Perspectives from the Regional Administrator

Region 6 Initiatives

Richard Greene

Regional Administrator - EPA Region 6

Region 6 400-Day Plan

Our 400-Day Plan identifies our most important Regional objectives, and serves as a road map to outline how we will achieve those objectives by the end of the year. Having built in a 90-day review process, we are able to use this document as a tool to assess our progress and, when needed, adjust our plans.

Tom Dunne, EPA Associate Administrator for Homeland Security, visits Region 6

Region 6 Administrator Richard E. Greene welcomed Tom Dunne, Headquarters Associate Administrator for Homeland Security, to Dallas for an update on Region 6 emergency preparedness. Information covering the Response Support Corps, water security, laboratory preparedness, internal preparedness, RadNet, and the Picher, Oklahoma, tornado response was presented throughout the morning to Mr. Dunne and Region 6 senior management. Region 6 is meeting a high standard to achieve our mission of protecting human health and the environment in the event of a disaster.

Mars snack food plant to get power from Waco landfill

Business at the Mars Snackfood U.S. plant in Waco has never been sweeter. Members of the company were joined by officials from EPA recently to flip the switch on its first landfill gas project, a venture that will cut the company’s energy costs and the release of greenhouse gases into the environment.

The project will use methane gas that is piped in from the city landfill to power two furnaces that create steam for the plant’s candy-making operations.

"Turning waste into energy is a smart strategy for business and the environment," said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. "EPA is pleased to be working with partners like Mars Snackfood on innovative projects like this one that deliver clean, renewable sources of energy."

In addition to saving the company $600,000 a year in energy costs, the project will also reduce more than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which has the same environmental impact of avoiding the emissions of 1,900 cars. Methane, a primary component of landfill gas, is a greenhouse gas over 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Mars Snackfood joins a growing list of companies to complete waste-to-energy projects as part of EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP). There are currently 21 operational projects in Texas and a total of 34 throughout the five-state area that makes up EPA Region 6.

To foster more development of waste-to-energy resources, EPA Region 6 has developed a pilot Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Strategic Geographic Planning tool that is designed to link waste producers with end users by identifying optimum locations for such projects. The region is currently working to expand the pilot to a national scale.

LMOP is a voluntary technical assistance and partnership program that helps businesses and communities reduce methane emissions from landfills by encouraging the recovery and use of landfill gas as a renewable energy source. Since 1994, LMOP has assisted in developing more than 330 landfill gas projects in the United States, reducing methane emissions by over 24 million metric tons of carbon equivalent.

More on the LMOP program

Audio file

Earth Day Message

The way citizens, businesses, and governments think about the environment has changed radically, and for the better, since the first Earth Day 37 years ago. Today, “going green” is a sound business move, and states and cities work hard to protect their air, water, and land.

The biggest and most important change is among ordinary people who now understand how they can help preserve those same resources. Citizens in Dallas and around the country have enthusiastically embraced their responsibility as environmental stewards.

This has made the job of the Environmental Protection Agency’s dedicated public servants both more challenging and more rewarding. Public expectations of our organization have risen, and we have met and exceeded those expectations in many respects.

In the five-state region of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, EPA has helped create over 11,000 jobs by redeveloping abandoned, contaminated sites, and awarded over $62 million in grants to Native American tribes. We have restored over 1,000 acres of habitat on two Gulf of Mexico barrier islands, providing added surge protection during hurricanes. And, even as science advocates more protective air quality standards, cities across the nation are enjoying steadily improving air quality and the health benefits that come with it.

These achievements are just a few examples of what EPA has accomplished in the south-central United States over the last several years. While we can’t solve all of our nation’s environmental problems overnight, we feel proud that we continually strive to protect and improve our resources. This Earth Day, we should all celebrate the efforts of people around the nation who do the same.

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Tough New Diesel Rule Announced in Houston

Air quality in the Houston-Galveston area got a boost when EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson signed the Locomotive and Marine Diesel Engines Rule at a ceremony at the Port of Houston. The national rule will slash harmful diesel emissions from trains ships and help Americans breathe cleaner air.

EPA Region 6 Administrator Richard E. Greene said, “This is another step in the continuing process to bring cleaner air to Texas and the Nation. Each step brings new achievements and cleaner technologies to improve the health of our residents and our quality of life.”

EPA’s Clean Diesel Locomotive and Marine program will work in collaboration with its partners to cut emissions from all types of diesel locomotives, including line-haul, switch, and passenger rail, as well as from a wide range of marine sources, including ferries, tugboats and all types of marine auxiliary engines.

As a result of the rule, the Houston-Galveston area is expected to see reductions of nitrogen oxide emissions of more than 15,000 tons in 2020 and 32,000 tons in 2030. In 2020 the final rule will annually reduce particulate matter emissions in the Houston metro area by 560 tons and by 2030 these reductions will double to about 1,200 tons per year.

In addition to the benefits from the locomotive and marine standards, EPA has issued a number of rules that will help Houston reduce its ozone levels. These include: the toughest ozone eight-hour standard that EPA has ever set, the Clean Air Interstate Rule to reduce ozone forming emissions from power plants and the Clean Air Diesel Rule Program to reduce emissions from highway, non-road and stationary diesel engines.

The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located just a few hours’ sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. The port is ranked first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in the U.S. in total tonnage, and tenth in the world in total tonnage. The Port of Houston is made up of the Port of Houston Authority and 150-plus private industrial companies along the Houston Ship Channel.

EPA supports fund’s efforts to clean North Texas air

Region 6 Administrator Richard E. Greene spoke at a ceremony honoring several Dallas-Fort Worth area organizations contributing to improving air quality. These groups are the first recipients of grants from the Sue Pope Fund, a philanthropic organization committed to reducing air pollution in North Texas.

The evening’s honorees sponsor a wide range of pollution-reducing projects. These include replacing 325 taxi cabs replaced with more efficient hybrid models; providing new, energy-efficient affordable housing in the Fair Park area of Dallas; providing less polluting electric lawn mowers at a discount to citizens who trade in gas models; and bringing area schools their first hybrid buses. EPA applauds these projects and supports efforts throughout Region 6 to reduce polluting emissions.

The Sue Pope Fund is a partnership between North Texas clean-air advocates Downwinders at Risk and the Holcim Cement company. The grants are funded by a $2.5 million endowment, making it the largest in Texas dedicated solely to reducing air pollution.

Employee forum highlights yearly accomplishments

Last year proved to be our most successful yet. We protected more acres of land, improved resources in more communities, and enhanced collaboration with our partners as never before. Every division, branch, section, and team in our organization can be proud of their contribution towards our record-breaking achievements in protecting human health and the environment. We have attempted to capture these inspiring achievements in the 300-Day Accomplishments report and the Region’s Organizational Assessment, both of which highlight your success in reaching and surpassing many goals of 2007. The achievements outlined in these two reports are compelling, but they do not begin to recognize the countless individual acts and efforts behind them. While our Region and Agency will experience changes in 2008, your expertise and passion will remain a constant and ensure our continued success in protecting our nation’s environment.

I, along with the directors and our senior policy advisor, discussed the accomplishments report and this year's 4000-Day Plan at the recent all-hands forum. Larry Starfield led the group in discussing topics that our executive team has been working on during their our executive sessions. The Leadership Development Program (LDP) also made a presentation on their project to define organizational values that are important for assuring a high-quality workplace in Region 6.

Katy ISD making the grade on indoor air quality

Katy Independent School District and exemplary districts across the nation were recently honored by EPA for implementing successful indoor air quality programs.

“Healthy kids and a healthy environment go hand in hand,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. Read more …>

Frito-Lay and Lackland AFB recognized by EPA as water efficiency leaders

Frito-Lay Inc. and Lackland Air Force Base were among six winners recently recognized by EPA with 2007 Water Efficiency Leader (WEL) awards for their efforts in reducing, reusing and recycling water.

“Every drop counts when it comes to conserving water,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. Read more …>

Previous 300-Day Plan Accomplishments

Our 300-Day Plan Accomplishments (PDF) (4 pp, 75K, About PDF) report tracks how the Region did in meeting the goals of our previous strategic plan.

EPA honors 2007 Gulf Guardians

EPA and its Gulf of Mexico Program recently announced the Gulf Guardian Awards for 2007.

"Gulf Guardian Awards showcase accomplishments from a broad spectrum of environmental leaders -- from committed individuals to dynamic corporations," said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. Read more …>

Performance Track roundtable aims to accelerate industry environmental efforts

Companies that are leading the way in “green performance” came together to share best practices and develop more ways to accelerate their environmental efforts during a meeting here October 30.

EPA Region 6 members of the National Environmental Performance Track participated in a program roundtable in Dallas. Read more …>

Blue Skyways welcomes new partners from Texas, Oklahoma

Cleaner air is on the horizon across the nation's Heartland as 15 new partners and communities are welcomed into the Blue Skyways Collaborative, which spans 10 Midwestern states.

"Blue Skyways is working to bring cleaner air and healthier lives to the 50 million people who make up America’s heartland," said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. "With a growing list of committed partners and pollution control technologies, we are saving millions of gallons of fuel and cutting tons of harmful emissions each year."

The projects of the new partners will reduce yearly air pollution by 900 tons and greenhouse gases by 1,768 tons. These figures will contribute to the total collaborative emissions reductions of 40,840 tons of pollutants and 535,070 tons of greenhouse gases, along with 22 million gallons in fuel savings. Read more …>

New Mexico Environment Department gets EPA inspection credentials

Formal credentials were recently issued to the New Mexico Environment Department to perform inspections on behalf of EPA.

“The State of New Mexico has worked side-by-side with EPA for years to achieve our shared goal of ensuring clean, safe water for all of its residents,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. Read more …>

Helping Communities

It has been correctly observed that progress toward the goal of environmental improvement depends largely on work at the local level. We at EPA are committed to strengthening the relationship between urban development and environmental renewal. By improving the environment, communities become stronger economically and more desirable places to live and work. We are enthusiastic about the programs described in our new brochure, Helping Communities, because they work for communities. Results confirm the benefits of actively pursuing innovation and voluntary initiatives. Our dedication to building partnerships through collaboration is making a positive difference in the quality of life. Our team is ready to help communities explore all the possibilities.

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Perspectives from the Regional Administrator

Region 6 Initiatives

Richard Greene

EPA supports fund’s efforts to clean North Texas air

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