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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 09161997 - C51 to: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - �_.o ` CONTRA COSTA - :'4 COUNTY FROM: William Walker, MD �''•� o Health Services Director DATE: September 16, 1997 SUBJECT: Green Business Program Report and Pledge for Government SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION Recommendation: ACCEPT this report on the Green Business Program and direct the Director of Health Services to implement the initial phase of the Green Business Program in early 1998, with auto repair businesses in central county. ADOPT Green Business Program Pledge for Government (Attachment A). Background: ABAG's Bay Area Regional Hazardous Waste Facility Allocation Committee is charged with helping counties fairly allocate between them the location of future treatment, storage and disposal facilities for the hazardous waste generated in the Bay Area. In order to avoid the siting of such facilities they have begun developing, with Cal EPA and U.S. EPA, a program to help businesses reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous waste. Contra Costa's program will be developed with the ABAG Committee's Bay Area-wide program design and will benefit from the Bay Area program's publicity and materials. Program Goals The Bay Area Green Business Program's goal is to encourage small businesses to fully comply with environmental regulations, and to conserve resources and prevent pollution in the media of water, energy, solid and hazardous waste. This is to be done through a public recognition incentive program that would be available to businesses on a voluntary basis. The program thus combines several elements: It is geared towards the small business which typically does not have the staff and expertise in these areas: It works with businesses in an educative way to improve regulatory compliance; It provides businesses with incentives to conserve resources; and It is to be implemented so as to foster improved relations among regulatory agencies, and between regulatory agencies and businesses. Furthermore, it aims to provide some things businesses want: Less time spent with inspectors; Consistency and coordination between inspectors; Good relations with inspectors; Ways to save money and conserve resources; and Assistance with marketing. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: Yes. SIGNATURE lav +i RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): / ACTION OF BOARD ON , ),{,, I q q 7 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED ✓ OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS / I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE ./ UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD AYES: NOES: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Contact Person: Elinor Blake 370-5022 ATTESTED CC: Hazardous Materials Commission (via HSD) PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Lew Pascalli,Hazardous Materials Division SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY: . ,,. (��, 51 Pa DEPUTY Board of Supervisors Page 2 Report on the Green Business Program September 16, 1997 Program Description Generally, a business would volunteer to become a "Green Business." The fire, wastewater and hazardous materials agencies would verify that the business had been inspected within the last year and that no violations existed. If either of these could not be verified, the appropriate inspections and/or assistance would be provided. Once the business `passed' this first level of compliance, it would be given a checklist of items to be implemented to attain the second level: pollution prevention. The business must do the required minimum level of activities to be called a Green Business. Activities could include minor changes, such as installing timer switches on space heaters or recycling cardboard, to more major changes, such as switching from solvent-based to aqueous parts cleaning systems. Again, these activities would be verified by agency staff. The business would then benefit from the publicity provided by the program, and from its use of the Green Business Program logo and sticker. Participants The program is now being implemented in Alameda, Napa and Sonoma Counties, with ABAG acting as the coordinating body. Participation at the ABAG level has included Cal EPA and U.S. EPA, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), East Bay MUD, PG & E, the Small Business Development Center; various fire districts, hazardous materials programs, and wastewater facilities, and a number of businesses and trade associations. Contra Costa's Program Implementation of the Green Business Program in Contra Costa follows on the heels of efforts to bring together agencies responsible for hazardous materials, the most notable being the Interagency Hazardous Materials Task Force whose goal is to coordinate and improve efforts to prevent hazardous materials accidents. Members of this Task Force include a wide range of County and State agencies. Joint agency inspections, particularly of medium and large facilities, have also been part of this effort Its implementation also follows the highlighting by Dr. Paul Hill (July 15, 1997 Report to the Board) of two issues of concern for Contra Costa: Interagency relationships and public perception/outreach. In bringing the Green Business Program to Contra Costa we offer ourselves, as inspection agencies, the further opportunity to work together cooperatively and to eliminate overlapping responsibilities. The program also clearly provides an avenue to promoting the work of all of our agencies to the business community as well as the public. We are exploring initial implementation of the program in central county in early 1998, beginning with the auto repair industry. Expansion into east and west county would be expected following the program start-up in central county. Possible industries to be targeted in the future include printers and dry cleaners. The Hazardous Materials Division has convened several meetings with the following potential participants: Contra Costa Consolidated Fire District, San Ramon Valley Fire District, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority, PG&E, Contra Costa Water District, EBMUD, and the BAAQMD. Staff from these agencies are in the process of determining their individual level of commitment of staff and resources. Various auto repair businesses are also waiting for Contra Costa to implement the program. The Contra Costa Chapter of the Auto Services Council has already volunteered to work with us in the promotion of this program to their network of auto repair businesses. By this time next year we hope to have recognized several dozen auto repair businesses as Green Businesses, and to have expanded the program into east and west county. Green Business Pledge for Governments Attached is the Green Government Pledge that each agency participating in the Green Business Program will be asked to take. It is similar to a Green Business Pledge that we are asking each participating business to take. Its meaning for County government is three-fold: • That we agree to work cooperatively with the other inspection and pollution prevention agencies involved in the program; • That we agree to work in a cooperative, educative manner with businesses; and • That we lead by example in both compliance and resource conservation/pollution prevention. This means that each County department should be in compliance with all environmental regulations, and that each County department should be looking for ways to save paper, energy or water, and to reduce the amount of solid and hazardous waste they generate. Fiscal Impact: This program will be funded by Hazardous Waste Generator Program fees currently in place. 1,1 A '?F Attachment A A. Green Government M GREEN BUSINESS PROGRAM Plede g We, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, hereby adopt the following pledge: • 1 d We believe a healthy environment depends upon a healthy economy. We are actively working to show our environmental responsibility to our community through leading by example and committing to the following objectives: • To work with businesses and coordinate with local, state,.and federal regulators to achieve the objectives of the Green Business Program. • To agree to a common set of Green Business Program environmental standards for the business community. • To provide businesses with technical assistance and guidance to achieve these environmental standards. • To support the conservation of energy, water, materials, and other natural resources. • To work with business to educate and inform the public regarding the Green Business Program. September 16, 1997 Request to SPeak Form S1 ( THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) / Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. !tone: Address: I am speaking for myself_ or organization: *a w of osw-I"!* " DUCK ONE _ 1 wish to speak on Agenda Item #G= My col will be: general �for_aaainst - 1 wish to speak on the subject of I - _ 1 do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider. Request to Speak Formz0,. -) ( THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. Name: I S L f 15- STEw A 2T U 3 -7 073 (w�-- � Address: 3 3 g O VMEN A V1 c. City: Co N CORD 1 am speaking for myself ✓ or organization: ane of=Psdzn1kW CHECK ONE: CS I _ 1 wish to speak on Agenda Itefn #_ Oate: My comments will be: general _for.&against . . _ 1 wish to speak on the subject of _ 1 do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider: