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Technical Assistance
man-hours and any necessary material analyses for the assessment along with any
costs associated with the eventual improvements. The Washington Department of
Ecology provides the man-hours of its staff. This assessment is not an environmental audit. If the TREE team identifies an environmental violation while on site, that
information cannot be used in enforcement. TREE will inform the company of a
violation and suggest ways to solve the issue. The TREE team will generally spend
300–350 hours working on each project. This includes time in the facility, generally
3 to 7 days; travel; research; and report writing. The assessment consists of both
on-site and off-site analyses. The team inventories what the company is doing and
collects any necessary information on the specific process units contained in the
facility. It looks at chemicals that are the most toxic and the most used. Some of the
industries are common; some are unique. The team also identifies possible changes
through interviews. One of the most valuable sources of information is interviews
with facility staff. Workers at the facility are intricately familiar with its processes.
This includes not only management personnel.
At the end of the analysis, the team compiles a report for the facility. It is the
decision of the facility whether it will implement the changes. Not all changes are
implemented. This can be due to organizational or management changes within
the company, budget constraints of the company, or other decision-making factors
within the company.
After the analysis is complete, an estimate is developed to compare the one-time
investment costs to the annual saving incurred by implementing all the changes.
Although the specific numbers vary, the initial investments are generally recouped
within a year. The one-time investment cost does not include man-hours spent on
the analysis. The company specifies the return on investment that it would prefer,
and TREE provides only those suggestions that will meet that payback period. The
payback period that the companies specify is typically 18 to 24 months.
At 1 yr and 2 yrs after the analysis, follow-up interviews are conducted; qualitative
information is provided. No follow-up quantitative analysis is performed.
ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS
The program is an effective networking tool between the Washington Department of
Ecology and individual industries. It affects both groups in a positive way by building
relationships and increasing environmental awareness. It also positively affects the
population of the state of Washington by reducing the pollution in their environment.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS
The TREE program does not have its own source of funding. Participants from
the Washington Department of Ecology come from various departments within
the agency. Each department essentially “donates” the labor and expenses, which
include local travel and some minimal equipment, from its existing budgets. The
cost to participating industries is limited to the labor hours required to interact with
TREE staff. The facility is not required to implement the recommendations from
the program. However, the recommendations typically involve a capital investment
Technical Assistance
man-hours and any necessary material analyses for the assessment along with any
costs associated with the eventual improvements. The Washington Department of
Ecology provides the man-hours of its staff. This assessment is not an environmental audit. If the TREE team identifies an environmental violation while on site, that
information cannot be used in enforcement. TREE will inform the company of a
violation and suggest ways to solve the issue. The TREE team will generally spend
300–350 hours working on each project. This includes time in the facility, generally
3 to 7 days; travel; research; and report writing. The assessment consists of both
on-site and off-site analyses. The team inventories what the company is doing and
collects any necessary information on the specific process units contained in the
facility. It looks at chemicals that are the most toxic and the most used. Some of the
industries are common; some are unique. The team also identifies possible changes
through interviews. One of the most valuable sources of information is interviews
with facility staff. Workers at the facility are intricately familiar with its processes.
This includes not only management personnel.
At the end of the analysis, the team compiles a report for the facility. It is the
decision of the facility whether it will implement the changes. Not all changes are
implemented. This can be due to organizational or management changes within
the company, budget constraints of the company, or other decision-making factors
within the company.
After the analysis is complete, an estimate is developed to compare the one-time
investment costs to the annual saving incurred by implementing all the changes.
Although the specific numbers vary, the initial investments are generally recouped
within a year. The one-time investment cost does not include man-hours spent on
the analysis. The company specifies the return on investment that it would prefer,
and TREE provides only those suggestions that will meet that payback period. The
payback period that the companies specify is typically 18 to 24 months.
At 1 yr and 2 yrs after the analysis, follow-up interviews are conducted; qualitative
information is provided. No follow-up quantitative analysis is performed.
ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS
The program is an effective networking tool between the Washington Department of
Ecology and individual industries. It affects both groups in a positive way by building
relationships and increasing environmental awareness. It also positively affects the
population of the state of Washington by reducing the pollution in their environment.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS
The TREE program does not have its own source of funding. Participants from
the Washington Department of Ecology come from various departments within
the agency. Each department essentially “donates” the labor and expenses, which
include local travel and some minimal equipment, from its existing budgets. The
cost to participating industries is limited to the labor hours required to interact with
TREE staff. The facility is not required to implement the recommendations from
the program. However, the recommendations typically involve a capital investment