In 1997, The High Performance Schools Partnership was inaugurated by DEP's Southwest Regional OETD staff as a pilot program to pursue a holistic and sustainable approach to the design, construction, renovation, operation and management of the Pittsburgh school district. With funding from OETD, the project identified environmentally "green" approaches to the operation, renovation and maintenance of Carrick High School, McCleary Elementary, Knoxville Middle School and Arsenal Middle School, as pilot schools in the Pittsburgh School District. High Performance School Partnership focuses on the "built" environment and the school's neighborhood environment where the children in the community interact in an environmentally friendly manner, and can learn to be stewards of the environment in their daily activities.

The knowledge gained from addressing interior air quality and waste-stream issues, school energy efficiency, business practices, maintenance and cleaning issues, incorporated with environmentally sound approaches to renovation, will be a blueprint for all Pennsylvania schools in the future. One of the High Performance School Partnership's most important components was the incorporation of environmental education directly into curriculum and the entire education process. The High Performance School Partnership is a collaboration of DEP, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Chatham College, the Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education at Slippery Rock University, Conservation Consultants Inc., the Pittsburgh School District, the Pennsylvania Department of Education and other stakeholders.

The Voluntary Initiative for Pollution Prevention is a partnership between DEP's Southwest Regional OETD staff, private-sector businesses and members of the environmental and regulatory communities in the 12-county region of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Voluntary Initiative is a mechanism for private sector businesses and industry to gain recognition for their efforts to reduce emissions and waste on a voluntary "beyond compliance" basis. Each participant shared its energy and pollution prevention milestone and future initiatives with other coalition members. Collectively, participants realized a 65 percent decrease in air releases, 91 percent reduction in water releases and 95 percent reduction in releases to the land in 1997.

With the Southwest Regional office taking the lead, DEP signed on to EPA's Common Sense Initiative for Metal Finishers, to develop an implementation plan for working with the American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society, the Pittsburgh Efficiency Partnership, the Pennsylvania Environmental Assistance Network and area universities. OETD identified technology resource networks for this sector. Examples include the National Metal Finishers Resource Center on the web, associated list serve and Common Sense Initiative website and resources.

In conjunction with the Pittsburgh Clean Cities Program, DEP regional staff worked on the Airport Corridor Alternative Fuels Project. The mission of the project is to increase the use of alternative fuels by fleet operators and develop an alternative fuels refueling infrastructure within the corridor between the Pittsburgh International Airport and downtown Pittsburgh. The Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program (See page 23) supported this project by providing $350,988 in state alternative fuels grants to companies in the Pittsburgh corridor to improve air quality in the region and to increase the use of alternative fuels.

DEP requested support from West Virginia University, the U.S. Department of Energy-funded national center for the Glass Initiative, to provide technical services to 10 Pennsylvania glass industries located in Southwest Pennsylvania. This initiative will assist companies with identifying opportunities for cost savings in energy efficiency, waste minimization, pollution prevention and improved productivity by targeting furnace efficiencies, waste heat recovery and rinse water reuse.