Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) Office of Land Resources Senior Manager (Regulated Waste Programs) Tammie J. Hynum undertook a presentation at the Arkansas Environmental Federation Regulated Waste Workshop.
Ms. Hynum’s presentation was titled Regulated Waste Programs – Office of Land Resources (2016) (“Presentation”).
The Presentation addressed a number of initiatives and activities that ADEQ is undertaking to streamline and/or increase efficiency in permitting and inspections.
One of the initiatives Ms. Hynum addressed was:
- Smart Mobile Tools for Field Inspectors (“Smart Tools”)
She noted that ADEQ personnel attended a LEAN event held in Washington, D.C. in October along with various other states and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regions to address issues such as:
- Consensus on Scope
- Alignment on Goals and CTQs
- Mutual Understanding of the Process
- Agreement on the Issues and Requirements
- Designed Improvements, Metrics, and Instrumentation
- Implement Simple Improvements
- Documented Implementation Plan
In other words, a key focus was an analysis of core inspection process requirements. Also addressed were the definition of “Smart Tools” which are described as:
… fundamentally changing the way environmental inspection programs are operated and managed …
The importance of Smart Tools was supported by various statistics and the projected benefits.
Another segment of Ms. Hynum’s Presentation involved Permitting LEAN Process Value Stream Mapping. This was described as the mapping of the entire RCRA Subtitle C permitting process and a review of areas where things got “stuck” (citing administrative completeness and technical adequacy as examples).
ADEQ personnel generated an “Ideas List” related to the process and addressed a variety of ways they might increase the efficiency of the permit review process.
Ms. Hynum discussed the advantage of this process and the reduced time that certain activities were now taking. She noted what were characterized as “ultimate objectives/goals” as:
- Efficient Quality Reviews
- Timely Reviews
- Open Communication with the Facility
- Timely Issuance of Permits
Click here to download a copy of Ms. Hynum’s Presentation.
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