Environmental Progress - Summer 1998

Thomas Wallin Honored for "Common Sense" Efforts

U.S. EPA Recognizes Illinois' Efforts for Common Sense Initiative

Thomas Wallin, senior P2 advisor in the Illinois EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention, was among 24 recipients honored with certificates of appreciation from U.S. EPA recently for their efforts to develop goals and implement the federal Common Sense Initiative (CSI). Wallin was a member of the metal finishing subcommittee, which last December completed its project with the signing of a metal finishing strategic goals program by all stakeholders of the metal finishing sector. The project had been underway since 1995.

Thomas Wallin, left, senior P2 advisor, receives his certificate from Fred Hanson, U.S. EPA deputy administrator.

Signing of the goals represented the group's success in meeting the challenge issued by U.S. EPA Administrator Carol Browner for development of "cleaner, cheaper and smarter" policy actions for the metal finishing industry.

Browner recently told a pollution prevention convention for metal finishers, "This agreement shows how much change we can accomplish if we really roll up our sleeves and work very hard."

The Metal Finishing Strategic Goals Program promotes pollution prevention techniques as the preferred means of environmental protection for metal finishing facilities and encourages metal finishers to go beyond compliance.

The national goals for the metal finishing industry address using resources more efficiently, reducing hazardous emissions, increasing economic returns, and decreasing compliance costs. The goals also encourage the entire metal finishing industry to have 80 percent of its facilities achieving the "cleaner, cheaper, smarter" goals by the year 2002.

The second part of the goals program focuses on nine issue areas for the metal finishing industry, providing incentives and removing barriers for metal finishers to achieve the national performance goals.

Illinois was the second state in the nation to become a charter state and commit to the strategic goals program for the metal finishing industry. Of the 13 charter states now enrolled, four are from U.S. EPA's Region 5: Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Wallin anticipates that Illinois will implement the strategic goals initiative by integrating CSI actions into existing Illinois initiatives like Clean Break 1998, pollution prevention training and integration, community outreach, regulatory flexibility and ongoing inspection and compliance initiatives.