OAR 340-014-0115: Criteria for Approval of a GEMS Participant Permit

An agency or agencies may approve a GEMS Participant Permit (also known as Tier I) upon demonstration to the agency’s satisfaction that the applicant has: (1) Implemented a basic, robust environmental management system that is driven by environmental impacts, helps integrate environmental and business functions, provides a mechanism for evaluating continual improvement, and supports verification; committed to maintaining and exceeding regulatory compliance; committed to applying the pollution prevention definition and pollution prevention hierarchy when setting objectives and targets and implementing the environmental program; and committed to continual improvement; (2) Evaluated environmental impacts of at least the facility’s regulated pollutants, and set objectives and targets that will improve environmental performance in management and reduction of regulated or unregulated pollutants; (3) Developed an environmental program that will achieve environmental results that are significantly better than otherwise required by law, demonstrated by projected reductions in targeted environmental impacts; (4) Established performance measures that will be used to explain environmental information in context with past performance; (5) Submitted a baseline performance report that summarizes: (a) Environmental policies affecting the facility operations; (b) Environmental information regarding significant environmental impacts; and (c) The environmental program that will achieve the results anticipated in (2) and (3) above. (6) Developed a plan for an annual update of the performance report that includes an update of the information required in (5) above, and: (a) Performance achievements, and, if appropriate, a description of any obstacles encountered and how addressed; (b) Environmental management system deficiencies and how addressed; (c) Compliance issues and how addressed; and (d) Stakeholder involvement activities, and input received from stakeholders; and (7) Developed a plan for stakeholder involvement that provides information to the public regarding environmental performance on at least an annual basis, and includes a mechanism for receiving and responding to comments.