National Group Honors North Carolina 
Agency for Environmental Efforts

RALEIGH –  The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was a winner of the Council of State Governments 1998 "Innovations Award" for its innovations in the administration of state government.

The national Innovations Award was presented to the Multi-State Working Group (MSWG), of which North Carolina is a founding member and a member of its coordinating committee. The award is the only one of its kind nationwide to exclusively recognize state programs selected directly by state government leaders and managers.

Several states in cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, collectively known as MSWG, sponsor nationwide pilot projects to determine the effectiveness of environmental management systems. MSWG collects data on environmental performance, pollution prevention, environmental conditions, costs and benefits, environmental compliance and involvement of public groups.

North Carolina has been interested particularly in learning whether a more comprehensive environmental management approach will lead to pollution prevention -- an environmental category for which North Carolina is a national leader.

North Carolina is working with other states of the MSWG to test ISO 14001, a global effort to develop a uniform approach to environmental protection. Other participating states are Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

For more information, contact Beth Graves at (919) 715-6506 at the Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance in Raleigh.

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