EPA Launches Program to Combat Campus Environmental Problems

In an effort to enforce campus compliance with federal environmental laws, the New England office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Monday pians to run new programs at area colleges--including workshops and campus inspections.

The campaign includes an enforcement action against the University of New Hampshire (UNH) for 15 violations of state and federal hazardous waste management laws.

EPA Senior Enforcement Counsel Andrea L. Simpson said the problem at UNH was evident after the EPA completed campus inspections.

"It became clear that the university's environmental obligations were not being taken seriously enough," she said.

"We needed to do more work in this area to make the colleges and universities put more of an effort on compliance," she said.

The EPA announced that special campus inspections will begin this spring.

The New England states are mandated by EPA to replace federal regulations with their own regulations.

Violations of these regulations committed by universities and colleges often include improper storage and disposal of hazardous waste. Regulations also pertain to facilities and food services.

Harvard's Associate Vice President for Facilities and Environmental Services Tom E. Vautin says the University will not have to make any specific changes because of the new effort.

"The EPA has been looking at colleges and universities for several years and we've been making changes throughout that time," he said.

Vautin said the University has a carefully-constructed policy for environmental compliance that includes compliance officers for every school and department, as well as classroom and Internet training programs.

Over 1,000 employees were trained in hazardous waste management last year.

As part of the effort, the EPA, Harvard Medical School and the School of Public Health are hosting an all-day workshop at the Medical School March 24.

The workshop will inform school officials on how to comply with EPA regulations.

"Sound environmental management can actually help hold down tuition and fee increases, and help create an image for higher education institutions that applicants find desirable," said EPA New England Administrator John P. DeVillars in a press release.

Recent inspections at UNH, Yale University and Boston University (BU) revealed violations of EPA regulations.

Yale was fined in 1995 for mislabeling hazardous chemicals and agreed to invest in campus and citywide environmental programs as a result.

BU reached a settlement with the EPA in which university officials agreed to pay a cash penalty, invest in environmental projects and conduct and investigation into environmental compliance.

This was the largest enforcement action ever taken against an institution of higher learning.