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Present: Mark Grant, Alec Davis, Kevin Greene, Jim Ross, Alec Messina, Annette Fulgenzi, Erin Conley, Prerna Khullar. Via teleconference: Ted Wysocki & Karen May.
I. Welcome –Mark Grant welcomed attendees to the meeting
II. Approval of minutes– motion passed (Alec Davis moved, Ted seconded)
III. Guest Speaker:
a. Alec Messina, Senior Policy Advisor: Office of Governor Bruce Rauner. Alec first gave kudos to the Illinois SBEAP for their recognition at the National SBEAP conference as the SBEAP program of the year. He then described his duties as the policy advisor to the Governor – he works with different agencies including: EPA, Department of Natural Resources, Pollution Control Board, Department of Agriculture, and the Illinois Commerce Commission. Much of his time is spent on budget management issues, although he has been involved in regulatory activities. He was reviewing the Prevention of Significant Deterioration rules to see how the State program compares to the federal program and is reviewing the permit by rules (PBR) programs. The plan is to have some permit by rule proposal filed with the IPCB by the end of the year. The first PBR will set the standard for the rest of the permits by rule that follow, it must meet USEPA approval also. Eventually there may be outside groups that file PBR proposals.
In environmental news – lead and lead pipe replacement. Looking at whether IEPA can make loans to small communities to assist with lead water line replacement. The focus will be initially on education and outreach including: how to test water, providing source water testing awareness, provide a level of comfort around safety of drinking water. Karen May asked about funding opportunities, Alec explained that the USEPA Region V administrator is looking to identify sources of funding. The IEPA has a revolving fund and some of those monies may be able to be redirected for water line replacements. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) loans are almost paid back which means those may now be a source of funding. Karen May asked if Illinois has low interest loan funds available for low income housing work , if citizens can do water testing themselves, how do we ensure that there isn’t a case of passing the buck on water issues. Alec M. explained that there are some resources available and that the IEPA is working on a Q & A publication to help people understand the drinking water quality issues. There are some providers that have labs that people can submit samples to for testing. Accurate information will help to ensure that citizens know what the status of their water quality is and provide accountability. IEPA and the Department of Public Health are working together on coordinating lead data and sharing that information. In Galesburg information on the lead in water was sent to IDPH and they sent staff to perform blood testing. Karen mentioned that Rep. Mike Tryon has a water testing company and he might be available to help with the Q&A document. Alec M. expressed interest in talking to Rep. Tryon.
In other water related issues there is interest in reviewing the dry cleaner trust fund to see if that program can be retooled while still ensuring its legacy. Mark Grant asked about the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) fund payments. Alec M. stated that contractors may be behind in getting payments due to the budget situation.
Karen asked if the Governor’s office would do a press release for the SBEAP leadership award. Alec M agreed that the State should do something to recognize the award, Annette stated that a joint IEPA/DCEO press release would help reach the regulated community.
IV. State Updates
a. Illinois EPA Bureau of Air and Agency Updates
i. Clean Power Plan: Jim Ross explained that the Clean Power Plan rule has been stayed and the IEPA has paused in its implementation planning. They are still meeting with stakeholders.
ii. Permit by Rule (PBR): Jim Ross discussed the potential effects of a PBR for facilities with boilers. One advantage is that facilities would have the full requirements available and could make informed decisions about buying a new boiler that would be compliant with State and federal requirements. The initial focus would be on boilers at Title V facilities. Alec Davis asked about outreach for future PBR proposals. Jim Ross explained that there is a team working on the rule proposals and they will be looking for industry feedback. Another topic that is on the list for PBR is open burning - there is high interest in this topic and PBR could help with time sensitive projects.
iii. Asbestos Electronic Notification System: Jim Ross explained that the form has been completed and is being tested now, it will only be available for notifying Illinois EPA notifications under the NESHAP. He would like to see more online submissions, especially for reports like the Annual Emission Report. Annette mentioned that the SBEAP staff helped with the review of the asbestos form. Jim said that Ron and Jan Robeen are in charge of the asbestos program for now, as part of their other assigned duties, but that they would like to hire for the program. Alec Messina mentioned he received feedback at a recent conference regarding the asbestos programs and said staffing needs to be addressed.
b. SBEAP Program Updates
i. Clean Air Clips newsletter: Annette stated that the CAC are going out monthly through the end of the fiscal year, we are able to use the SBDC account for our newsletter for now. We included an article on Cook county asbestos notifications.
ii. Autobody Training: Erin is scheduling workshops for facilities to renew their training for compliance with the federal 6H rule. We are also looking into developing a webinar to assist companies with applying for an exemption to the rule (possible if they are only using paints that do not have the hazardous air pollutants that are regulated by the 6H rule).
iii. Asphalt Plant General Permit Form Revisions: Annette explained that the SBEAP staff is working with the IEPA permit staff to make upgrades and improvements to the forms used by asphalt plants when they want to apply for a general permit. The plan is to have all of the criteria that plants must meet up front in the application so the facility can know easily if they are eligible to use the general permit. This will save both the source and the agency from reviewing applications that do not meet the general permit criteria.
iv. Factsheets: Jim Ross said that the asbestos and grain handling factsheets are ready for review and should be available to be released soon.
V. Federal Updates
a. National Training Conference: Annette explained that the award that the Illinois SBEAP won was in recognition of the program’s environmental protection leadership by assisting small businesses with environmental regulation compliance and sustainability practices, as well as, the program’s contributions to the programs across the country. Additionally, Annette will be presenting at the conference as part of a discussion about promoting SBEAP programs. Her talk will focus on working in partnership with enforcement agencies to better identify possible areas that need compliance assistance.
b. New Mexico SIP Revision: Mark Grant explained that the changes being made by New Mexico are to modify their SIP, while they are taking the requirement to have a CAP out of their SIP they aren’t denying the value of having a CAP. While the Illinois CAP does not want to see any erosion of support from USEPA for CAPs nationally, it was decided that it would be better not to send negative comments on another state’s issue with USEPA.
c. Guidelines Review: Annette gave a brief summary of some of the changes to the programs nationally as the oversight and contact point at USEPA changed from the technical Office of Policy and Innovation to the procurement office in the Small Business Ombudsman (SBO). This change over time has led to a lack of coordination between the compliance assistance programs in the SBEAP and the regulatory offices, along with a loss of funding and support from USEPA. Annette said that the SBEAPs are looking to trade groups to help bring attention to the current lack of support for SBEAPs, because the trade groups were instrumental in establishing the compliance assistance programs in the Clean Air Act. Mark grant stated that he has reached out to NFIB staff in Washington D.C., Karen May asked if the CAP as a group could reach out to organizations to help promote the SBEAP. Mark Grant said that he was going to be talking to some state trade groups – starting with the Feed and Grain Association.
VI. New Business/Discussion Items: Erin is working on updates to the online environmental consultant database, staff will also be reviewing the guidance document on how to select an environmental consultant. Annette said that we have worked with trade groups in the past to get their input on selecting a consultant and that we will reach out to trade groups as part of our review. Karen May asked if we could review or remove consultants that are in the database. Annette explained that staff does not do a review of the firm’s credentials or make any recommendations of any consultant – our assistance is in the guide to help facilities make an informed decision when they hire a consultant.
Prerna talked about the customer satisfaction surveys she has been developing for the helpline and the website and the exit survey for the 6H workshops. These will be used to help measure the effectiveness of our services.
Next meeting date – next meeting will be in late August/September, CAP members should let Erin know if they have any conflicts with those dates. Erin will send a Doodle poll to set a date.
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