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The
traditional facility-by-facility approach to environmental protection
(establishing standards, issuing permits, conducting inspections, and
undertaking follow up enforcement actions) has been very effective at
improving and maintaining environmental quality. However in an era of
declining government resources and expanding pollution concerns,
government agencies have not been able to keep up with the workload.
ERP is an innovative approach designed to address these challenges.
ERP is an integrated system of: - Plain-language compliance
assistance that promotes
pollution prevention
- Facility self-assessment and
self-certification;
- Agency inspections to verify
certifications and assess
performance; and
- Statistically based
performance measurement.
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In
ERP, states also typically conduct a comprehensive inventory, to
identify the facilities potentially targeted by the ERP. They may also
undertake targeted enforcement actions.
While most states are
using ERP with small businesses, some are testing it with larger
operations to see if public agencies can reduce costs of assuring
compliance at larger facilities.
The Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection first used ERP in 1997 in the dry cleaner
and photo processor sectors. Now 18 states have developed or are
implementing at least one ERP.
For additional background information, please consult:
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