This Committee was recognized with the following awards within the Cross Practice Committees. (more) • 2008-2009 Best Public Service Award

Welcome to the Committee on Innovation, Management Systems and Trading homepage. The Committee on Innovation, Management Systems and Trading is a committee with many opportunities for new members and new ideas. (After all it is about innovation!) The Committee focuses primarily on the related areas of environmental regulatory innovation, environmental management systems (EMS), trading initiatives and producer responsibility issues such as the flurry of recent legislation on electronic waste. These areas supplement the traditional regulatory regimes, bringing a focus on sustainability.

Environmental Regulatory Innovation
Today federal and state policies offer alternatives to traditional end-of-pipe standards. These new approaches focus on environmental performance over specific technologies and, when successful, can provide flexibility in implementation and greater stakeholder involvement to try to improve environmental protection and lower costs of compliance. Examples of current regulatory innovation programs include the following:

1. Habitat Conservation Program: This innovative Endangered Species Act program brings together stakeholders to arrive at a comprehensive plan that attempts to enhance species protection while also allowing development in less critical areas.
2. Performance track programs: These state and federal initiatives develop an alternative regulatory track for top environmental performers. Those that qualify for the "performance track" are often entitled to social recognition and more flexible regulation.
3. Integrated Permitting, Multi-Media Regulation and Pollution Prevention Planning: Several states are experimenting with more holistic approaches to permitting that break down the traditional, media-specific boundaries. These integrated, multi-media permitting programs can also require that facilities engage in pollution prevention planning.

The next two components of the Committee’s topic could also be included in this list.

Environmental Management Systems
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is a way of seeking to meet environmental standards by establishing compliance and performance goals, creating an organizational system for achieving objectives, and providing regular monitoring and improvement. Often adopted voluntarily, these systems are sometimes implemented as part of an enforcement settlement. Legal and policy issues related to EMS include:

1. EMS's and Enforcement: EPA and DOJ are increasingly integrating EMS's into enforcement policies and consent decrees. EMS also figures in EPA's self-disclosure policy.
2. EMS's and Security: concern about vulnerabilities to terrorist attack has led to efforts to track and protect highly toxic and explosive materials.
3. EMS's and Corporate Governance: Environmental management systems, particularly those that involve third-party certification and stakeholder involvement, are important tools to address concern about transparency and accountability in corporate environmental performance.

Trading
Trading programs are gaining momentum despite the absence of a statutory requirement to develop such programs. Trading programs allow one party or location to control its pollution or environmental impact beyond the required level, and then transfer the resulting "reduction credit" to another party or government for use in its compliance efforts. A "cap-and-trade" approach allocates to each covered facility an allowable level of pollution. Facilities that reduce their pollution beyond the required amount earn a reduction credit that they can to other facilities, with the potential of enhancing efficiency of the overall system. Current trading initiatives include:

1. Clean Air Act SO₂ Trading, and Multi-pollutant Legislation: Title IV of the Clean Air Act sets up a nationwide "cap-and-trade" system for the trading of sulfur dioxide emission reductions among utilities and other significant emitters. Several bills submitted to Congress in recent years would expand the Title IV cap-and-trade approach to other Clean Air Act pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter, and mercury.
2. Effluent Trading: State and federal regulators are beginning to implement watershed-based effluent trading programs that will allow dischargers within a given watershed to trade reduction credits with each other. U.S. EPA has recently announced a Water Quality Trading Policy that will seek to increase the use of this regulatory approach.
3. Wetlands Mitigation Banking and Trading: Trading is also being used in the area of wetlands mitigation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Parties have the opportunity to develop new wetlands, "bank" them, and then trade these credits to mitigate the loss of other wetlands.
4. Critical Habitat Trading: A recent policy would allow parties to bank and trade critical habitat for endangered species. This application of the trading approach to the resources area (the ESA) represents an important, new application of the trading concept.
5. Carbon Trading: Carbon trading is already a reality in the European Union and is the focus of almost all of the Congressional bills dealing with climate change. Carbon trading is expected to raise a wide range of complex issues ranging from allocation of allowances to verifying carbon generation and reductions to enforcement.

Products
The European Union has for some time focused on producer responsibility as a key element of the Union’s environmental regulatory program. Producer responsibility has been slower to be adopted in the United States. Still, many states have for some time used product bans to limit the use of heavy metals and other environmental pollutants. More recently, a number of states have begun to adopt legislation making manufacturers responsible for management of certain waste streams, most notably electronic waste. In addition, EPA has increasingly focused on upfront design issues as a way to prevent environmental problems through such programs as Design for the Environment, Energy Star and Green Chemistry. This trend in focusing on the role of product manufacturer is likely to grow obver the next several years. The Committee will serve as a focal point for SEER in this emerging area.

The Committee on Innovation, Management Systems and Trading seeks to educate the practitioners and industry about new approaches. It, along with the Air Committee, developed the ABA-EPA Climate Challenge that encourages law firms to take steps to become more energy efficient, use renewable sources of energy and reduce paper use. It also serves as a forum for examining the policy and legal issues in innovations area. The Committee pursues this mission in a number of ways.

• It sponsors programs at major Section events. For example, the Committee sponsored a program on Trading Initiatives Under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act at the 2003 Section Fall Meeting
• It puts on special brown-bag events especially for Committee members. These programs are designed to provide the latest information on second generation initiatives and practice opportunities. For example, in Spring 2004 the Committee plans to put on a brown-bag on the uses of EMS in enforcement
• It runs a pro bono project aimed at matching volunteer attorneys with community groups that are involved in innovative environmental initiatives
• It publishes a regular newsletter that keeps members informed of current policy and legal developments and provides expert perspectives on these topics
• It maintains a website and list serve through which members can provide each other with information and discuss the most significant issues related to the Committee's areas of focus

The American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) is pleased to make available the results of a comprehensive review of the core federal environmental statutes to assess the suitability of each to address issues pertinent to human health and the environment arising from applications of nanotechnology. Earlier this year, the Section offered to brief representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of General Counsel (OGC) and pertinent other EPA representatives in EPA program offices on legal and regulatory issues arising in connection with the application of existing statutory and regulatory authorities to engineered nanoscale materials. Specifically, the Section offered to prepare detailed briefing documents on each of the six core environmental statutes, and a briefing document on innovative governance mechanisms, that identify key legal and regulatory issues EPA can be expected to encounter as it considers how best to address issues likely to arise in connection with nanotechnology.

Section Nanotechnology Project Home Page

EMS/Innovative Regulatory Approaches

The Innovation, Management Systems and Trading Committee is a diverse group of attorneys with a common interest in alternative approaches to environmental regulation. Such policies are often characterized by better environmental performance, greater flexibility in the way that this performance is achieved, and an enhanced role for stakeholders and the public. They are integrally related to current notions of sustainability and stewardship.

While alternative regulatory policies are growing in importance, there have been few opportunities for practicing environmental lawyers to learn about these initiatives and the opportunities that they present for clients, the environment, and legal practice. The Innovation, Management Systems and Trading Committee seeks to fill this gap. Its primary goals are to educate the environmental bar on alternative regulatory approaches, and to serve as a forum for discussion of the policy and legal issues that these innovative programs often raise. The Committee actively pursues these goals on a number of fronts:

Section Programs: The Committee sponsors programs at major Section events. For example, at the Section's 2003 Fall Meeting, the Committee sponsored a program on Trading Initiatives Under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. It also sponsored a program that examined innovative approaches to species protection under the Endangered Species Act. For information on Committee programs, or to get involved in this area of the Committee's work, contact our Programs Vice Chair, Linda Tsang.

Committee Brown-bag Events: The Committee also puts on regular brown-bag events especially for its own members. These programs, which offer a free teleconference option for members, focus on cutting-edge developments in the area of second generation policy and law. One recent program featured the Director of EPA's Performance Track Program, as well as several program participants and commentators, who provided the latest updates on the program and described the opportunities for participation.

Newsletter: The Committee publishes a regular newsletter. Each issue focuses on a specific environmental topic and provides important information and perspectives from experts. Recent issues have addressed: innovative approaches to stakeholder involvement; the use of environmental management systems in environmental compliance and corporate strategy; and trading of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Pro Bono Project: The Committee has created its own pro bono program, the Pro Bono Legal Assistance for Communities project. The PBLAC project matches volunteer attorneys with community groups seeking to participate as stakeholders in second generation initiatives, especially those involving integrated, place-based environmental planning. The attorneys provide legal support on defined tasks such as legal analysis, drafting of sustainable development tools (e.g. conservation easements), or policy analysis. To find out more about the PBLAC project, or to volunteer, contact our Public Service Vice Chair, Scott A. Young.

Website and list serve: The Committee hosts a website and list serve. The website provides information about the Committee, its activities and leadership, as well as links to important resources related to innovation, management systems and trading. The list serve provides an important conduit for sharing information about the latest policy developments and events.

Membership: We welcome your participation in the Innovation, Management Systems and Trading Committee. To join the Committee, please complete the Committee Preference Form.

Membership Benefits: The Innovation, Management Systems and Trading Committee provides many benefits to members, including:

Committee Programs: The Committee hosts quarterly brown bag lunches on cutting edge second generation environmental issues. These programs can be attended in person or accessed by telephone for the convenience of members. Topics of recent programs include: "Experience to Date in EPA's 'Performance Track' Program".

Newsletters: The Committee publishes a newsletter three times per year. Each issue focuses on a specific second generation environmental issue and provides important information and perspectives from experts. Upcoming issues will address: trading initiatives under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act and innovative approaches to enhancing stakeholder involvement.

List serve: Committee members may use the Committee list serve to post announcements or pose questions to other Committee members.

Programs at ABA and Section Conferences: The Committee co-sponsors programs at Section and ABA conferences. At the Fall 2002 meeting, the Committee co-sponsored a well-received program on Future Directions in Environmental Law.

Web Site: The web site is a resource for those interested in alterative approaches to environmental regulation and will provide information on hot topics, recent studies and reports, government programs and links to the best web resources.

To Join the Committee: To join, simply complete the Committee Preference Form.

You must be a lawyer member of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources to join the Committee. As a Section lawyer member you are entitled to membership in five committees.

For More Information: For additional information about the Committee, please contact our Chair, Leah Dundon. You may also call the Section at 312-988-5724, or e-mail the Section at environ@abanet.org.

Chair:
Leah Dundon

Vice Chairs:
Committee Newsletters
Michael D. Wallander

Membership
Rebekah C. Reynolds

Programs
Linda Tsang

Public Service
Scott A. Young

Technology
TBD

The Year in Review
M. Joel Bolstein

Global Climate Change and U.S. Law