California Environmental Protection Agency

Summary: The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) produced a 15-page Environmental Indicators Report for Earth Day 1995 as a means of utilizing the agency’s information systems to define the environmental indicators that are currently available. CalEPA used the report to assist in the identification of relevant indicators that are not supported by adequate data. Ultimately, Cal/EPA intends to move from environmental indicators to an environmental index or a set of indices that can simply and effectively communicate the overall status of California's environmental quality. The Cal/EPA environmental indicators are presented in areas that parallel the structure of the agency's constituent organizations: air, pesticides, hazardous and solid waste, and water. Additionally, a multi-media perspective is represented by California Toxic Release Inventory data. The indicators presented address only those environmental quality area that are within the regulatory scope of Cal/EPA's authority. The second annual Cal/EPA Environmental Indicators Report contains data similar to the 1995 report with an additional year of data available overall and more data on water quality. The 1996 report is available on-line at http://www.calepa.cahwnet.gov/epadocs/eirep962.htm

Contact: Steve Hanna, Chief, Office of Information Management
Agency: California Environmental Protection Agency
Address: 400 P Street, Room 4310, Sacramento, California, 95814
Phone: (916) 324-9924
Fax: (916) 322-6005
Internet: shanna@hw1.cahwnet.gov

Florida

Summary: In November 1994, the Florida Center for Public Management updated Florida’s indicator project, Strategic Assessment of Florida's Environment (SAFE). SAFE is defined as a measurement system of key indicators of environmental trends and the current status of Florida's environment to support planning and management decisions affecting Florida's future. The SAFE system was developed over the past four years by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as a component of its strategic planning process. The current version of the 287-page SAFE is comprised of 87 indicators grouped in categories that reflect the 13 issue areas developed by the Florida Comparison of Environmental Risks (FCER), Florida's comparative risk assessment project, and a series of other issues of concern. The indicators were selected for the purpose of providing a current and comprehensive snapshot of the condition of Florida's environment, a historical perspective on how the state arrived at its present status, and some idea as to where the state's environmental future is heading. The format of the report is that each indicator is explained, listed in a hierarchy of administrative to environmental results indicators, the data source is identified, the data characteristics are described, the indicator is assessed for its validity, and the indicator is analyzed and displayed graphically.

Contact: Pam McVety, Ecosystem Management Coordinator
Agency: Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Address: Douglas Building, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., Tallahassee, Florida, 32399-3000
Phone: (850) 488-7454
Fax: (850) 488-7093

Contact: Gil Bergquist, Project Director
Agency: Florida Center for Public Management
Address: 118 N. Woodward Avenue. Tallahassee, Florida, 32306- 4025
Phone: (850) 922-8042
Fax: (850) 487-4169
Internet: gbergqui@garnet.acns.fsu.edu

Illinois

Summary: The Illinois Critical Trends Assessment Project (CTAP) is an on-going process established to describe changes in ecological conditions in Illinois. The initial two- year effort involved staff of the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources (IENR), including the Office of Research and Planning, the Geological, Natural History, and Water surveys, and Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center. IENR worked with the assistance of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Departments of Agriculture, Conservation, Mines and Minerals, Nuclear Safety, Public Health and Transportation (Division of Water Resources). CTAP investigators adopted a "source-receptor" model as the basis for analysis. The results are contained in a seven-volume technical report and a 90- page project summary volume: The Changing Illinois Environment: Critical Trends published in late 1994. The next step in the CTAP process is to develop, test, and implement tools to systematically monitor changes in ecological and environmental conditions in Illinois. As part of this effort, CTAP has begun to use geographic information systems and satellite imagery to map changes in Illinois ecosystems and to develop ecological indicators that can be evaluated for their use in long-term monitoring. The report is on-line at http://dnr.state.il.us/ctap/ctaphome.htm

Contact: Bob Lieberman
Agency: Office of Research and Planning, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Address: 325 West Adams, Room 300, Springfield, Illinois, 62704- 1894
Phone: (217) 785-0138
Fax: (217) 785-8575

Kentucky

Summary:In 1992, the Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission produced State of Kentucky’s Environment: A Report of Progress and Problems, a 300-page comprehensive review of trends in the quality and quantity of the Commonwealth's resources and related issues. Developed over a year, the report contains a listing of environmental indicators and measures for those indicators as an appendix to the report. The State of Kentucky's Environment: 1994 Status Report, is presented in the same format of text, charts and graphs. The report wishes to provide Kentuckians with a barometer of environmental health and offer policymakers a tool to better focus limited state and federal program dollars on areas of greatest need.

Contact: Leslie Cole, Executive Director
Agency: Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission
Address: 14 Reilly Road, Frankfort, Kentucky, 40601-1132
Phone: (502) 564-2150
Fax: (502) 564-4245

Maine

Summary: In late 1994, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection produced A Place in Time ... Maine's Environment 1994 a 12-page, consultant-written report. Indicators and text for air quality, water quality, waste, wildlife and the marine environment are displayed.

Contact: Mary James
Agency: Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Address: State House Station 17, Augusta, Maine 04333
Phone: (207) 287-7830
Fax: (207) 287-7826

Massachusetts

Summary: The Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs produced the 26-page Massachusetts Environment: The State of Our Common Wealth in conjunction with seven other Massachusetts environmental management agencies. A mixture of environmental indicators and environmental performance measures are presented in the issue areas of water, air, land, wildlife, and waste. A section of basic contacts and information about environmental management entitled “Serving the Citizen” is also included.

Contact: Meg Colclough
Agency: Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
Address: 100 Cambridge Street, 20th Floor
Phone: (617) 727-9800 x 218
Fax: (617)

Minnesota

Summary: Tracking our Progress in Protecting Minnesota’s Environment, January 1995, was produced as an eight-page insert to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s 1994 Biennial Report of the Legislature as a collection of measurements reflecting the progress made in environmental protection and emerging issues that have yet to be addressed. Graphic representations of indicators for air quality, hazardous waste and water quality are presented. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency also produced another short eight-page product in January 1993: Preserving Minnesota’s Environment for 25 Years, 1967- 1992.

Contact: Paul Schmeichen, Senior Planner
Agency: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Address: 520 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55155-4194
Phone: (612) 296-7795
Fax: (612) 297-8676

North Carolina

Summary: North Carolina Environmental Indicators published in June 1995 is an effort to present and interpret information regarding the environmental quality of the state as a condensed overview that accounts for the dynamics of change over time presenting most data for the years 1989 through 1993. The 134-page report covers air, water, waste and natural resources. Future reports will incorporate 1989 as a base year and extend trend evaluations from that year forward. The report started as a recommendation of a blue ribbon panel in 1991, received funding from the North Carolina Legislature in 1993, completed analyses of air, water, and waste in 1994, and added evaluations of wetlands and marine fisheries in 1995.

Contact: David Vogt, Section Chief, Center for Environmental Statistics
Division of Pollution Prevention & Environmental Assistance
Agency: North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources
Address: P.O. Box 29569, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27626-9569
Phone: (919) 715-6542
Fax: (919) 715-6794

Ohio

Summary: Ohio State of the Environment Report, published in December 1995 as the culmination of the first phase of the Ohio Comparative Risk Project, covers the process and content of the Project that resulted in the relative ranking of 45 potential environmental threats. The report also contains a chapter dealing with Ohio environmental statistics and indicators presenting indicators, values and data sources in tabular form for the issue areas of population; land/habitat/natural resources; water; environmental management; public opinion; and economics. The indicators are mostly single data points offering a snapshot of environmental and/or social condition.

Contact: Michele Morrone, Project Director, The Ohio Comparative Risk Project
Agency: Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Address: 1800 Watermark Drive, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049
Phone: (614) 644-2782
Fax: (614) 644-3687

Tennessee

Summary: Tennessee's Environment 96: 25 Years of Progress is a 16-page, magazine format report using extensive text and indicators covering air quality, hazardous air pollutants, water, drinking water, solid waste, contaminated sites, indoor environments and toxic releases. Dated April 1995, the publication is a summary of the "1996 State of the Environment Report". In September 1994, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation produced State of the Environment. A Preview, a 20-page precursor to an intended final report. The report was produced as an issue of the Tennessee Conservationist the quarterly magazine of the Department.

Contact: Rick Sinclair
Agency: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Address: 14th Floor, L&C Tower, 401 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee, 37423-0454
Phone: (615) 532-0734
Fax: (615) 532-0231

Utah

Summary: During the 1996 General Session of the Utah Legislature, the goals, and objectives of the Utah Tomorrow Strategic Plan were presented for adoption. Utah Tomorrow is a broadbased, ongoing strategic planning effort designed to enable all segments of Utah society to focus on and measure progress toward specific goals for Utah's future. The document offers performance measures (outcome measures, output measures, input measures and efficiency measures) for a variety of issue areas and includes a section on Environment and Natural Resources. The report is available on-line at http://www.governor.state.ut.us/planning/utahtom/master96.htm

Contact: John Cannon or Esther Chelsea-McCarty
Agency: Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel
Address: 436 State Capitol, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
Phone: (801) 538-1032
Fax: (801) 538-1712

Vermont

Summary: In January 1994, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) produced Environment 1994--An Assessment of the Quality of Vermont’s Environment as the agency's initial effort to develop a set of environmental indicators that can provide a reliable picture over time of the health of Vermont's natural environment and indirectly the health and quality of life of Vermonters. As a follow up, ANR developed agency staff ownership for environmental indicators through a series of workshops in 1994 and has instituted and ongoing process to produce annual state-of-the-environment reports. Environment 1995--An Assessment of the Quality of Vermont's Environment was prepared for ANR by the Northeast Center for Comparative Risk and offered a 25-year retrospective of Vermont's environmental conditions and trends in a 14-page report. Environment 1996--An Assessment of the Quality of Vermont's Environment, a 20-page report published in January 1996, focuses thematically on biodiversity, ecosystem management, and sustainability in addition to specific section on air quality, water supply and quality, waste, forests and forest lands, and fish, wildlife and habitat. The Vermont Environment 1997 report is available on-line at http://www.anr.state.vt.us/env97/index.html

Contact: Bernard Johnson, Special Assistant
Agency: Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
Address: 103 South Maine Street, Center Building, Waterbury, Vermont, 05671-0301
Phone: (802) 241-3600
Fax: (802) 244-1102

Washington

Summary: Washington's Environmental Health 1995: A Summary of Environmental Indicators is a 15-page report produced for Earth Day 1995 by the Washington State Department of Ecology. The report provides an assessment of the health of Washington’s water and air, and the Generation of solid and hazardous waste through environmental indicators that continue to be developed in a process that began with a comprehensive environmental report, 1991 State of the Environment Report part of Washington's comparative risk project. The 1995 report is available on-line at http://www.wa.gov/ecology/weh95.html

Contact: Dee Peace Ragsdale
Agency: Washington State Department of Ecology
Address: P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, Washington, 98504-7600
Phone: (360) 407-6986
Fax: (360) 407-6989
Internet: DRAG461@ecy.wa.gov

Wisconsin

Summary: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued Wisconsin's Environment 1970-1995 an 18-page review, for Earth Day 1995 comparing environmental condition and progress over 25 years. In March 1995, the agency formed an Environmental Indicators Project Team to evaluate other indicators projects, recommend environmental indicators for Wisconsin, recommend a format for presentation of indicators and evaluate current data and suggest improvements by August 1995.

Contact: Tim Mulholland, Environmental Indicator Team Leader
Agency: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Address: 101 S. Webster Street - SW/3, Madison, Wisconsin, 50707- 7921
Phone: (608) 266-0061
Fax: (608) 267-2768
Internet: MULHOT@dnr.state.wi.us

Connecticut

Summary: In January 1995, the Connecticut Progress Council, an intergovernmental entity charged by the Legislature to establish goals and benchmarks to measure Connecticut’s progress, published State of Connecticut Goals and Benchmarks for the Year 2000 and Beyond. The environment is one of five sections of the report and eight environmental goals are articulated. Of the 300 benchmarks presented in the report, 54 deal with the environment and seven are labeled “urgent”, the most critical benchmarks over the next five years.

Contact: John Radacsi
Agency: Connecticut Progress Council, Office of Policy and Management, Management Division
Address: 80 Washington Street, Hartford, Connecticut, 06106
Phone: (860) 418-6373
Fax: (860) 418-6495

Summary: Environment/2000: Connecticut's Environmental Plan 1992-1997 is a long-range plan that identifies the State's priority environmental issues and sets the agenda for Connecticut's environmental programs. The Plan identities 52 issues of critical environmental importance dealing with such topics as preservation, pollution control, resources management and environmental services. Goals and strategies have been developed for each issue with the intent to achieve the objectives of the Plan while providing for continuing environmentally sound growth for Connecticut.

Contacts: Tina Delaney, Environmental Analyst III, Bureau of Environmental Services; and Tess Gutowski, Management Analyst III, Deputy Commissioner’s Office
Agency: Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
Address: 79 Elm Street, Hartford, Connecticut, 06106
Phone: (860) 424-3579 and (860) 424-3096
Fax: (860) 566-7932 and (860) 566-7932

Summary: The Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality has been producing an annual report on the status of Connecticut's environment since 1992 showing progress toward the goals of the Environment 2000 statewide environmental plan. The 1995 Connecticut Environmental Quality in Connecticut, contains 27 environmental indicators to illustrate the real status of Connecticut's environment through actual conditions of air, water, land and wildlife.

Contact: Karl J. Wagener, Executive Director
Agency: Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality
Address: 79 Elm Street, Hartford, Connecticut, 06106-5127
Phone: (860) 424-4000
Fax: (860) 424-4070

Florida

Summary: The Florida Commission on Government Accountability to the People (GAP) has selected 32 critical benchmarks to focus efforts on the state's highest priorities. Criteria for choosing these benchmarks were 1) the number of Floridians who are affected, 2) the severity or frequency of the problems, and 3) how easily can something be done about them. The Florida Benchmarks Report, dated February 1996, contains a section on the environment that includes critical benchmarks for air quality, groundwater quality, surface water quality, water supply, and wildlife habitat. Other issue areas covered are wetlands, forests, coastline, coral reefs, fish, land stewardship, energy use, waste management, hazardous waste, and litter. 42 indicators are used/proposed to show trends. Other indicators are suggested but are not displayed because data are not currently available or because existing information is either invalid or untrustworthy. Goals are absent from the document because it is the intent of the GAP Commission to establish them through a process that will involved Florida citizens. The 1995 report is available on-line at http://www.state.fl.us/eog/govdocs/gapcomm/benchmks.html

Minnesota

Summary: Started in early 1991, Minnesota Milestones: A Report Card for the Future, released in December 1992. projects a vision for the future of Minnesota based on the ideas and suggestions of Minnesotans and offers 20 broad goals based on that vision and 79 milestones, or “ways to measure whether we are making progress over time.” A few of the broad goals relate directly to the environment and out of the 79 milestones, approximately 20 related directly to the environment. Many milestones have been incorporated into required performance reports required of state agencies as part of Minnesota’s biennial budget process. The 1992 report is available on-line at http://www.mnplan.state.mn.us/press/mm-92.html

Contact: Linda Kohl
Agency: Minnesota Planning
Address: 658 Cedar, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55155
Phone: (612) 296-3985
Fax: (612) 296-3698

Oregon

Summary: In December 1994, as its 1995 report to the Legislature, the Oregon Progress Board issued its third biennial report, Oregon Benchmarks: Standards for Measuring Statewide Progress and Institutional Performance. As a subset of the quality of life section, 28 environmental benchmarks are presented out of a total of 259 in the report. Protecting natural resources is listed as an issue that demands near-term attention. The Oregon Benchmarks report is available on-line at http://www.econ.state.or.us.us/opb/index.htm

Contact: Jeffrey Tryens, Executive Director
Agency: Oregon Progress Board
Address: 775 Summer Street, N.E., Salem, Oregon 97310
Phone: (503) 986-0039