Look Inside a State-Wide Environmental Reporting System Project

For three years many California businesses paid a $25 electronic reporting surcharge in addition to their regular annual permit fees. The funds, approximately $10M, were collected to develop a state-wide system known as the California Environmental Reporting System, or CERS.

The expectations for CERS are substantial:

• Eliminate paper by collecting facility forms on the web

• Establish automated workflows for regulators to review/approve applications electronically

• Transfer data to local regulators (e.g., Health Departments) by partnering with commercial software vendors and local IT

• Establish and sustain a state-wide database of facilities and program details
  

Beginning in 2009, state and local regulators worked against budget crisis, furloughs, hiring freezes, and steep technical requirements to achieve these ambitious goals. Commercial software companies continue to focus on bringing their customers along. Small and large businesses watch with interest, some actively resisting, some skeptical, and some excited for the prospect of eliminating paper.

The legal implementation deadline is January, 2013. In this interactive session, let’s review the origins and implementation (the good and bad) of the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). With only six months to go until the project goes “live,” we will see the dynamic interaction of organizational culture, people, and technology.

While this particular project is limited to six programs in the hazardous materials category, it spotlights a desire held by many state and federal agencies… how can one gain access to the significant data collected and curated at the local level? Also, local agencies will want to know how businesses will respond to special technology fees and the prospect of typing-in their own forms on the web. Finally, and most importantly, can all these moving parts be brought together in time?