The risk managers of Prince William County, Va., oversee an environmental management program to mitigate pollution liability and keep the county government from running afoul of state and federal regulations and potentially hefty fines.

The program is unusual because most local governments in the region are organized so each service department separately addresses environmental exposures or pollution that each generates, said David Wenzel, the risk management division's health and safety manager.

But the county's risk management division oversees environmental management for the entire county government. That means risk management staff coordinates training programs for county employees handling hazardous materials, tracks county regulatory compliance, conducts site inspections and responds to fuel spills, among other responsibilities, assuring that all departments continually focus on risk mitigation.

Particular attention is paid to hazardous waste generated by county operations, chemical safety and storage, and the proper oversight of more than 100 fuel tanks the county operates, said Jennifer Boeder, a risk management division environmental specialist.

“It just takes one tank to spill and you could be talking millions of dollars, not just in damages but in fines,” Ms. Boeder said. “It's important we keep (the tanks) in good condition, that people are trained to respond to a spill if there ever were one, that everyone knows the components so they know what to look for if a tank has an issue with its integrity. So there is a lot that goes into keeping our eye on them.”

Before the risk management division assumed responsibility for managing environmental exposures, many county departments lacked the expertise necessary to address the exposures, said Lori J. Gray, risk management division chief.

That put the county at significant risk of paying fines ultimately borne by taxpayers, Ms. Gray said.

%%BREAK%%

So in 2003, Ms. Gray's division began adopting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Management Systems program for the entire county government. The EPA's program provides a framework for entities seeking to improve their environmental performance while reducing regulatory compliance risks.

Participating in the program saves the county money because it requires her risk management division to help individual county departments continually improve their environmental stewardship, Ms. Gray said.

For instance, under the environmental management systems program, the county's public works division updated and improved electrical systems at three facilities, resulting in $160,000 in energy cost savings during 2012.

Those savings will continue into the future, with some of the money applied toward more energy and water conservation projects, Ms. Boeder said.

Prince William County also participates in the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Virginia Environmental Excellence Program for organizations whose environmental records exceed their regulatory compliance requirements.

Because state and federal regulators know the county proactively manages its environmental exposures and quickly notifies them when there is a fuel spill or other problem, the county is typically at the bottom of their inspection list, Ms. Gray said.

“You get buy-in from regulators,” she said.

The efforts also help her risk management division obtain favorable terms when it renews its pollution liability insurance, currently purchased from American International Group Inc.