How is an EMR performed?
An EMR is performed by a team of experts,
who visit a facility to conduct the evaluation.
The EMR team examines the facility's environ-
mental documentation to understand how the
management system is designed. Then, they
interview the facility's personnel to understand
how the EMS actually works in practice. Team
members next evaluate what they have ob-
served by comparing it to one of the EPA-
recognized EMS guidelines. For example, the
Generic Protocol for Conducting Environ-
mental Audits at Federal Facilities examines
seven criteria, which are:
* Organizational Structure;
* Environmental Commitment;
* Formality of Environmental Programs;
* Internal and External Communications;
* Staff Resources, Training, and Develop
ment;
* Program Evaluation, Reporting, and Correc-
tive Action; and
* Environmental Planning and Risk Manage-
ment.
EPA also recognizes the Code of Environmen-
tal Management Principles for Federal
Agencies (CEMP) and the International Stan-
dard (ISO 14001) for Environmental Manage-
ment Systems.
For information on EMSs and
EMRs, please see the following
websites:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/fedfac/policy/
emr43001.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/cetnp/cetnptoc.html
http ://www. epa. gov/ems
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/fedfac/complian/
nattnasar-cotnplete.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/fedfac/fflex.httnl
How do I get an EMR performed
at my facility?
For further information or to schedule an EMR at
your facility, please contact your EPA Federal
Facilities Program Manager:
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
February 2002
EPA 300-R-02-006
Anne H. Fenn
US EPA Region I
One Congress St.-Suite 1100
Mail: SPP
Boston, MA 02114-2023
Tel: 617-981-1805
Fax:617-918-1810
fenn.anne@epa.gov
Bill Arguto
US EPA Region III
1650 Archer Street
Philadelphia, PA 19603
Tel: 215-814-3367
Fax: 215-814-2783
arguto.william@epa.gov
Lee Regner
US EPA Region V
77 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
Tel: 312-353-6478
Fax:312-353-5374
regner.lee@epa.gov
Diana Jackson
US EPA Region VII
90IN. 5thSt.
Kansas City, KS 66101
Tel: 913-551-7744
Fax: 913-551-9744
jackson.diana@epa.gov
Larry Woods
US EPA Region IX
75 Hawthorne St., CMD-2
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: 415-972-3857
Fax: 415-947-8026
woods.larry@epa.gov
Kathleen Malone
US EPA Region II
290 Broadway - 21st Fl.
New York, NY 10007
Tel: 212-637-4083
Fax: 212-637-4086
malone.kathleen@epa.gov
David Hoylroyd
US EPA Region IV
61 Forsyth St., SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
Tel: 404-562-9625
Fax: 404-562-9598
holroyd.david@epa.gov
Joyce Stubblefield
US EPA Region VI
1445 Ross Ave.
Dallas, TX 75202
Tel: 214-665-6430
Fax: 214-665-7446
stubblefield.joyce@epa.gov
Dianne Thiel
US EPA Region VIII
999 18th Street
Mail: 8P-P3T
Denver, CO 80202-2466
Tel: 303-312-6389
Fax: 303-312-6064
thiel.dianne@epa.gov
Michele Wright
US EPA Region X
1200 6th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Tel: 206-553-1747
Fax: 206-553-7176
wright.michele@epa.gov
Environmental
Management
Reviews at
Federal Facilities
U.S. EPA Federal Facilities Enforcement Office
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What is an EMS?
An Environmental Management System (EMS) is
a system that helps an organization develop,
implement, achieve, and maintain a successful
environmental policy. All organizations, federal
facilities included, have an obligation to preserve
the environment and its resources for future
generations. An EMS helps facilities meet this
responsibility through planning, tracking, and
continually improving their environmental perfor-
mance.
An EMS Is designed to Increase
the efficiency of an
organization's processes, in-
crease the effectiveness of its
environmental program, and
strengthen its environmental
credibility with customers, gov-
ernments, and communities.
What common EMS challenges
do federal facilities face?
Staff at federal facilities face a variety of
challenges in developing and implementing EMSs
at their facilities. Some of these problems
include:
V Lack of adequate environmental staff;
V Lack of annual training plans and mechanisms
to track individual training needs and
accomplishments;
V Lack of clear EMS policies, goals, objectives,
and targets;
V Failure to communicate "lessons learned" to
other federal facilities; and
V Lack of opportunity to gather ideas and feed-
back from other departments or groups.
What is an EMR?
An Environmental Management Review
(EMR) is "a review of an individual facility's
program and management systems to determine
the extent to which a facility has developed and
implemented specific environmental protection
programs and plans which, if properly managed,
should ensure compliance and progress towards
environmental excellence." An EMR is a tool
to assist facilities in improving their environmen-
tal performance. However, instead of focusing
on manufacturing processes, regulatory require-
ments, or waste streams, the EMR focuses on
a facility's environmental management systems.
"Preparation for the review caused us
to take a hard look at our compliance
to a diverse number of environmental
areas. As the Safety Manager, the
process was also a useful tool to
educate top management concerning
an area about which they have very
little knowledge or experience. I
would recommend the process to any
of our Safety Managers in the system.'
:acility Safety/Environmental Mgr.
Why would you want to have an
EMR done at your facility?
There are many benefits to having an EMR
performed at a facility. Several of the most
pronounced benefits are:
V It is a collaborative and inexpensive means to
enhance a facility's EMS;
V An outside party can discover issues overlooked
by busy facility staff;
V EPA's regulatory and technical environmental
expertise is made available to the facility;
V Root causes of problems can be uncovered;
V It can lead to improved environmental
compliance and more efficient and effective
environmental management;
V It provides feedback on the effectiveness of a
facility's system, benchmarks the facility's
performance, and identifies opportunities for
improvement;
V EPA generally will not conduct inspections at the
facility for at least six months after an EMR is
done; and
V For any compliance problems or violations
discovered during an EMR, the Incidental Viola-
tions Response Policy governs EPA's response.
Which federal agencies have had EPA
conduct EMRs at their facilities?
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Prisons
Coast Guard
Department of Agriculture
Department of Defense (Air Force; Army; Army
Corps of Engineers; Army National Guard;
Navy)
Department of Energy
Department of the Treasury
Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Fish & Wildlife Service
National Aeronautics & Space Administration
National Park Service
U.S. Postal Service
U.S. Mint
Veteran's Health Administration
"The EMR is also a good program
to receive a friendly environmen-
tal management audit, which
ultimately will help the facility's
environmental programs
succeed."
- Facility Environmental Mgr.
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