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EPA Press Advisory: (1) Meetings to be Held on Improved Public Access to Federal Rulemaking; (2) EPA Adds Corporate Level Recognition to Performance Track; (3) Man Arrested for Defrauding Connecticut Schools in Mold Remediation Plot(1) Meetings to be Held on Improved Public Access to Federal Rulemaking To expand public involvement in the regulatory process, EPA will hold a “Forum on Public Access to Federal Rulemaking Through the Internet” in August 2004. EPA is the managing partner for E-Rulemaking, an E-Government Initiative to foster greater participation in federal rulemaking by the public and regulated entities with a better, easier way to read and comment on rules electronically. EPA will hold four public meetings seeking input on this cross-agency initiative established under the President’s Management Agenda. The first component, “Regulations.gov,” was launched in January 2003, consolidating government rules open for public comment (from over 160 agencies) into a single, user friendly website. When a rulemaking is announced in the Federal Register, a docket is also created to hold related documents, such as reports and public comments. The second component now being developed is E-Dockets, a government-wide centralized docket management system. E-Dockets will allow the public to access and search all publicly available regulatory material. During these meetings, EPA will ask for feedback on the usability, features, and capabilities of the existing Regulations.gov and the planned E-Dockets. The public meetings are scheduled for: • Aug. 2, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at EPA Region 9 Offices, San Francisco, Calif. • Aug. 3, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at EPA Region 5 Offices, Chicago, Ill. • Aug. 9, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. • Aug. 12, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. To use Regulations.gov, visit: http://www.regulations.gov . For further information on the meetings, contact Kristin Tensuan at tensuan.kristin@epa.gov. (2) EPA Adds Corporate Level Recognition to Performance Track Enesta Jones, 202-564-7873 / jones.enesta@epa.gov For the first time, EPA is recognizing corporations for environmental leadership under the National Environmental Performance Track program. The new designation will recognize companies that have shown their commitment to Performance Track through multiple facility memberships and have demonstrated environmental excellence such as reducing water, energy and solid waste use. The benefits of joining may include linking the Performance Track Web site to each company's environmental Web site and recognition of their environmental efforts. To qualify, at least five of the company’s facilities must be Performance Track members, and 25 percent of the company’s operations must be Performance Track members and/or members of similar performance-based state programs. Selected companies designated as Performance Track Corporate Leaders will commit to improve their environmental performance and that of their suppliers and/or customers, and increase their level of membership in the current program to at least 50 percent of their U.S. operations within five years of designation. Companies that meet these criteria will be asked to nominate themselves by Aug. 13, 2004. From this list of companies, EPA intends to ask up to three that appear to be the strongest candidates to apply, with applications due by Oct. 29, 2004. EPA will then designate the initial Performance Track Corporate Leaders and notify them of their selection in the fall. For more on Performance Track, visit: http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack (3) Man Arrested for Defrauding Connecticut Schools in Mold Remediation Plot Christopher Lagan, 202-564-7338 / lagan.christopher@epa.gov Ronald Schongar of Clifton Park, N.Y., was arrested on Jul. 15 for alleged mail fraud, wire fraud and violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Schongar stands accused of providing unnecessary mold remediation at schools in Easton, Manchester and Bristol, Connecticut. Schongar owns and operates Microb Phase, Inc., and several other entities that advertise air quality testing and mold remediation services. Court documents charge that, as early as 2000, the defendant plotted to defraud Connecticut schools by allegedly generating false and fraudulent laboratory reports about school air quality and offering Microb Phase’s services to remediate the purported air quality problems. Furthermore, he falsely and fraudulently represented that the product he used in his remediation program was approved by EPA, and generated false and fraudulent reports indicating his services and products had successfully remediated the air quality problems he claimed to have identified. If convicted of mail and wire fraud, Schongar faces a maximum possible sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine on each count. If convicted of violating FIFRA, the maximum sentence calls for up to one year in prison and/or a fine of up to $25,000 per count. The case was investigated by the New Haven, Conn., Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Easton Police Department with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Haven, Conn. Federal charges are merely an accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law. R141 # # # Release date:07/28/2004 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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