RD344 - Annual Report on the Pollution Prevention Activities


Executive Summary:
Protecting Virginia's environment through pollution prevention is a key element in preserving our Commonwealth's natural resources for future generations. Many of the Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) programs are a conduit for non-regulatory assistance to businesses, institutions, and communities. Led by the Office of Pollution Prevention, in 2006, DEQ expanded its pollution prevention partnership programs, including the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program, a nationally-recognized program that provides recognition and incentives for facilities that voluntarily commit to 'beyond compliance' environmental results.

Some of the Department's significant pollution prevention accomplishments of the year were:

• Co-sponsoring of the First Annual Virginia Environmental Management System Conference in September in Roanoke, which attracted more than 140 participants

• Receiving a "Champion of Change" award from the national Hospitals for a Healthy Environment program for the second year in a row

• Co-hosting of a national conference for state and federal officials on performance-based programs in Williamsburg in November

• Establishing a user friendly on-line annual reporting system for Virginia Environmental Excellence Program participants

• Created a partnership with Virginia's tourism industry, called Virginia Green, to promote tourism facilities that are committed to pollution prevention activities I am confident that these and other initiatives of the Office of Pollution Prevention will bring about results not only in the form of increased environmental quality but also through the partnerships they have produced. Our future progress will depend on partnerships and innovations, and I am pleased that DEQ continues to be a leader in both of these areas.