Ensuring Wisconsin's Environmental Quality Through Regulatory Reform and
Innovation
Participants in the December 15, 2003 Environmental
Policy Forum broke up into seven working groups to address the following question:
"In what
ways might we achieve better environmental outcomes while improving the
State’s economy?"
The groups identified innovative ideas and demonstration projects that would support
Wisconsin's economic and environmental goals. Each of the seven
small groups addressed one specific area.
Include green development and smart growth requirements within covenants
and zoning.
Assign stormwater quality parameters to development. Parameters must be
quantifiable.
Improve the visible environment and reduce the number of intrusive, big
billboards by setting up a system of small, uniform directional signs to
be placed on roadsides.
Create conservation by design.
Require tighter densities in roadways, subdivision laws, and apartment
development.
Create a model development and publicize it.
Conditions: coalition of environmental groups,
publicity, risk-taker builders
2. Incentive Projects
Create a system of tax credits and faster approvals for green
development and smart growth.
Involve tax incremental financing and create incentives for green
improvements.
Create tax incentives for developers and users of brownfields and energy
efficient technologies.
Conditions:
certification processes, legislation to create tax
incentives, fee structure to reward quality, expedited reviews, Green
Tier for Green Development
3. Reduce Overlap / Share Data
Create a regulatory system with no overlaps between government units.
Construct a regulatory permitting monitoring system.
Use GIS-based data systems at State agencies.
Conditions:
communication between agencies, town/county governments, mechanism to
"ignore" current structure, agencies may need to give up some control
4. Increase Education on Green Development and Smart Growth
Create simulation opportunities where citizens can play with planning
ideas to learn how planning affects a city and what it takes to create
smart growth.
Create "Smart Growth Fellowships", e.g. at La Follette Institute, UW
Extension, Engineering, etc.
Create an education program for K-12 on smart growth or green land
development.
Additional Ideas:
Add viewshed considerations to the smart growth law.
Promote statewide HBA / WBA adoption of green building principles.
Develop a green development rating tool.
Regionalize waste management activities (landfilling and recycling).
Involve townships in preservation and green development.
The following ideas emerged as “most
promising to pursue” from this Working Group:
1. Adequately fund WI Ag Stewardship Initiativeg Environmentally sound Ag
practices used by mainstream farming community
2. Develop a State Ag “Seal of Approval”g
consumer message: “State Better
for All of Us”. In addition, State and local governments would need to use
their local purchasing power to support the utilization/ dissemination of
this Ag Seal of Approval. The EMS program would also be enhanced for
agriculture
g communicate with neighbors what they are doing right.
3. Implement the siting recommendation that includes the environmental
standards and local decision-making.
Additional Ideas Generated by
the Group:
1. Improve institutional support for organic farming in WI
2. Find additional ways to increase the
public investment in Ag/ Environmental Stewardship
3. Demonstration watersheds for
education on tools for practices and measuring results
4. Develop an Ag Information Commons
that is citizen based g
common understanding
5. Cultivate local knowledge
g
citizen involvement in education system so
they are involved in other things (e.g., food systems, other issues on
regional level)
6. Water conservation program targeted
at Ag, similar to Energy
7. Find a way to make energy producing
manure digesters economical and available to all
8. Encourage/ continue renewal energy
initiatives and their associated businesses
9. Enhance direct marketing channels
g
improve farmer income, build community, increase accountability [received
considerable support in group]
10. Use crop subsidy $$$ for financial
incentives for practices
11. Nutrient management, especially funding so that all subsidized
operations can afford it [received considerable support in group]
12. Design and implement a program to increase use of animal manure and
non-livestock farms [received considerable support in group]
13. Identify problems and obstacles clearly before we try to solve them so
that we have unified and focused targets.
14. Farmland preservation to preserve viable farm regions. Involves
thinking statewide about where these regions should be [received
considerable support in group]
15. Encourage development and responsible use of GMO row crops that could
provide environmental benefits.
16. Find a way to support individual expansion decisions while assuring
environmental performance [received considerable support in group]
17. Mechanisms for unifying diverse Ag stewardship interests à focus
resources, reduce fragmentation of interests
18. Ag industry leadership actively promoting environmental stewardship
19. Buy the desired outcomes… people would bid on this (private sector
model) [received considerable support in group]
20. Segregate funds from existing sources for independent research
21. School District Regional Planning
22. Ag education system that supports the small farm
Innovative business practices
In what ways might we achieve improved environmental outcomes in the area
of Innovative Business Practices while improving the state of Wisconsin’s
economy?
As an introduction to our subject matter, Kay Plantis (phone 233-8519)
gave a short opening which included the following flip chart information:
Collaborative solutions -
Group uses conflict constructively to create shared knowledge
So as to achieve a shared goal.
Each side changes how they work to achieve the shared goal
and build trust.
Vs.
Independence - who cares - I’ll act on my own
Competitive - win-lose
Hierarchy - my way or the highway
Cooperation - compromises (picture)
We then brainstormed the ways we might achieve improved environmental
outcomes in the area of Innovative Business Practices while improving the
state of Wisconsin’s economy and put them into categories as follows:
Innovation Piece For Business
Things government and business can do jointly - Shared Best Practices
How to make it “real” at the plant level
Frugal use of current resource (water, etc.)
Emissions trading (within a company and broader between companies)
Resource efficiency equates to business (economic) value
Higher technology equipment
Flexibility (ability to mix and match)
More training on good, sound business practices.
Benchmark Wisconsin DNR, foreign countries, other states, and
Wisconsin businesses.
Use trained volunteers more - to reduce workload of DNR
What potential would peer to peer exchange have in the private and
public sector (organize around a problem or need of the community)?
Building Foundation
What is issue behind problem?
What does the data show?
Where should we be focusing our efforts?
Diagnosis - Gather basic systems data
Instead of just using anecdotes
More frequently than 1 in 5 years
These need to be living parameters
Treatment - Determine root cause behind disconnect with DNR
and business.
What we would do with the data - While we have increased
communication between business and government - we can SET and WORK on
common goals (help government streamline stovepipes).
Growing data should be made available on how improved environment
means improved business.
Economic Incentives
For both government and business
For working Together on environmental and economic goals
Important to have good definitions (Environment - good; Economy -
good) -
Industry does not believe while improving the environment you can
make money.
Focusing business initiatives into “clean” technical businesses
Reward performance do not punish it
Change conversation from compliance to efficiency, outcomes
Let’s see the government carrots on demand rather than mandating the
demand (i.e. Wal-Mart wind effect - Mike Morgan).
Understanding environmental impact subsidies.
Profit motive is the reason for a business (anything we can do to
help them in the way of training, while not impacting environment).
Innovation How do you break through on a macro level?
Government flexibility
Create a culture, a “safe place” for innovation
Empower 10 projects/businesses/entrepreneurs (i.e. facilities,
watersheds…) to “BE” all they can be economically and yet met emission
standards but NOT governmental mandates.
Recognize that we have to allow some losses. We may have to lose
manufacturing jobs to increase jobs in other areas (macro systems at
work here - cultural understanding)
Currently regulate by agency - What if we regulate by industry to
remove redundancies?
Could DNR work with industry and help out or create paper companies
with higher environmental outcomes. How do we change the culture -
internships with government and business?
Businesses have limited human resources available for innovative
research (because of tracking and reporting)
Conditions that have to be in place to do some
of these “brainstormed” ideas:
Legal protection
Human empowerment
Improved technologies (correct use of)
Expected crisis
Champions and risk takers (“champion risk takers)
Regulators understand the pressures on business and how little
control business has over this (“empathy”)
Demonstration projects with positive outcomes
Need investment capital (private and public)
Innovative Business Practices Summary
Advance what is already working well (e.g. emissions trading (within
the state); peer to peer benchmarking and learning about what works
well; training small businesses on good environmental practices; and
educating businesses on monetary benefit of Eco-efficiency).
Build foundation of understanding (e.g. measures our regulatory
processes; benchmark; set shared goals (business and government); begin
business and government internships).
Create economic incentives (e.g. from compliance to outcomes - a
demand from customers for better environmental practices (like increased
use of organic food).
Innovate by creating more flexibility
a) 10 entrepreneurs/cases - total freedom -
emissions - DNR helps
b) Reduce duplicative regulations (eliminate
redundancy)
Conditions:
Legal protection
Shared understanding
Investment capital
Human empowerment at the businesses and DNR - put the risk takers in
charge of the projects.
1. Provide Low Interest Loans---use
state funds as leverage for low interest loans. If emission goals are met
by company, then loans will become a grant.
Conditions:
Money is needed: If existing funds are used, a law
change may be needed. Sources for finding this money are GPR, federal
grants, industrial revenue bonds, public benefits money, foundations,
and TIF funding.
Law change: that will enable enforcement
actions to take place.
Enabling legislation
Administrative and management structure and staff
Ambassadors in business community
Buy-in across agencies—communicate successes
2. Don’t Penalize, But Reward Innovation---lower
the cost for companies to experiment with pollution reduction.
Conditions:
Legislative change
EPA approval (e.g. high priority violations)
Change how DNR writes permits---use research
opportunities, innovator becomes the R&D in permit.
If it doesn’t work, do not fine company but share
information so that others learn from these experiments.
Internal DNR staff training
3. Look For Offsets or a Pool of Credits that Business Could Use---offsets
could be used across sectors
Conditions:
EPA approval of state implementation plan (SIP)
Administrative/management structure
Need list of off-sets
Need enforceable conditions
Need incentives for businesses to get into program
Establish value of credits (The group thought the
market would do this.)
Publish price of credits
Address the issue of confidentiality
Additional Ideas: (NOTE: These were all good ideas; we
just concentrated on the top vote-getters.)
Make it easier to comply with regulations
Incentives for maintaining vehicles to reduce
emissions
Stronger link to Dept. of Commerce
Recognition and reward for reduced emissions
Reducing administrative burden if facility has
continuous monitoring
Provide incentives for not driving, using public
transport
Comprehensive energy policy
Use state funds in non-attainment areas to get to
compliance
Tap into public to reduce emissions
Educate the public on what “true air quality
improvement” looks like
Greater coverage of trading air quality and reduction
in emissions as a means of achieving attainment---trading outside
non-attainment area
Enforce real violators
Educate companies and public using terms that mean
something to them, like the number of asthma patients, lost business
hours, etc.
