Ohio EPA Recognition of Superior Pollution Prevention (or Reduction) Accomplishments

Often the Agency discovers companies making exemplary pollution prevention or pollution reduction efforts to enhance Ohio’s environment. While these efforts may not be eligible, or at the caliber, of a Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention, they are still worthy of recognition. Therefore, Ohio EPA created a new award program for facilities who deserve recognition for their achievements in implementing pollution prevention and other environmentally beneficial activities. This program will provide recognition for those efforts by Ohio facilities that may not be suitable for the Governor’s Award program. The following information identifies the basic structure of the program.

Application Process

To receive Ohio EPA’s Recognition of Superior Pollution Prevention (or Reduction) Accomplishments, a company needs to be nominated by a third party. The Office of Pollution Prevention needs to receive information documenting the facility’s efforts. This information is used to determine that a facility is making a worthwhile pollution prevention or pollution reduction effort. This documentation can be as simple as a letter to the Office of Pollution Prevention or may contain additional supporting information as necessary. Based upon the Office of Pollution Prevention’s evaluation of the information submitted by a third party, the facility may receive a certificate from the Director recognizing the facility’s efforts. In addition, Ohio EPA will issue a news release announcing the company's activities.

Criteria

The evaluation criteria for the awards program is straightforward and concise:

1)   The project is pollution prevention or pollution reduction;
2)   The company or facility is located in the State of Ohio;
3)   Only non-confidential, non-trade secret information can be submitted; and
4)   The activity demonstrates clear environmental benefits.

The program is designed to be as flexible as possible while still maintaining the integrity of the awards. There are no submittal deadlines, no prescribed formats for applications and no detailed review criteria other than that listed here. Please contact the Office of Pollution Prevention at the number below if you have any questions regarding this criteria or other aspects of the award program.

Other Considerations

The Office of Pollution Prevention will review the information as it comes in and make a determination quickly. However, it may take a facility receiving this recognition from 30 - 60 days to receive their certificate. The Office receives information from about 10 to 20 companies annually that would be appropriate for this kind of recognition. However, there is no limit on the number of awards that will be given each year.

This program is designed as a cost-effective, low resource way to provide recognition for those facilities who are making an extra effort to improve Ohio’s environment. We hope this recognition will encourage companies to undertake pollution prevention projects and find new and innovative ways to reduce pollution. This program will enable us to recognize Ohio facilities on a continuous basis as opposed to the current once-a-year cycle of the Governor’s Awards.

Recommendations should be submitted to:

Recognition for Superior Pollution Prevention Accomplishments
Marcie Burrow

(Mailing address and telephone information are listed below)