Environmental Partners Program

Application to Participate

Participation in the Environmental Partners Program is only initiated after the WCPA Ambassador Site Review has taken place and the retailer is comfortable with moving to the next stage of the program which involves a DATCP assessment. The DATCP assessment involves the following:

Conduct a Facility Assessment

The first step, following the Ambassador Site Review, is to conduct an assessment of your facility using the Site Assessment Form (PDF, 22KB) . This is done to identify innovative proactive practices that are non-rule applications and to identify practices that could lead to contamination at your site. The facility assessments typically occur in late July and August and involve a walk-around of your facility with a WCPA Ambassador and DATCP staff.

To encourage active communication, the department staff will be there in a non-enforcement role, except in situations where serious violations pose a severe threat to the people, animals or the environment. These types of violations would be identified during the Ambassador Site Review, however, and if such problems exist, they would be taken care of prior to involving DATCP for the final assessment. These violations include the following:

• Pesticide mixing and loading within 100 feet of well or surface water without containment.
• Filling of pesticide application equipment, mix tanks or nurse-tanks from a discharge outlet not adequately protected against backflow or back-siphonage.
• Loading or unloading bulk fertilizers or pesticides without containment.
• Bulk fertilizer or pesticide containers stored outside of secondary containment.
• Fertilizer or pesticide spills not properly recovered.
• Discharging contaminated water out of containment and onto the ground.

Identify Solutions

Following the site assessment, you, along with WCPA Ambassador and DATCP staff, will recommend solutions (specific tools, equipment, housekeeping activities, etc.) to address the practices identified as potential causes of contamination. Click here (PDF, 19KB) to view a list of potential solutions that may be useful as a starting point in finding something to work at your facility.

Prioritize and Select Solutions

Once solutions have been developed for each of the problem practices, they should be prioritized in order of importance based upon the potential of that solution to reduce contamination. You then select the solution(s) that you will implement in the upcoming year. We recommend selecting around five solutions to implement. However, if you choose to implement time-consuming or expensive solutions fewer than five may be selected for implementation the following year. Complete a separate Activity Form for each of the practices you select.

Activity Forms

Complete an Activity Form (PDF, 16KB) for each chosen improvement identified through the Site Assessment (PDF, 22KB) . The Activity form is a brief description of what will be done. It also covers schedule, staffing and cost information.

Submit the Pollution Prevention Plan

Your completed Activity Forms are considered to be your plan. After you submit this information to WCPA, you will be supplied with a number of shirts and hats with the "EP" logo. Click here (PDF, 155KB) to see what they look like. Click here (PDF, 16KB) to see photos of Environmental Partners that received shirts and hats at the WCPA trade show held in January 2004. These items are meant to be a reminder to staff of the firm's commitment to environmental improvement. Please try to submit the forms to WCPA within several weeks of the assessment.

Implement the Approved Plan

Once approved by the department, the plans should be implemented from September to March, which should be consistent with the timeline indicated in the plan.

Evaluate Effectiveness

After beginning to use a new practice, try to assess its effectiveness. You may call on your WCPA Ambassador representative for support. Estimating how much contamination a new practice prevents may be difficult. However, we would like participants to be watchful and at least record observations suggesting how the new practice performs. There is space to note these observations on the Activity Form.

Recogniton

When a facility finishes implementing their voluntary improvements, they qualify to receive a large EP sign, useful in promoting their achievement. Click here (PDF, 40KB) to see a sign that was presented to the program's first recipient--Landmark Services in Evansville. To help explain the significance of the sign and the effort behind it, WCPA also provide a press release to a local newspaper.