The restoration of the Chesapeake Bay is important to the Commonwealth for both economic and environmental reasons, and Businesses for the Bay was an important component in last year's efforts by the Southcentral regional DEP staff. Businesses for the Bay is a team of industries and small businesses committed to pollution prevention and the reduction of chemicals in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The program's goal is the participation of 75 percent of the businesses in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by the year 2000. Participants of Businesses for the Bay developed their own objectives, ranging from reductions in chemical use to providing technical advice and assistance to other businesses. Businesses for the Bay included Buchart Horn, Lebanon Agricorp, MOEN of Pennsylvania, P.H. Glatfelter Company, Pennsylvania Power & Light, Proctor and Gamble, Warner Lambert and Rec Oil Inc.

Pennsylvania is proud to partner with Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia in joint pollution prevention measures to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. If you are committed to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, we invite you to participate in Businesses for the Bay.

By far the largest single industry in the Southcentral region is agri-business and food processing. In the last quarter of 1997, in conjunction with DEP's waste management and water management programs, the state Department of Agriculture and county conservation districts, this region's pollution prevention program reached out to the agricultural community and reduced its environmental impact through current pollution prevention agricultural measures. In addition to farm site visits, presentations were made at the Amish Trade Fair, Pennsylvania Power & Light's Conference for the Food Processing Industry and the PennAg Industries Annual State Conference. The national Farm-A-Syst program was evaluated with measures taken to make the program available to Pennsylvania's farming community.

Southcentral DEP served as the lead for DEP's Site Visit Technical Guidance Policy, which assured uniformity in site visits and raised the comfort level of both DEP staff and industry. Last year, the Wilton Armetale Project was brought to a close, a pilot project designed to help business take a basic EMS to the point that it could self-declare ISO 14001 conformance. DEP was able to assist Wilton in achieving this goal (See Site Visits Make Cents, page 25.)  On completion of thie project, Southcentral DEP's regional OETD staff was awarded a DEP Secretary's Award for Excellence.

Last year, this DEP regional office conducted 15 major site visits assisting large farming facilities, food processors, candy factories, garment manufacturers, powdered metals facilities.  The world-class companies, who became our corporation partners through the site visit program, included Godiva Chocolates, Tate Flooring, Electron Energy Corp., Armstrong Technology Center, Pfaltzgraff, Edgewood Acres, BECO, Kountry Kraft Kitchens, Miller's Wood Recycling, Nearby Egg Company, Woodland Concrete, Bullman Hat Factory, and Swatara Sewage Treatment Plant.

In conjunction with AIRHELP, the region held a number of pollution prevention and compliance assistance workshops for the owners and employees of autobody shops.  Painting techniques, as well as instruction in relevant regulations, safety and pollution prevention, were highlighted.