Director's Column

From the Source - Spring/Summer 1996

by G. Robert Kerr

P²AD Partners with EDI

As many of you know, P²AD is committed to partnership as one way to help the Division reach the broadest possible audience for our services in Georgia. We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Georgia Tech's Economic Development Institute (EDI). EDI is a technical assistance organization with a mission of helping businesses and communities in the areas of new enterprise development, management and environmental assistance, and economic development. EDI provides services through a network of eighteen regional offices throughout Georgia. Offices are located in Dalton, Rome, Gainesville, Cartersville, Carrollton, Athens, Augusta, Macon, Warner Robins, Columbus, Dublin, Savannah, Albany, Douglas, Brunswick, and several locations in metro Atlanta. Engineers in many of EDI's field offices will receive pollution prevention training from P²AD staff. We intend that this training will result in a "multiplier" effect throughout the state, with many more assistance providers raising awareness of potential pollution prevention opportunities in industry.

We at P²AD are very excited about this partnership for a number of reasons. First, this partnership, consistent with the Division's guiding philosophies, leverages existing state resources in order to better execute our mission. Whenever possible, the Division seeks to use resources already in place, rather than "reinventing the wheel". Secondly, use of EDI staff to help provide pollution prevention services is a good example of the privatization approach to government. Instead of building up a large state bureaucracy in Atlanta, P²AD prefers to join with other organizations to deliver our programs. Also, EDI is a group with strong local ties to Georgia businesses, and EDI is known and trusted by the small business community. Because of their relationship with Georgia business and industry, EDI is a natural extension of the Division's capability to reach small businesses, as well as the medium and large sized firms in the state. Finally, EDI can provide to our clients a broader range of environmental technical assistance, including items (such as compliance assistance) that are outside the legislative mandate of P²AD. We are looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership with the Economic Development Institute.

Update on Other Partnerships

In addition to our new association with Georgia Tech's EDI, we also have several other currently active partnerships. The Division's two Department of Energy National Industrial Competitiveness through Energy, Environment, and Economics (NICE3) projects in the carpet and pulp & paper industries involve a whole host of private and public partners in Georgia. The carpet dyebath reuse project is now in its second year and final technical tests prior to full in-plant demonstration are now being conducted by Shaw Industries. Similarly, the lime mud regeneration project being conducted by Altex Technologies began pilot scale testing in June which will conclude later in the summer. Successful completion of these projects and the resulting technology transfer will allow P²AD to provide new pollution prevention options for the textile and pulp & paper industries in Georgia. These projects are also demonstrating the value of strong partnerships between the public and private sectors in order to reach mutually desirable goals in waste reduction.

On page 4 of this newsletter, you will read in detail about another partnership in which P²AD has joined forces with the University of Georgia's Agricultural Experiment Station in Griffin. Funds from the Division helped the station establish its Research and Education Garden. The Garden, in turn, also benefited from partnerships with various local groups in Griffin.

Thanks to all of the organizations involved in the above activities. P²AD looks forward to a long, productive association with each of you!

Pollution Prevention Software

Thanks for your favorable response to our new pollution prevention informational software. If you do not have a copy and would like to obtain one, please give the office a call at (404) 651-5120 or 800-685-2443 or send us e-mail. Also, we will be surveying some of you who received the software. If you are contacted, please take a moment to help us evaluate the effectiveness of the software disk.