ECOSS helps with prevention, cleanups By CHARLIE CUNNIFF ECOSS The Environmental Extension Service (EES) is a 15-month, pilot project of the Duwamish Coalition, funded jointly by the City of Seattle and King County. Its mission is to expand the manufacturing and industrial job base of the Duwamish industrial corridor, while at the same time protect and enhance the corridor's natural environment. The project is being administered by King County through a contract with the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. ECOSS has been working with businesses in the corridor to improve environmental practices since 1994. Sound like just another government boondoggle? Well, we hope not. The extension service is designed to help businesses in the corridor increase their economic performance through sound environmental management practices. Specifically, it is designed to conduct outreach to businesses with information and technical assistance on pollution prevention and contaminated land clean-up technologies. The overarching goals of the extension service are two-fold: to promote economic development by assisting businesses in establishing environmental practices which allow them to become more productive, and to support businesses in protecting and enhancing the natural environment of the corridor by instituting pollution prevention and contaminated land clean-up methods. The extension service is pursuing these goals through two major approaches. The first is to provide information on industrial innovations that will help businesses with pollution prevention. These innovations will include process change, product substitution, use of less toxic products, stormwater pollution prevention, energy conservation and waste reduction/recycling. The second approach is to provide information on the clean-up of contaminated lands. Land owners have questions about the process, procedures, financing and other issues regarding contaminated land clean-up. The extension service will provide information and assistance to land owners to assist them in navigating the clean-up process, and will give them referrals to experts in the field for both remediation and financing. Has anything actually happened? The extension service project is still in its infancy, but we have several good and illustrative results in both pollution prevention and site clean-up. We have helped some businesses already. Pollution Prevention ECOSS has worked with a local corporation, PSF Industries, over the past two and a half years. This is a long history which started when ECOSS championed two issues that were of interest to the company: one infrastructure issues and one business fee issue. We then worked with PSF on stormwater and hazardous waste pollution prevention areas and, as a result of our work, the firm was awarded the King County Green Globe Award for Stormwater Pollution Prevention. What does the extension service really do? The main emphasis is on one-to-one contact with, and assistance to, businesses owners. Services will include: A library of information on pollution prevention, brownfields remediation and industrial innovation Newsletters for businesses detailing the services and successes of the EES Classes/seminars on selected technical topics Computer terminal and web-site with links to pollution prevention resources Free on-site visits to businesses conducted by volunteer environmental engineers/consultants Referrals to technical experts in pollution prevention, site remediation and process innovation Referrals to sources of financing for pollution prevention and contaminated site remediation projects PSF's across-the-street neighbor, the Young Corp., called us after being referred by PSF Industries. Alan Casebeer of the Young Corp. was interested in receiving a non-enforcement visit and possibly getting recognized for doing a good job. He was, however, a bit reluctant to let a government agency representative see the company. When we arrived, he was a bit guarded, not really knowing what to expect. We asked him questions about how much waste he generated and where he sent it, and then we took a tour of the site. As we walked along, we let Alan know where he needed to improve, where he already was doing a good job, and how he could practically and inexpensively approach some issues. We were able to offer free secondary containment, information about the various recognition programs, and a resource where he could get advice on health and safety issues (from one of our extension service consultants). By the end of the visit, he had become much more relaxed, and even invited us to see the company's foundry. We went there immediately, recommended some improvements, and gave him information on the EnviroStars program. After two site visits, he invited us to tour Young's Woodinville plant. In all, ECOSS representatives visited him three times and talked with him over the phone. In this short time many things were accomplished: Casebeer realized we were there to help; he learned what he needed to improve his business; he discovered the good things he was doing, and he was more confident in applying for a recognition program. We have two short examples of our effectiveness in site cleanup. The Irish Foundry had been faced with a contaminated land issue for years. Consultants analyzed the situation and, as a result, the owners became more confused. They were referred to our program by another company, and called to see how we could help. We went to the business, reviewed the consultants' reports, helped the owner understand his situation and arranged to have the contaminated soil removed at a price he could afford. As a result, there now is a large parcel of land in the industrial district that had been covered with petroleum soil for many years which is now awaiting development. A second example is even more illustrative of the necessity of this type of program. As a result of a survey the service recently performed, EES representatives visited a business in South Park where there seemed to be a possible waste exchange with several other businesses. In our survey, the owner had said he did not want any help, but we called on him to explore the exchange. The exchange concept did not work, but when we spoke of the rest of the program, in particular the site clean-up aspect, his ears perked up. He and his partner want to develop their property more fully, but have been told they need to have a Phase I Assessment done which has scared them into inaction. After we described the innocuousness of Phase I and said that we had partners in our project that would perform the work at a reasonable cost, an appointment was made to look at the property and arrangements are being made to have the Phase I performed. The owners might have sat on their plans for months or years had we not stopped by. The ultimate objective of all these activities is to motivate behavior change in businesses. We do this by providing information and education on environmental and health issues, and then try to get a pledge from businesses that they will try to change. We have discovered that behavior change is an ongoing process which we cannot expect to accomplish within a year. ECOSS has worked with many businesses over the past few years and we believe that businesses want to do the right thing for their business and for the greater community. Environmental stewardship may not be at the top of their wish list, and changes in business practices come slowly. It takes time to gain peoples' trust and it takes persistent effort over time to help them through the changes. ECOSS has found that most of the best ideas that will help businesses in environmental stewardship will also save them time and money, as well as lower their insurance liability. The environmental extension service is still in its start-up phase, but it has already had some tangible successes. For example, a company in the Duwamish area which was recently visited by EES staff revealed that their plans for expansion have been stymied due to fears about, and lack of information on, the proper process for cleaning-up contaminated land. The EES staff responded quickly. Within two days a volunteer environmental consultant was on the site explaining the process for a Phase I site assessment and developing a proposal for the business to conduct the assessment. This type of one-to-one, individualized contact is what makes the EES a unique and valuable service. Who is working on this project? Funding partners include the City of Seattle Office of Economic Development, the King County Office of Budget and Strategic Planning and the Bullitt Foundation. Project subcontractors include Cascadia Consulting, Inc. for outreach and training; Global Environmental Marketplace for Internet development, Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) for development of information packets and case studies; and EnviroIssues for communications and WBE subcontractors. A third category of partner, and one representing a most critical asset of the project, is that of volunteer field consultant. Thirteen companies, all of which are members of the Washington Environmental Industries Association, are working with the EES on a pro-bono basis to perform free on-site visits with businesses. In addition to the WEIA consultants, Washington Manufacturing Services, a new state-wide excellence in manufacturing program, has committed the use of one of its eight engineers to conduct on-site visits. How can your business get involved? Call the EES program at the ECOSS office (767-0432) and arrange a meeting or send an e-mail to ees@ecoss.org and ask for a visit. Charlie Cunniff has been director of the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) for the past three and a half years.