quality programs to continuously improve Delta water quality for all users.

3. Environmental Management Systems Project. State law created the Cal/EPA EMS Project in 1999 to determine if the use of environmental management systems can enhance protection of public health and the environment and produce better public information about environmental performance than the existing regulatory model. In fulfillment of the legislative requirement for a public hearing, Cal/EPA requested public comment during May through June. After public hearings were held in May, Cal/EPA announced selection of the pilot projects as proposed and adopted the pilot selection criteria, model pilot project work plan, and monitoring and evaluation parameters. The selected pilots were:

   • Anheuser-Busch in Fairfield

   • Wastewater facilities (Central Marin Sanitation Agency in San Rafael and San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater Department, Operation and Maintenance Division)

   • IBM Corporation in San Jose

   • Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (formerly the Skunk Works) in Palmdale

   • Metal finishing companies (Artistic Plating in Anaheim and Gene’s Plating in Los Angeles)

   • Pentel of America, Ltd. in Torrance

   • Vineyards and wineries (Benziger Family Winery and Davis Bynum Winery in Sonoma County)

4. Urban Cleanup Initiative (Brownfields). There are thousands of idle or under-utilized sites in California where redevelopment is stymied because of real or perceived environmental contamination. To address this serious problem, the Office of the Secretary successfully submitted the governor’s state budget proposal to leverage private investment capital through strategic loans for site characterization and cleanup. $85 million was approved in the 2000-01 budget to provide low-interest loans for inner city and other urban properties (brownfields). Cleanup of brownfields produces numerous benefits: reduced public health and environmental risks, decreased traffic congestion, constrained urban sprawl, construction of affordable inner-city housing, creation of jobs, and an expansion of inner city tax bases.

5. Border Environmental Affairs.

   • Cal/EPA Board Affairs Unit. A Border Affairs Unit (BAU) was created within the Office of Secretary to act as the central point of contact on environmental issues along the California-Baja California border. The BAU will initiate, and coordinate local, state and federal, bilateral and multilateral efforts to address the unique set of environmental challenges that characterize the border region. Additionally, the BAU participates in and lends support for the annual Border Governors Conference, the US-Mexico Ten States Retreat and U.S. EPA’s Border XXI initiatives.

   • Border Governors Conference. The Office of the Secretary participated in the XVIII Border Governors Conference, which took place in June, in Sacramento. The outcomes of the environmental work table included joint declarations urging the President of the United States and Congress to restore funding to $100 million annually for border infrastructure projects, request that both federal governments provide adequate funding for the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission and encourage appropriate federal and state agencies to protect shared water resources by promoting conservation policies. Additionally, the Office of the Secretary provided essential logistical support for the conference.

   • Strategic Border Environmental Plan. Consistent with its responsibility to act as the central point of contact on border issues, Cal/EPA’s Border Affairs Unit (BAU) has initiated development of a state-to-state strategic plan for California and Baja California. This plan will provide a framework for participation and cooperation to address the unique environmental challenges in the shared border region. The BAU is developing the strategic plan in coordination with the Border Environmental Program (BEP)—a collaborative group of California state agencies, Baja California and tribal nations along the border region—to ensure a comprehensive effort. Moreover, all Cal/EPA boards, departments and offices participate in the BEP to ensure a multimedia effort on all environmental issues.

6. Enforcement.

   • Cross-Media Training. A multiagency task force developed curriculum for a new 2-week Cal/EPA inspector training class. The training will cover many basic investigation and inspection subjects including cross-media issues.

   • Cross-Media Investigations. Cal/EPA made its first enforcement referral to the Attorney’s General’s Office pursuant to the authority granted by Government Code section 12812.2. The joint referral was made with the State Water Resources Control Board regarding an underground storage tank investigation. The case is continuing as a joint investigation of Cal/EPA, the Air Resources Board, the State and Regional Water Boards and local Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPAs).

   • Cross-Media Enforcement Unit. The Office of the Secretary reached agreement with the Air Resources Board to temporarily designate staff from the ARB to act as Cal/EPA’s cross-media enforcement unit and to develop the necessary budget proposals to establish a separate agency unit in the near future.

7. Military Base Remediation and Reuse. The Office of the Secretary continues to work closely with the Department of Toxic Substance Control and the Water Resources Control Board to review proposals to clean up contamination at closed military bases throughout California for reuse by local communities. Some significant results include the acceptance by the governor of two early transfers of portions of the Alameda Naval Air Station and the Oakland Fleet Industrial Supply Center to the City of Alameda and the Port of Oakland, respectively. In addition, several significant improvements in reporting, review, and oversight procedures have accelerated and simplified cleanup review efforts at bases such as the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Treasure Island, Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard, Ft. Ord, and Tustin Naval Air Station.

8. Multi-State Working Group (MSWG) on Environmental Management Systems. Cal/EPA was the organizer of the MSWG’s annual conference on "Environmental Management Systems, Regulatory Innovation and Sustainability" held in San Diego in June. Over 250 participants from nine countries representing government, business, public interest groups and academia heard 17 sessions over a two-day period featuring 56 speakers. Secretary Hickox delivered the opening session speech describing the upcoming year’s plans for the Cal/EPA Innovation Initiative. Dr. Robert Stephens, Assistant Secretary for EMSs and Sustainability, in his role as chair of MSWG, delivered the closing session remarks looking forward to new initiatives in these areas in California, the U.S., and the rest of the world. Session topics included many aspects and examples of environmental management systems and their impact on the broader issue of sustainability. Documents related to the event are available on the Web at http://www.mswg.org.

9. Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPAs). The Office of the Secretary conducted a two-day strategic planning meeting in March for the CUPA program. Participants included representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, State Office of Emergency Services, State Fire Marshal and representatives of all 70 of the CUPAs in the Unified Program. As a result of the meeting, three key strategic objectives were identified: development of statewide enforcement procedures, consolidation of electronic information collection from CUPAs, and improvement of the CUPA program review process.

10. New Cal/EPA Building. In early 2000, the architect for the new Cal/EPA building received the Engineering Excellence award for energy efficient design from California Construction Link, a construction trade magazine. In June, more than 700 solar panels were installed at the new building, generating enough electricity to serve 10 average-size homes. It is the largest solar installation in a commercial high-rise building in California, if not the U.S. A special group was established within Cal/EPA's boards and departments called the Relocation Team to assist employees with the move and transition into the new building.

11. New Cal/EPA Intranet Site. A new intranet, or internal Web site, called EPANet was launched in May to provide up-to-date information to Cal/EPA employees about issues related to the move into the new Cal/EPA building that begins in August. EPANet provides comprehensive, detailed information to Cal/EPA employees on topics such as moving schedules, parking and transportation information, special building features, and general information related to the transition into the new building. Once the move into the new building is completed, EPANet will be expanded to include a wide variety of information for Cal/EPA staff such as an employee directory, news and information of interest to employees, meeting and conference room schedules, personnel information and forms, a calendar of events, and more. The EPANet project is spearheaded by Cal/EPA’s Transition Support Team and maintained by the information technology staff of the Integrated Waste Management Board.

12. Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards. Application and nomination forms for the 2000 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards were distributed in June via the Internet and by mail. The annual award program is administered by Cal/EPA and the Resources Agency on behalf of the Governor’s Office and is the state’s most prestigious environmental honor. Award nominations are due August 31, 2000, with the award ceremony planned for December.

13. California Environmental Technology Certification Program (CalCert). CalCert conducts third-party evaluations of environmental technologies and processes, providing regulators, financiers and purchasers with credible information about environmental performance and benefits. During the first six months of 2000, Cal/EPA issued certifications for: a polystyrene foam sheet manufacturing process that does not contribute to the formation of ground level-ozone or the depletion of the upper-level ozone; a stormwater drain insert that removes oil and diesel fuel in water runoff; and compression-based pipe fittings designed to control VOC emissions. Cal/EPA staff also developed a Test Quality Assurance (QA) Plan template that technology clients are using to identify test objectives, standard methods, data collection, and statistical analyses in support of their performance claims. Use of the Test QA Plan will reduce the costs and time for application preparation and technology evaluation. On international matters, Cal/EPA initiated efforts with government agencies and businesses in Canada, South Korea, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines to facilitate the acceptance of California certified technologies.

14. Permit Assistance Centers. In the first six months of 2000 the Cal/EPA Permit Assistance Centers provided assistance to 11,056 individuals who either telephoned, e-mailed or came into a center and asked for information on permits, licenses and other approvals needed for their business. This is an increase of 45 percent from the previous time period in 1999. In addition, the centers provided permit information to 43,448 individuals who visited the CalGOLD Web page. Also, information about permit assistance centers is now available in a brochure printed in Spanish that is distributed to organizations, trade associations, and conferences.

Priorities for Second Half of 2000

1. Organizational and Fiscal Review. In January 2000, Cal/EPA presented "A Structural and Fiscal Review of the California Environmental Protection Agency" to the governor and to the Legislature. In response to several recommendations in the report, Cal/EPA is sponsoring legislation to make positive changes in the Agency. Among other things, the measure requires that the Secretary: 1) ensure that the budget of the Agency and each of its boards and departments consider and address cross-media environmental issues, 2) develop and adopt an agency information technology and information management policy, 3) develop an agency cross-media risk assessment policy, and 4) examine and evaluate existing site cleanup processes, and recommend improvements in order to obtain consistent standards and procedures that address all media and are protective of both public health and the environment. The legislation is the first of several initiatives that Cal/EPA is undertaking to develop new effective strategies to address environmental problems.

2. Children’s Environmental Health Center. Legislation enacted last year and signed into law by the governor (SB 25, Escutia) created a Children’s Environmental Health Center within Cal/EPA. Cal/EPA is in the process of establishing, recruiting, and filling an executive level position to direct the activities of the Center. Cal/EPA is committed to protection of children’s health from exposures to pollutants in the environment. To this end, the director of the Center will assist the boards and departments within Cal/EPA to assess the effectiveness of statutes, regulations, and state programs designed to protect children from environmental hazards. The Center will also coordinate within Cal/EPA and with other state and federal agencies our regulatory efforts, research and data collection, and other programs and services that impact the environmental health of children.

3. CalFed. Cal/EPA will continue participation as a voting member of the CalFed Policy Group. The Phase II Report and the Implementation Plan will be issued in July for public comment. These reports were revised to reflect the Framework for Action CalFed agreement adopted in June. These reports support the final Programmatic EIS/EIR for CalFed to be released in late July. There will be a 30-day waiting period under the National Environmental Protection Act before the Record of Decision (ROD) can be signed for the EIS/EIR. Cal/EPA expects to review and sign the ROD by end of August.

   The State Water Resources Control Board is working with CalFed to develop a Memorandum of Understanding on a process for certification of CalFed surface water storage projects under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. This is expected to be completed by the end of August.

4. Cal/EPA Environmental Management System Program. During the second half of 2000, the Cal/EPA EMS Project will initiate the following:

   • Initiate "environmental excellence" agreements with facilities that are currently in compliance with regulations to deliver additional "beyond compliance" and "beyond current performance" improvements in significant regulated and unregulated environmental aspects. Aspects that are targeted by the California Sustainability Plan and by the regional EMS would receive the first consideration for action.

   • Cal/EPA’s part of the agreement will be to explore such appropriate regulatory approaches as unified permitting, inspection, and reporting that can significantly contribute to accelerating the pace or reducing the cost of environmental improvement.

   • Develop regional environmental management systems (EMS), multi-party agreements between Cal/EPA and state and local regulatory agencies, business and public advocacy groups to address California’s sustainability goals, target improved performance in significant regional environmental aspects, and identify regulatory barriers to enhanced environmental performance. Implementation will be accomplished through sector partnership agreements between Cal/EPA and state and local regulatory agencies and a responsible business sector, to achieve specified improvement that is beyond both current regulatory standards and current performance. Cal/EPA will explore such appropriate regulatory approaches as unified permitting, inspection, and reporting that can significantly contribute to accelerating the pace or reducing the cost of environmental improvement.

   • Create a "California Sustainability Plan," a long-term vision for environmental sustainability that delineates, for both regulated and unregulated environmental aspects critical to a sustainable future, goals, improvement targets and measures, contributing sectors, and appropriate regulatory or collaborative strategies. It will be developed in partnership with the California Environmental Dialog, with input from a broad group of stakeholders and the public.

   • Develop a Cal/EPA environmental management system with the goal of creating a model green government agency for California state government. Demonstrate exemplary environmental practices in both regulated and unregulated aspects and disseminate the knowledge gained about the reduction in environmental impacts and cost savings to other state and local government agencies and to California schools through the Cal/EPA school education program.

5. Border Environmental Affairs.

   • Strategic Border Environmental Plan. The Office of the Secretary will continue working on the Strategic Border Environmental Plan. The draft strategic plan, which is targeted for completion by September, will be available for public review and comment. When completed, this plan will be the first comprehensive plan of the 10 U.S.-Mexico border states. Upon completion, the Office of the Secretary will begin implementation of the plan's vision, mission and goals.

   • Environmental Infrastructure Needs Assessment Report. The third edition of this report will provide an update on environmental infrastructure needs identified in 1998, identify new environmental infrastructure needs on both sides of the California-Baja California border, and provide information on available financial resources for funding projects. Additionally, in an effort to assist border communities seeking financial resources for projects, Cal/EPA will publish a "Border Communities Handbook," which outlines criteria and processes needed to receive BECC certification and secure funding.

   • Cal/EPA Border Web Page. The Border Affairs Unit in coordination with Cal/EPA boards and departments are developing a comprehensive Border Web site that will include the latest information on environmental projects, infrastructure, meetings, related documents and links. It is anticipated that the Web site will be online by August 2000.

6. Enforcement. Development will continue on a cross-media training program for all Cal/EPA board and department enforcement. This training program will produce a cross-media inspector certification program. A Cal/EPA inter-board and department task force was assembled to oversee the development of the program’s training standards and curricula. Curriculum design was completed in June. Actual training will begin in the second half of 2000. It is anticipated that this training will eventually be offered to local agency counterparts such as air districts, CUPAs and LEAs.

7. Environmental Justice. Cal/EPA is committed to fair and equitable treatment of people of all races and economic levels with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws and policies in California. Legislation enacted last year and signed into law by the governor (SB 115, Solis) requires Cal/EPA to develop a model environmental justice mission statement for all of its boards and departments. A number of programs are already underway to incorporate environmental justice into policy and regulatory and enforcement programs. The goal of Cal/EPA is to empower communities to identify and respond to inequitable environmental impacts by getting involved in environmental decision-making.

   Cal/EPA is in the process of establishing, recruiting and filling the position of Assistant Secretary for Environmental Justice. The Assistant Secretary will be responsible for developing the mission statement and programs, managing the Agency’s environmental justice activities, coordinating those of the Agency’s boards and departments, and acting as the central point of contact on environmental justice issues with the public, business, federal and local government agencies, and other state agencies.

8. Military Base Remediation and Reuse. The Office of the Secretary will continue to provide assistance, leadership, and mediation services to the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Water Resources Control Board, and municipalities to clean up contamination at closed military facilities to return them to productive local economic use.

9. New Cal/EPA Building. Preparation for the move into the new Cal/EPA building will intensify in the latter half of 2000. The assessment of parking space supply, demand, and allocation will be completed. The initial phase of the move-in begins in late August with the move and installation of information technology systems, with the complete move-in to be completed by December. Four major public art pieces will be completed and installed in the building. A grand opening celebration will be held by the City of Sacramento and the project developer to welcome Cal/EPA employees to their new home.

10. New Cal/EPA Building Orientation. Approximately 60 orientation sessions will be conducted during the latter half of 2000 for Cal/EPA employees moving into the new Cal/EPA building beginning in August. The orientation sessions will provide important information to Cal/EPA employees to assist them with the transition into the new building. Topics such as office space, building features, neighborhood services, emergency preparedness, and building management will be covered in the orientations.

    Each orientation session will also include a tour of the building and a "welcome packet" with basic information for employees on building entrances and exits, where elevators are located, the locations of Cal/EPA boards and departments and floor plans, neighborhood services, visitor parking and building protocol, conference room scheduling, and contact information.

11. Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards. After nominations for this year’s Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards are received by August 31, 2000, Cal/EPA and the Resources Agency will evaluate each nomination and make award recipient recommendations to the Governor’s Office for consideration. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in December.

12. Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPAs). Work will continue on the development of a geographical Web-based database for information collected by the CUPAs. CUPAs collect detailed information regarding the storing and handling of hazardous materials at over 100,000 businesses in California. When completed, the information collected on where hazardous materials are being stored, chemical releases, and inspection findings will be available to the public on the Internet. In order to help improve the performance of local CUPAs, the state conducts an evaluation of each CUPA every three years. To improve this process, a special workgroup was formed to review the evaluation process and to make suggestions for improvement. The primary goal of this effort is the continued improvement of the CUPAs in order to create programs that are coordinated and consistent statewide.

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