Released: March 15, 2006

Environmental Management Workshops Available Free for Business Owners

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Workshops designed to help Kansas business owners stay in compliance on environmental regulations will be offered in three locations this April.

“The training will help business owners and managers with such things as training documents that guide employees’ handling of air emissions, hazardous wastes and contaminated water discharges,” said Steve Travis, industrial pollution specialist with the Small Business Environmental Assistance Program (SBEAP).

The Kansas SBEAP is administered by the Pollution Prevention Institute at Kansas State University.

The workshops will be April 4 in Salina at the Bicentennial Center, April 11 in Wichita at the Sedgwick County K-State Research and Extension Office, and April 25 in Overland Park at the University of Kansas’ Edwards Campus Regents Center.

Businesses ranging from printers and agricultural cooperatives to industrial paint and coating firms will benefit from the information to be presented, Travis said. Other types of organizations that should be familiar with the issues include those engaged in wood and metal finishing, auto body and collision repair, general manufacturing, aerospace, municipalities, and institutional and property management.

Further information about the SBEAP, as well as workshop details and registration forms are available online at http://www.sbeap.org  or by calling 1-800-578-8898.

Some of the questions the workshops will answer include:

• What is the ISO 14001 environmental management systems standard, and how can I apply it to my organization, even if I don’t want to be ISO-certified?

• How do I get started on an environmental management systems plan?

• How do I implement an environmental management systems plan?

• How do I know my plan is working as it should?

Participants will learn about the Environmental Protection Agency’s performance track record and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s supplemental environmental program. A guest speaker from a Kansas business will share information regarding that company’s environmental management system and how it has benefited the business.

Funded by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the SBEAP provides small businesses with technical assistance to achieve environmental regulatory compliance. Services include an environmental hotline (800-578-8898), on-site regulatory assistance, technical guidance, pollution prevention documents, and workshops.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Mary Lou Peter-Blecha
mlpeter@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News