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Pollution Prevention Policy

THE LAW…

The Federal Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 established pollution prevention as a public policy of the United States. The Federal Act declares that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source wherever feasible, while pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe manner. In the absence of feasible prevention or recycling opportunities, pollution by-products should be treated. Disposal or other releases into the environment should be used only as a last resort and should be conducted in an environmentally safe manner.

Pollution prevention has also been established as a public policy of the State of Colorado through the Pollution Prevention Act of 1992 (Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 25, Article 16.5), which declares, “the state policy of Colorado shall be that pollution prevention is the environmental tool of first choice.” The Colorado Pollution Prevention Act of 1992 created the following:

• A governor appointed Pollution Prevention Advisory Board (PPAB) to coordinate pollution prevention activities in Colorado.
  
• A pollution prevention Activities Program to collect and evaluate information on toxics use reduction and waste reduction through EPCRA or SARA Title III reporting, perform outreach, and provide technical and informational assistance to internal and external customers.
  
• A Pollution Prevention Grants Program designed to fund pollution prevention activities and provide technical assistance to small and medium sized businesses in the state. The pollution prevention Grant Program is funded by fees collected from facilities required to report under EPCRA or SARA Title III.

It is the intent of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to integrate and incorporate pollution prevention and environmental leadership program strategies into the agency’s permitting, inspections, enforcement, rules development, remediation, assistance, and other functions. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment pollution prevention/environmental leadership program includes: policies, strategies, and projects designed to use flexibility and other incentives to encourage organizations to achieve results through pollution prevention, the Environmental Leadership Program and other innovations, for enhanced environmental outcomes.

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