Summer 2003
ISSUE #15
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency	an environmental bulletin for federal facilities
Federal Agencies Making Progress
Implementing E.0.13148
Federal agencies are making consider-
able progress in implementing Execu-
tive Order 13148 Greening the Govern-
ment Through Leadership in
Environmental Management, and its
broad goals of integrating environmen-
tal considerations into day-to-day plan-
ning and decision making. This progress
is evident from agency annual reports
and "scorecards", a new tool used by the
federal government to measure and
evaluate implementation milestones.
Section 307 of E.O. 13148 requires
federal agencies to report on their imple-
mentation progress annually to the EPA.
EPA and the Office of the Federal Envi-
ronmental Executive (OFEE) will collab-
orate closely with the President's Coun-
cil on Environmental Quality and the
Office of Management and Budget to
review the annual reports and develop a
"scorecard" on environmental manage-
ment system (EMS) implementation by
federal agencies.
Guidance on writing this year's
report was also developed by the Intera-
gency Environmental Leadership Work-
group. Guidance focuses on both the
required sections and relevant topics, in
particular agency EMSs and compliance
program implementation. These metrics
recognized the EMS process is evolving
within the federal community and
focused on program development rather
than implementation.
For calendar year 2002, in addition
to reporting on reduction goals for Toxic
Release Inventory chemicals, Section
503 priority chemical and reductions
and ozone depleting substances, agen-
cies were asked to report on the follow-
ing areas: 1) EMS policy, including top
management commitment; 2) Determi-
nation of "appropriate" facility for pur-
poses of the Order; 3) Identification of
resources necessary for EMS implemen-
tation; 4) Guidance for implementing
EMS at agency facilities; 5) EMS train-
ing for senior-level managers; 6) Pro-
grams to support facility environmental
compliance audits.
Not all reporting Continued on page 2
Environmental
Spotlight
WORKING FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL
EXCELLENCE
By John Howard, Federal Environmental Executive
Federal agencies have
worked hard for years
to improve their envi-
ronmental compliance
and performance.
This effort has seen
several approaches,
including internal compliance assess-
ment, pollution prevention planning,
regulatory compliance assistance, and
environmental management system
(EMS) implementation. Each approach
has had some basis in law, rule, policy,
or Administration priority.
The Office of the Federal Environ-
mental Executive works to promote sus-
tainable environmental stewardship
throughout the federal government,
using these and other approaches. EMS
offers an opportunity Continued on page 4
ABOUT THIS ISSUE...
Executive Order 13148 Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental
Management, (April21,2000) requires federal agencies and facilities to integrate environmen-
tal considerations into day-to-day planning. In this issue, you will read about some of the 13148
implementation activities taking place .
Successful implementation of E.O.13148 requires the combined and collaborative efforts of
federal agencies, states and others. Many of these efforts will be spotlighted in this issue, as
well as the contributions of a few individuals at the facility level. Environmental management
systems (EMSs) are a key requirement of the Order, and there is considerable focus on EMS
activities atthe national and local facility level.
Federal agencies and facilities are doing a good job of implementing E.O. 13148 - but there
is still challenging work ahead. The EPA, Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, and
other leaders in the federal community are there to guide these efforts and help the federal
government be a role model for cutting-edge environmental stewardship and management,
making a cleaner and healthier work place and environment for generations to come.
Inside
3	Fort Meade ISO 14001 Certification
4	DOE E.O. 13148 Implementation
5,6,7 EMS Implementation and Training
8	EPA, VHA Cooperative EMR Initiative
9	EMRs at NASA Michoud and Army Fort
Polk
10	Enforcement News: Ft. Wainwright;
UST Cases
11	Federal Environmental Spotlight and
Awards
12	EPA Regional CWA/SPCC Initiative
13	In Brief: Regulatory Updates and
Program News
14	Federal Facilities Compliance Center
15	Upcoming Events Calendar
Printed on Recycled Paper

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THE E.O. 13148 INTERAGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL
LEADERSHIP WORKGROUP
Executive Order 13148 calls for the establishment of an Interagency Environmental Leadership
Workgroup to "develop policies and guidance" required by the Order. While the Workgroup is
chaired by EPA, 18 federal agencies have formal representatives to the Workgroup and responsi-
bilities are shared. Several particular Workgroup efforts such as environmental management sys-
tem implementation, budget issues review, priority chemical selection, and an analysis of general
training needs, were led by member agencies including the Departments of Defense and Energy,
and NASA. The Workgroup also develops guidance for each year's annual report on progress
towards the goals of the Executive Order including metrics to prepare the federal agency EMS
implementation "scorecard" issued by the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive. The
Workgroup has developed documents used across the federal government including an EMS
background primer and a budget document explaining how the goals of the Order should be
included in the budget process.
For more information about Workgroup activities, please contact Workgroup Chair Will Garvey
at garvey.will@epa.gov
FEDERAL AGENCIES MAKING PROGRESS
IN E.O. 13148 IMPLEMENTATION
Continued from page 1
federal agencies have responded, but a
preliminary review of the available
information is summarized below. A
more in depth report on that review will
be completed this summer and provided
to each Agency Environmental Execu-
tive and the President's Council on
Environmental Quality.
1. EMS Implementation Policies.
Approximately half of federal agen-
cies responding have prepared,
signed and distributed agency poli-
cies for implementing EMSs at
agency facilities. Policies range from
brief directives endorsing EMS
FEDFACS ON THE WEB
This and past issues of FedFacs can be
found on EPA's website at: http://www.epa.
gov/compliance/resources/newsletters/
civil/fedfac/index.html
implementation to extensive delin-
eations of agency EMS goals and
expectations and facility responsi-
bilities to meet those goals.
2.	Determining "appropriate"
facilities under E.O. 13148. Agen-
cies are using the Order's criteria of
"size, complexity and environmental
aspects, " and regulatory status of
the facility for determining whether
their facilities must develop and
implement an EMS. In several
instances, agencies included consid-
eration of outside parties' perspec-
tive in identifying appropriate facil-
ities. Several agencies developed an
organizational EMS that will be
implemented across all facilities
with that organization.
3.	Resource allocation. Some agen-
cies implemented a process to iden-
tify and quantify supplemental
resources, funds and personnel nec-
essary to develop and implement
EMSs at the facility or organizational
level. These efforts include a review
of private sector organizations' imple-
mentation costs and review of pilot
efforts at agency facilities. Other
reporting agencies concluded that
development and implementation
resources should be supplied from
normal facility operating funds.
4.	Agency EMS guidance. Some
agencies developed specific EMS
development and implementation
guidance for their facilities with
milestones and other measurement
criteria that allow consistent review
of agency progress towards EMS
implementation. Other agencies will
promote and use existing EMS guid-
ance and implementation tools
allowing facilities to select and
implement EMS independently.
5.	EMS awareness tools for senior
managers. Some agencies devel-
oped awareness tools ranging from
background briefings and audiovi-
sual presentations to video tape
training describing the EMS process
and role of senior managers in sup-
porting EMS implementation. Other
agencies expressed a commitment to
senior manager training subsequent
to full development of agency EMS
implementation, and also an interest
in sharing training developed by
other agencies.
6.	Agency audit programs. Many
agencies have mature environmental
compliance programs while others
with less developed programs, were
actively reviewing and updating
audit programs. Most mature pro-
grams include both internal and
agency oversight audits, and are
pursuing protocols for identifying
and addressing findings revealed by
compliance audits.
is published by EPA's Federal
Facilities Enforcement Office.
EPA #300-N-03-006
Marie Muller, FFEO, Editor
Robin Foster,
Legin Group, Layout
To receive FedFacs
in the mail, contact:
Federal Facilities Enforcement Office
U.S. EPA(2261A)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: 202-564-2510
Fax: 202-501-0069
Internet: www.epa.gov/compliance/
resources/newsletters/civil/fedfac/
index.html
2 FEDFACS

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EPA/Fort Meade Environmental Science Center
Receives ISO 14001 Certification
The U.S. EPA - Fort Meade Environ-
mental Science Center (ESC) is the
first non-industrial "civilian" federal facil-
ity to be registered under ISO 14001 for
its environmental management system
(EMS). With its innovative approach to
environmental sustainability and pollu-
tion prevention, ESC is protecting the
environment, saving money, and is con-
sidered a model for other federal facilities
required to implement an EMS under
Executive Order 13148.
Located on 25 acres in Fort Meade,
Md., ESC is an analytical chemistry labo-
ratory occupied by EPA's Region 3
(Philadelphia) and Office of Prevention,
Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS)
program laboratories. The Center, which
was commissioned in February 1999, is a
state-of-the-art facility housing 65 scien-
tists and support staff. It has 145,000
grass square feet with 89,000 finished
square feet including over 70 lab rooms.
ESC began designing its EMS in
August 2000, and chose ISO 14001, one of
the primary international standards for
EMSs. EPA Region 3 and OPPTS decided
to invest in the EMS - even prior to the
requirement to do so under E.O. 13148 -
because of a desire to be a good neighbor
in the Fort Meade community and realize
operational benefits like cost savings and
lower risk profile. Now, almost three
years later, a self-directed team of volun-
teers has led the facility through imple-
mentation and ISO recognition.
The Center is reaching the point
where it can measure and point to direct
results and benefits of the EMS. Benefits
of EMS implementation to date include:
1) better cross-facility cooperation; 2)
greater awareness of environmental
impacts and linkage of environmental
aspects; 3) complete documentation of
environmental management programs;
and 4) greater awareness and integration
of Executive Orders. Staff believe
improvements to environmental perfor-
mance are virtually guaranteed.
As new EMS target initiatives are
launched the Center expects to see more
return on its investment with more pollu-
tion prevention, cost savings, and imple-
mentation of creative environmental
management practices. The overall goal
is to establish a culture that institution-
alizes the consideration of environmental
impacts into everyday management deci-
sions at the ESC.
Designing and implementing the EMS
required about 1.2 EPA full time
employee equivalent (FTE) per year and
included costs of approximately $80,000
for consulting support and $12,000 for
ISO 14001 registration. To maintain the
system, contract dollars will drop signifi-
cantly and FTE needs will reduce some-
what, perhaps 10-20 percent.
ESC Viewed as a Leader in the
Federal Community
The EPA/Fort Meade Science Center has
received many accolades for its EMS and
related implementation activities. It is
highlighted at ISO Continued on page 14
EXECUTIVE ORDER 13148
"GREENING THE GOVERNMENT THROUGH
LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT"
(Apr. 27, 2000)
Executive Order 13148 is the most recent of a series of "Greening the Government" Executive
Orders and requires the federal government to integrate a broad array of environmental consider-
ations into day-to-day management, decision-making, and long-term planning across agency mis-
sions, activities, and functions.
The Order establishes seven primary goals for federal agencies and facilities. They are: 1)
developing and implementing environmental management systems; 2) ensuring compliance with
environmental statutes and regulations; 3) fully implementing Community Right-to-Know Act
(EPCRA), emergency planning, and pollution prevention programs; 4) reducing releases of toxic
chemicals; 5) reducing use of toxic and hazardous substances where there are known cost- effec-
tive substitutes; 6) reducing the use of ozone depleting substances; and 7) instituting environmen-
tally sound landscaping practices.
E.O. 13148 also established an interagency workgroup chaired by the U.S. EPA's Federal Facili-
ties Enforcement Office (FFEO)to assist federal agencies in its implementation. (See related box on
page 2).
For more information on E.O. 13148, please contact Will Garvey at EPA's Office of Federal Facil-
ity Enforcement (garvey.will@epa.gov) or Ed Pinero atthe Office of the Federal Environmental Exec-
utive (0FEE) (edwin_pinero@ceq.eop.gov). The Order itself can be found on OFEE's website at:
http://www.ofee.gov/eo/eo.htm
PERFORMANCE TRACK
EPA's National Environmental Perform-
ance Track program is designed to recog-
nize and encourage top environmental
performers — those who go beyond com-
pliance with regulatory requirements to
attain levels of environmental perfor-
mance and management that benefit peo-
ple, communities, and the environment.
Currently, the program has over 300
members. As part of their membership in
Performance Track, program participants
receive a range of incentives to motivate
further improvements. The Performance
Trackweb site contains extensive informa-
tion about the program and how to
become a member. It can be visited at:
http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/
FEDFACS 3

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Department of Energy Implements E.0.13148
The Department of
Energy (DOE) strives
to be a leader in imple-
menting E.O. 13148. For
Earth Day 2003, Secre-
tary Spencer Abraham
issued a Department-
wide message highlight-
ing DOE's progress and
challenges in implement-
ing environmental man-
agement	systems
(EMSs) and meeting its
Pollution Prevention
Leadership Goals.
Seven DOE sites have
been registered to the ISO
14001 EMS standard. Three of these sites,
and two others, are charter members of
EPA's National Environmental Perfor-
mance Track Program. All sites have man-
agement systems under DOE's Integrated
Safety Management System (ISMS) policy
ENVIRONMENTAL SPOTLIGHT
Continued from page 1
to systematically manage not just com-
pliance and performance in the environ-
mental arena, but also for health and
safety, energy, transportation, housing,
and more. Because an EMS is to be tai-
lored to reflect each organization's
unique situation, each facility can
determine what particular priorities it
wishes to stress. And because it's not
static, it makes you keep pushing to
continually find even more improve-
ments. In sum, it can help you and oth-
ers address environmental, safety,
health and other issues as efficiently as
possible so that everyone can focus on
achieving your agency's core mission.
To me, the most important benefit of
an EMS, though, is not compliance, or
cost reduction, or risk avoidance, or effi-
ciency. Those are important. Instead,
the most important benefit of EMS is
the unforeseeable and positive dynamic
synergy that will flow from a team of
and require-
ments. The goal is
to have EMSs in
place at all these
sites within the
existing ISMS
framework by
2005.
DOE has made
great progress
toward meeting
its Pollution Pre-
vention Leader-
ship goals for
2005, which were
established in
1999. Most of the
goals, however, have not yet been met.
The Secretary charged DOE programs "to
use their ingenuity to reinvigorate their
efforts towards meeting DOE's 2005 pol-
lution prevention goals for reducing the
generation of waste and release of pollu-
people coming from throughout a facil-
ity or agency to work together on a
shared vision of improved environmen-
tal stewardship. An EMS can bring peo-
ple together - and then who knows what
good they'll achieve once they're encour-
aged to work for the betterment of the
facility and the agency.
As part of Executive Order 13148's
broad goal of seeking integration of
environmental considerations into day-
to-day management and long-term
planning across missions, activities, and
functions, federal agencies must
develop and implement EMSs by
December 31, 2005. Thanks to some
visionary (and hard-working) folks,
nearly 30 facilities are implementing
EMSs already, more than 170 federal
facilities are actively developing their
EMSs, and hundreds more are getting
educated about EMSs. Congratulations!
Some of these early successes are high-
lighted in this edition.
We've made some great progress, but
we still have challenges ahead. We need
tants into the environment."
DOE has incorporated the goals and
requirements of the executive order into
its existing environmental directives
and policies. In February 2001, Secre-
tary Abraham signed a Notice assigning
responsibilities for implementing E.O.
13148. In January of 2003, this was
replaced by a DOE-wide Order laying
out requirements and responsibilities
for DOE's Environmental Protection
Program. The Department is actively
developing guidance to support imple-
mentation of these requirements.
For more information about DOE's
implementation of E.O. 13148, contact
Larry Stirling on EMSs, at 202-586-
2417 or larry.stirling@eh.doe.gov, or
Jane Powers on pollution prevention
issues at 202-586-7301 or jane.
powers@eh.doe.gov, both in DOE's
Office of Environmental Policy and
Guidance.
training for facility level implementa-
tion as well as for senior manager
awareness. We need to better integrate
EMS with other issues, such as affirma-
tive procurement and sustainable build-
ings. So, through our office, EPA's EMS
team, and the interagency EMS work-
group, we're working to provide assis-
tance - training, materials, mentoring,
workshops, best management practices,
modules, and more.
We've also been working closely with
the President's Continued on page 6
The Office of the Federal Environmental
Executive (0FEE) promotes sustainable envi-
ronmental stewardship throughout the federal
government by identifying, advocating and dis-
seminating sustainability practices across
agencies. OFEE trains agency personnel, and
measures and reports on agencies' progress.
Visit OFEE website at: www.ofee.gov for more
information on how to prevent pollution at your
facility and incorporate sustainable practices
into its operation.
5 progress^
ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Challenge
Raymond Orbach, Director of DOE's
Office of Science, and Beverly Cook,
DOE Assistant Secretary for Envi-
ronment, Safety and Health, discuss
the progress and challenge of Green-
ing DOE, at the Department's Earth
Day display.
4 FEDFACS

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EPA Sponsored Environmental
Management System Workshops
One way EPA is helping federal agen-
cies comply with Executive Order
13148's requirement to implement envi-
ronmental management systems (EMS)
is by providing EMS training and net-
working opportunities to federal facility
staff and management. EPA will next
deliver EMS training in San Diego on
July 16-17, and in Kansas City on August
5-7, 2003.
The training is taught by a team of
EMS experts from EPA other federal
government agencies, and selected EMS
consultants. It was first presented in
June 2002 at the U.S. Naval Support Sta-
tion, Newport, R.I. and has been pre-
sented to both civilian and military staff
and management in other regions of the
country, including Washington D.C., New
Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle and
Phoenix, often in conjunction with other
meetings or agency conferences.
The training covers the essential com-
ponents of EMS development and imple-
mentation, as well as the benefits of
EMSs to facility operations, management
and strategic planning. The course uses
ISO 14001 as a standard, and emphasizes
the "nuts and bolts" of EMS planning.
Course sessions focus on the basic ele-
ments of an EMS, gap analyses, struc-
ture, facility "fence line" determinations,
team and policy development, manage-
ment commitment, training, communica-
tion and proper integration into agency or
facility missions. Emergency prepared-
ness and response, and other corrective
actions are also covered. The course also
emphasizes the importance of identifying
impacts and objectives, setting targets for
successful implementation, and using
administrative tools to ensure internal
accountability.
EPA has also delivered training in con-
junction with federal agency national con-
ferences or meetings, most notably with
the Department of Defense and Depart-
ment of the Interior. In other situations,
EPA has partnered and combined collec-
tive resources and expertise with other
federal agencies to deliver training
designed specifically for facilities in differ-
ent regions of the country. For instance,
EPA collaborated with the Department of
Energy's (DOE) Strategic Petroleum
Reserve (SPR), and the Federal Network
for Sustainability (FNS), a voluntary, col-
laborative network of Continued on page 6
FEDS RECEIVE AWARDS FOR E.0. 13148 EFFORTS
Executive Order 13148 states that federal employees who demonstrate outstanding leadership in
implementing the Order may be considered for recognition under the White House Closing the
Circle Awards program. For 2002, five awards were issued in the Education and Outreach and
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) categories recognizing those efforts.
Underthe Education and Outreach category, awards were given to the Federal Network for
Sustainability (FNS), and the U.S. Army Forces Command Installation Sustainability Program
(F0RSC0M-ISP). The FNS accomplished a number of outreach activities including those
designed to support implementation of EMSs. The F0RSC0M effort included a range of activities
to share lessons learned regarding EMS implementation and compliance with E.0.13148.
Underthe Environmental Management Systems category, award winners included Dyess Air
Force Base, Texas, for their efforts using an EMS to significantly improve facility operations; the
U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Md., for ensuring the effectiveness of their EMS for tenant
commands and their commitment to continually improve environmental performance; and Greg
Allen, the EMS Team Lead at the U.S. EPA, Fort Meade, Md., Environmental Science Center for
his efforts to implement EMS at other federal facilities. More information on the Closing the Cir-
cle winners can be found on the 0FEE website at www.ofee.gov.
ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS
Under Executive Order 13148 all federal
agencies were required to conduct agency-
level environmental management systems
(EMS) self-assessments by October 2001
and implement EMS pilot projects at
selected facilities by April 2002. Federal
agencies are required to implement EMSs
at all appropriate agency facilities by
December 2005. Currently, over 200 federal
facilities are implementing EMSs.
Environmental management systems
are relatively recent but accepted manage-
ment tools developed to ensure that consid-
eration of an organizations environmental
priorities and interests are institutionalized
into operations and planning processes.
Numerous private sector organizations
require that their facilities and facilities of
those supplying services and parts be for-
mally certified as complying with accepted
EMS standards (usually ISO 14001). Under
Executive Order 12856, EPA, in coordination
with other federal agencies, developed the
Code of Environmental Management Princi-
ples (CEMP) which formed the basis for ini-
tial federal efforts in implementing EMSs;
standards under ISO 14001 are also recog-
nized EMS standards.
Since July 2001, an interagency work
group has met to discuss and address the
concerns of federal agencies developing
and implementing EMSs. EPA's Federal
Facilities Enforcement Office (FFE0) coordi-
nates the group. In conjunction with other
agencies, FFE0 and its regional Federal
Facility Program Managers have delivered
EMS training to hundreds of federal envi-
ronmental managers across the country.
EPA will continue providing technical
assistance and training for agencies
designing and implementing new EMSs, or
those wishing to improve existing ones. In
this newsletter we've reported on some
recent EPA-sponsored EMS training and
technical assistance, as well as some inno-
vative EMS activities at federal facilities.
Please consult the calendar at the end of
this newsletter for upcoming EMS training
opportunities.
FEDFACS S

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TEXAS WORKING WITH
FEDERAL FACILITIES ON
EMS IMPLEMENTATION
Through training and partnerships, the
Texas Commission of Environmental Quality
(TCEQ) is helping federal facilities in their
state implement environmental manage-
ment systems (EMS) designed to yield envi-
ronmental benefits and cost savings.
This past April, TCEQ, with co-sponsor
Texas Environmental Partnership, con-
ducted EMS training in Austin, Texas. Rep-
resentatives of EPA's Federal Facility Part-
nership Corrective Action and RCRA
programs attended the training along with
Department of Defense Texas installation
officers and staff, and others from federal
and state government. Because of the
effectiveness of this training, it will be given
at two other Texas military installations in
the future.
The training identified how EMSs can be
used to generated management commit-
ment and organizational change and com-
mon EMS traps and how to avoid them. The
training also detailed TCEQ's EMS program,
the history and future of EMSs at Texas fed-
eral facilities, and TCEQ's EMS program as a
template for states throughout the country.
The Texas EMS program is performance
based and emphasizes systems which yield
real environmental results and cost savings.
For those Texas federal facilities which
have performance based EMSs that meet
Texas requirements, real incentives will be
available, from regulatory incentives to
recognition and assistance.
For further information on the Texas
EMS program, including details on how
sites will be audited and types of incentives,
visit: www.abouttexasems.org. James Har-
ris, EPA Region 6 RCRA Facility Manager
can be contacted at harris.jamesa@
epa.gov.
EPA SPONSORED EMS WORKSHOPS
Continued from page 5
federal agencies in the western states
which promotes sustainable environmen-
tal stewardship. (See related article in
this issue).
In some instances, EPA used this
training platform as a forum for civilian
and military agencies to exchange infor-
mation and experiences on EMS design
and implementation. Some trainings
included interactive panels of federal
facilities with "real world" EMS experi-
ence. Panelists discussed the steps taken
to develop and implement their EMSs,
unique challenges they faced to integrate
them into their facility's mission, and the
benefits they've received as a result of
using an EMS.
Through collaboration with EPA in
course development and training, federal
agencies have also maximized the bene-
fits of this EMS training for their organi-
zations. For instance, in addition to tail-
oring training to regional concerns or
problems, federal agencies have also used
this course as an opportunity to train
staff who can later train other facility per-
sonnel in EMS principles.
In the future, EMS training may need
further refinement or restructuring as
agencies continue to implement EMSs at
their facilities. EPA welcomes input from
federal agencies on possible refinements
in order to tailor training to fit agency
and facility needs. Feedback forms are
generally provided at the end of each
training. Agencies may also contact EPA
Headquarters staff and regional Federal
Facility Program Managers directly with
their input. [See Contact information in
this issue],
EPA will next deliver EMS training in
San Diego on July 16-17, and in Kansas
City on August 5-7, 2003. Please see
related articles and the calendar at the
end of this newsletter for further details.
Announcements for EMS and other train-
ing will also be made in EPA's federal
facility electronic newsletter FedEnviro-
News. To subscribe to FedEnviroNews,
please visit: http://www.epa.gov/
compliance/resources/listserv.html
JOIN FedEnviroNews!
FedEnviroNews is EPA's electronic newslet-
ter which delivers environmental news and
information of interest to federal facilities.
This newsletter is free and is part of EPA's
continuing efforts to improve awareness of
and provide access to environmental infor-
mation. Subscribers may cancel their sub-
scription at any time, and new subscribers
are welcome.
To subscribe (or unsubscribe) to
FedEnviroNews, please visit:
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/
listserv.html
Check "federal facilities" and provide
requested information.
ENVIRONMENTAL SPOTLIGHT
Continued from page 4
Council on Environmental Quality and
the Office of Management and Budget
to promote the use of EMSs. Using met-
rics developed in coordination with the
interagency EMS workgroup, the
annual 13148 report for 2002 will form
the basis of a scorecard to be released
shortly. The scorecard will raise the
level of awareness about EMS and
13148 requirements, and it comple-
ments recent discussions of the Presi-
dent's Management Council about
improving environmental compliance
and performance. The Secretaries of the
Departments of Energy and Commerce
recently issued clear policy directives to
their agency senior management direct-
ing EMS implementation. And we're
working with the Environmental Coun-
cil of the States and the Multi-State
Working Group to review opportunities
for state and local governments to
engage federal facilities on EMSs.
A lot of great things are going on, and
we'll continue to strongly support these
efforts. I encourage each of you to learn
more about how EMSs can assist your
efforts to lead by example, be a good
neighbor, and be a good environmental
steward.
For more information about
Environmental Management
Systems visit:
www.epa.gov/ems or
www.ofee.gov/ems/ems.htm
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FNS Sponsors EMS Training for Facilities and
Senior Managers
Are you an EMS team member or
manager creating an EMS for your
federal facility? Are you working on
EMS development but don't understand
the hoops you need to jump through?
Are you a senior manager responsible
for doing a top management review of
the EMS at your facility but aren't sure
what questions to ask? If you answered
yes to any of those questions, there are
free training opportunities available.
Under the auspices of the Federal
Network for Sustainability (FNS), EPA
Regions 8, 9 and 10 are offering environ-
mental management system training for
federal agencies in the West. Larry
Woods of EPA Region 9 (San Francisco)
will present a two-day EMS Develop-
ment Workshop on July 16-17, 2003 at
the Ridgehaven Auditorium in San
Diego, Calif. This workshop will focus on
early steps in EMS development. It will
include exercises on policy development,
identification of aspects and impacts and
setting objectives and targets. The train-
ing will be the same as a well-received
workshop sponsored by Michele Wright
of EPARegion 10 (Seattle) on May 28-29,
2003. For more information on the San
Diego workshop, go to http://www.
epa.gov/region09/cross_pr/fedfac/03
agenda.html.
If your facility is located in Colorado,
Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North or
South Dakota, and your top manage-
ment would be interested in a module on
EMS Leadership Opportunities for
Senior Managers, contact Dianne Thiel
at (303) 312-6389 or thiel.dianne@
epa.gov. Dianne or her contractor may be
able to travel to your facility or to a cen-
trally located management meeting. If
your office is willing to help the trainers
customize the materials in advance, the
module could be specific to your agency.
Options for length of the session vary
from 1-2 hours. The goal of this session
is to help senior managers understand
their roles and responsibilities within an
EMS.
The Federal Network for Sustain-
ability is a voluntary, collaborative net-
work of federal agencies in the western
United States who strive to promote
sustainable environmental stewardship
and implement the President's Green-
ing the Government Executive Orders.
Through the FNS EMS initiative, a
series of training sessions is being
developed and presented for govern-
ment agencies. For more information on
FNS, go to www.federalsustainability.
org.
EPA Partners with DOE to Deliver EMS Training
EPA Regions 4 (Atlanta) and 6 (Dallas),
in partnership with the Department of
Energy, Strategic Petroleum Reserve
(SPR) sponsored a successful environ-
mental management system (EMS)
implementation training course the week
of February 24, 2003 in New Orleans, La.
The course included a half-day executive
meeting followed by a two-and-a-half-day
workshop. Over 100 federal employees
from 25 different departments, agencies
and bureaus attended. In course evalua-
tions, attendees gave the class a 4.4 on a
5-point scale.
The executive meeting informed
senior federal leaders about successful
EMS approaches in federal agencies.
Warren Behlau, from the Tennessee Val-
ley Authority (TVA), presented a sum-
mary of the TVA's EMS efforts. Since
implementing their EMS in 1996, TVA
saved over $7 million a year through
improvements in environmental train-
ing and hazardous materials manage-
Panel participants at the joint
EPA I DOE (SPR) environmental man-
agement systems training in New
Orleans, La.
ment, and has a better compliance
record and fewer reportable environ-
mental events. William Gibson of the
DOE/SPR summarized SPR's ISO
14001 registered EMS and explained
how SPR saved over $350,000 in four
years and improved its operational effi-
ciencies due to their EMS.
Workshop content was similar
to that given in other EPA train-
ings, and is detailed in related arti-
cles in this issue. Additionally,
attendees also heard from a panel of
officials who have implemented
EMS at federal facilities: Panel
members included: Marcia Stewart,
a support contractor from NASA
Stennis Space Center; Bill Bozzo,
DOE/SPR; Greg Allen, EPA Region 3
Environmental Science Center; Randall
Louvier, U.S. Coast Guard Integrated
Support Center, New Orleans.
Each panelist discussed steps they
took to implement an EMS and
described the benefits and challenges
faced during implementation. Workshop
participants had an opportunity for
questions following the panelists' pre-
sentations. Materials for the New
Orleans course are at: www.dynseg.
dyncorp .com/epa/ems/emsworkshop .nsf
FEDFACS 7

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EPA and VHA Launch Cooperative Environmental
Management Review Initiative
The U.S. EPA and the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health
Administration (VHA) have embarked on
a cooperative partnership in which EPA
will conduct environmental management
reviews (EMRs) at 17 VA medical centers
across the nation. This will be the largest
number of reviews conducted by EPA at
any one federal agency, and is one illus-
tration of EPA's goal to offer assistance to
federal facilities interested in improving
their compliance records, as well as meet-
ing the requirements of Executive Order
13148.
These EMRs are part of a larger part-
nership initiated in the summer of 2002
where VHA and EPA agreed to work
together on several initiatives to enhance
VHA's environmental compliance pro-
grams and address concerns of a similar
nature found during inspections at a num-
ber of VA medical centers over the last few
years. They are intended to help individ-
ual facilities improve operations and min-
imize impacts on the environment, and
assist VHA in designing and implement-
ing changes nationally to address common
environmental issues found nationwide at
the VA medical centers.
Reviews will be conducted by a team of
EPA and VHA experts who will interview
VA medical center
staff and managers
about facility opera-
tions and how these
impact the environ-
ment. Following each
review, EPA will pro-
vide VA medical cen-
ters a written report
with specific recom-
mendations	for
improvements. In
turn, VA medical cen-
ters will provide EPA a written plan lay-
ing out how they intend to make opera-
tional changes to improve environmental
programs. Reviews will also help the VHA
design environmental management sys-
tems required by Executive Order 13148.
The 17 medical facilities at which
EPA will conduct the reviews vary in
It is EPA's goal to offer
assistance to federal
facilities interested in
improving their
compliance records,
as well as meeting the
requirements of
Executive Order 13148.
EPA EVALUATES FACILITY ENVIRONMENTAL
PROGRAMS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Executive Order 13148 directs EPA to provide technical assistance in meeting the requirements of
the Order by conducting environmental management reviews (EMRs) at federal facilities. An EMR
is a collaborative effort between EPA and a federal facility to evaluate the facility's environmental
program and management systems. An EMR is conducted to determine how well the facility has
developed and implemented specific environmental management systems to ensure good envi-
ronmental performance. EMRs are voluntary and are initiated by an agency or facility. They are not
compliance-driven assessments, audits or inspections.
An EMR is generally coordinated out of one of EPA's ten regional offices, and maybe conducted
at any type of federal facility. Federal facilities which request EMRs determine the scope of the
review. There are several areas of inquiry for an EMR, including:
1.	Organizational Structure
2.	Environmental Commitment
3.	Staff resources, training, and development and internal and external communications
4.	Program evaluation, reporting and corrective action
5.	Environmental planning and risk management formality of environmental programs
To learn more about EMRs, and how your facility may schedule one, please contact EPA's Federal
Facility Program Manager in your region (listed next page).
size, location and operation, and repre-
sent the diverse universe of VA facilities.
This group ranges from large, multi-
campus facilities with primary, tertiary
and nursing home
care and research
operations with a
thousand or more
beds, to small facili-
ties with under one
hundred beds and
limited medical ser-
vices. Facilities are
located in all areas of
the country.
The VA conducted
a VA-only kick-off
teleconference with
over 50 representatives from selected
facilities in each of the VA Regional
offices. This "kickoff" was modeled after
the initiative that the VAhad with OSHA.
They found it made for smoother opera-
tions to speak with all of the selected
facilities at once to explain the concept,
goals, timeframe, etc. of the initiative.
Following this VA-only call, joint VA-EPA
meetings were held to further explain the
process and respond to questions. The VA
response has been favorable.
Some reviews have already begun,
including EPA's Region 4 office (Atlanta)
EMR at the VA Medical Center in Birm-
ingham, Ala. in March 2003. Prior to this
review, Region 4 and the VA southeastern
region representatives met to discuss VA
compliance issues and chose the Birming-
ham facility for an EMR. The Birming-
ham facility is a 313-bed, tertiary care,
university-affiliated facility, with no
incinerators, or boilers. EPA is currently
preparing a report of this review which
will be given to the facility in the next few
months. Further reviews are scheduled
for the rest of this year, with other
reviews to be done in 2004.
For further information, visit
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/assis-
tance/sectors/federal/epavha.html
8 FEDFACS

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EPA Conducts Environmental Reviews at NASA
Michoud Assembly Plant and Fort Polk
U.S. EPA Region 6 (Dallas) conducted
environmental management reviews
(EMRs) at two major federal facilities; the
NASA Michoud Assembly Plant in New
Orleans, La. and the U.S. Army Joint
Reserve Training Center (JRTC) at Fort
Polk, La. The EMRs included a review of
each facility's environmental program
and management system to determine
the extent protection programs and plans
have been developed and implemented.
Prior to each EMR and on-site visit,
EPA regional staff worked with each facil-
ity and designed the parameters and
scope of the review. Both Michoud and
Fort Polk reviews included an in-brief by
the EPA team, a tour, interviews with
appropriate staff from top management to
staff level, and an out-brief. NASA has
received EPA's report of its Michoud facil-
ity review, which took place in November
of 2002, and has been very open to imple-
menting several EMR recommendations
into its existing EMS.
Fort Polk is leading the way to trans-
forming Army operations to meet emerg-
ing security challenges and established
its installation-wide EMS in January
2003. EPA conducted its EMR in April
2003. The Installation Environmental
Quality Control Committee serves in the
top management role at the facility. Fort
Polk provided a briefing to EPA and the
Forest Service on the Army's transforma-
tion and Fort Polk's NEPA Analysis.
A draft report of the recently con-
ducted Fort Polk EMR is pending, but
already Fort Polk has indicated the
review was especially helpful with sug-
gested implementation measures such as
stronger internal inspection programs
and sponsorship of a special children's
emphasis program. EPA also met with
Fort Polk's Geographic Information Sys-
tem (GIS) staff and discussed the EPA
GIS Screening Tool and its possible use
for Fort Polk.
Environmental management review at
the U.S. Army Joint Reserve Training
Center, Fort Polk, La.
EPA Region 6 will also be conducting
EMRs this year at the Bureau of Prisons,
Fort Worth Medical Center, Texas; the
Veterans Administration, Dallas/Temple,
Texas; and is working with the U.S. Army
Depot, Corpus Christi, Texas, and the
Department of Energy Southwestern
Power Administration, Okla./Ark. on pos-
sible future EMRs.
FEDERAL FACILITIES PROGRAM MANAGERS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
HEADQUARTERS
Greg Snyder, Director
Planning, Prevention, &
Compliance Staff
US EPA
Federal Facilities Enforcement Office
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
snyder.greg@epa.gov
Phone: 202-564-4271
Fax: 202-501-0069
REGION 1
Anne Fenn
CT, ME, MA, NH, HI, VT
US EPA Region 1
Office of Environmental Stewardship
1 Congress Street
Suite 1100, Mail: SPP
Boston, MA 02114-2023
fenn.anne@epa.gov
Phone: 617-918-1805
Fax: 617-918-1810
REGION 2
Kathleen Malone
NJ, NY, PR, VI
US EPA Region 2
Compliance Assistance Section
290 Broadway, 21st Fl.
New York, NY 10007-1866
malone.kathleen
@epa.gov
Phone:
Phone: 212-637-4083
Fax: 212-637-4086
REGION 3
Bill Arguto
Denise Rigney
DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV
US EPA Region 3
Office of Environmental Programs
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
arguto.william@epa.gov
rigney.denise@epa.gov
Phone:215-814-3367 (BA)
Phone: 215-814-2726 (DR)
Fax: 215-814-2783
REGION 4
Mark Robertson
AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN
US EPA Region 4
Environmental Accountability
Division, Federal Facilities
61 Forsyth St., SW
Atlanta, GA 30303-8960
robertson.mark@epa.gov
Phone: 404-562-9639
Fax: 404-562-9598
REGION 5
Lee J. Regner
IL, IN, Ml, MN, OH, Wl
US EPA Region 5
Office of Enforcement & Compliance
Assurance
77 West Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60604-3507
regner.lee@epa.gov
Phone: 312-353-6478
Fax: 312-353-5374
REGION 6
Gabe Gruta
Joyce F. Stubblefield
AH, LA, NM, OK, TX
US EPA Region 6
Compliance Assurance &
Enforcement
Division
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202
gruta.gabriel@epa.gov
stubblefield.joyce@epa.gov
Phone: 214-665-2174 (GG)
Phone:214-665-6430 (JS)
Fax: 214-665-7446
REGION 7
Diana Jackson
IA, KS, MO, NE
US EPA Region 7
Enforcement Coordination Office
901 North 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
jackson.diana@epa.gov
Phone:913-551-7744
Fax: 913-551-9744
REGION 8
Dianne Thiel
CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY
US EPA Region 8
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202-2466
thiel.dianne@epa.gov:
Phone: 303-312-6389
Fax: 303-312-6044
REGION 9
Larry Woods
Tom Kelly
AZ, CA, HI, NV, Pacific Islands
US EPA Region 9
Cross-Media Division
75 Hawthorne St, CMD-2
San Francisco, CA 94105
woods.larry@epa.gov:
kelly.thomasp@epa.gov
Phone: 415-972-3857 (LW)
Phone: 415-972-3856 (TK)
Fax: 415-972-3562
REGION 10
Michele Wright
AK, ID, OH, ZVA
US EPA Region 10
Office of Enforcement & Compliance
(0EC-164)
1200 6th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
wright.michele @epa.gov
Phone: 206-553-1747
Fax: 206-553-7176
FEDFACS 9

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Enforcement News
"Economic Benefit" and "Size of
Business" Issues Decided in Fort
Wainwright Case
On June 5, the EPA Environmental Appeals Board (EAB)
upheld the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decision in the
Fort Wainwright case and decided that, as a matter of law, the
"economic benefit of noncompliance" and "size of business"
penalty factors of the Clean Air Act (CAA) are appropriate to
consider in an enforcement action against a federal facility.
The EAB remanded the matter to the ALJ for a penalty-phase
evidentiary hearing.
The issue stems out of EPA Region 10's (Seattle) case
against the U.S. Army Alaska Garrison - Fort Wainwright
Alaska, in which EPA is seeking a substantial penalty for
alleged CAA violations. The penalty total is based on over 10
years of almost continuous noncompliance at the facility. The
Chief ALJ issued her opinion on the issue in April 2002 and
held that CAA Section 113(e) penalty assessment criteria of
"economic benefit of noncompliance" and "size of business"
applied to the Army and may be taken into account in deter-
mining the penalty for the Army's violations. In June 2002, the
Army sought and was granted interlocutory review of the
Chief ALJ's decision to EAB. Oral argument before the EAB
took place in November 2002.
A copy of the current decision can be found at: http://www.
epa.gov/eab/new.htm
EPA Fines U.S. Postal Service for UST
Violations
The EPA, working jointly with Hawaii Department of Health
staff, fined the U.S. Postal Service in Hawaii $1,500 for vio-
lating federal underground storage tank (UST) regulations.
The Waikiki and the Honolulu Main Post Office were cited for
failing to monitor their tanks at least every 30 days for petro-
leum releases and for neglecting the required annual mainte-
nance on their leak detection systems.
The EPA also cited two other facilities in Hawaii for less sig-
nificant violations of the federal UST regulations as part of a
larger effort to protect groundwater sources and local habitat
in the state.
"The federal field citation program helps bring underground
storage tanks into compliance as quickly as possible without
putting the gasoline stations out of business," said Norwood
Scott, an underground storage tank inspector for the EPA
Region 9 (San Francisco). "Leak prevention is critical for
underground fuel storage tanks because a pin-sized hole can
release 400 gallons of fuel in a year's time, enough to foul mil-
lions of gallons of fresh water. Plus, given the reliance on
groundwater in Hawaii, it is vital to protect underground
water resources."
The EPA frequently conducts unannounced tank inspec-
tions. Owners and operators who receive a citation are
required to correct the violations, submit requested documen-
tation, and pay the settlement amount within 30 days. If they
do not pay the settlement amount and comply within this time,
they are subject to formal enforcement action that carries
penalties of up to $11,000 per violation per tank per day in
addition to the added cleanup costs for leaking tanks.
More information on EPA's underground storage tank pro-
gram can be obtained at: www.epa.gov/OUST/
EPA Region 8 Files Complaint Against BIA
Alleging Violations of UST Requirements
On April 1, 2003, EPA Region 8 (Denver) filed an Adminis-
trative Complaint against the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) - Standing Rock Agency, Fort Yates Law Enforcement
facility, Fort Yates, North Dakota. The BIA's Fort Yates Law
Enforcement facility is within the exterior boundaries of the
Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. The Complaint
alleges violations of the RCRA Subtitle I - Underground Stor-
age Tank (UST) requirements, and proposes a civil penalty of
$33,371. The alleged violations include failure to maintain
leak detection monitoring records, failure to operate leak
detection equipment in accordance with manufacturer's
instructions, failure to report a suspected release of regulated
product (gasoline), and failure to investigate a suspected
release of regulated product (gasoline).
Leaking USTs pose a serious threat to human health and
the environment, including groundwater contamination. Once
gasoline or chemicals get into groundwater, it is extremely
expensive, sometimes impossible, to clean up the contamina-
tion. It makes more sense to keep contamination out of the
water supplies in the first place, and that begins with leak
detection.
Accordingly, it is extremely important that the UST regula-
tions be followed and when they are not, that enforcement be
initiated to compel compliance and ensure adequate health
and environmental protections. Amy Swanson - EPA Region 8
(303) 312-6906, Andrew Cherry - FFEO (202) 564-2589.
10 FEDFACS

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In the Spotlight
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
HONORED FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL
STEWARDSHIP
On June 10, 2003, federal employees from
across the United States gathered in Wash-
ington, D.C., to accept White House "Closing
the Circle" Awards for their outstanding
environmental stewardship work. Twenty-
six teams from 15 states and the District of
Columbia were honored for outstanding mil-
itary and civilian facility efforts in such cat-
egories as environmental management sys-
tems, education and outreach, purchase of
environmentally preferable and biobased
products, sustainable design for buildings,
waste and pollution prevention, and recy-
cling. For more information on the awards,
please visit: http://www.ofee.gov/whats/
Federal_Employees_Honored.html
Department of the Interior
Environmental Management
Awards
The Department of Interior (DOI) recog-
nized four of its employees for outstand-
ing achievements made in environment
management in 2002. The employees
came from several DOI offices and
employed a variety of innovative
approaches for environmental manage-
ment and sustainability.
Kent Bullard, of Channel Islands
National Park, was recognized for his
commitment to learning and sharing
knowledge of sustainable practices. Pro-
jects he has championed have included
conversion of fleet vehicles to natural gas
and biolubricants, introduction of
biodiesel to the boat fleet operation, and
development of highly efficient waste
management practices required for an
island park setting. Mr. Bullard has also
provided vital web development service
for the NPS Environmental Leadership
and Green Energy Programs, by creating
and maintaining the Renew website
(www.nps.gov/renew) where NPS and
other facility managers can learn about
the efforts of others who are working
toward these same goals.
Don Durbin, of Dinosaur National
Park took the lead in recycling activities,
hazardous waste reduction, "green pro-
curement," and in promoting environ-
mental awareness within the park, local
community, and the Intermountain
Region. Mr. Durbin developed and show-
cased alternative energy sources to staff
and visitors by installing a solar-powered
system and interpretative display, con-
verting numerous park facilities from
propane and AC power over to 12V solar
systems, and using solar lighting, refrig-
eration, and swamp coolers at several
locations.
Gary Melvin of the Alaska Penin-
sula/Bercharof National Wildlife Refuge
was recognized for helping establish a
community-recycling program for the
remote area of King Salmon, Alaska by
arranging for these materials to be trans-
ported off the Refuge at no cost by outfit-
ters on return trips. Solar panels now
power electronic and radio equipment at
remote field camps. Melvin was also
responsible for replacing gravity-feed
diesel drip heaters with propane systems,
and using environmentally-preferable
deicer on roads. At Melvin's suggestion,
the environmental management system
at the Refuge now includes procedures for
grey water management, fuel efficient
operations of vehicles in a cold climate,
hot-draining oil cans to ensure clean dis-
posal, and other environmental perfor-
mance objectives.
Jim Behrmann, of DOI Region 6
Health and Aviation Division of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), demon-
strated innovative leadership in promot-
ing environmental stewardship in DOI
Region 6 Refuges and Fish Hatcheries.
Mr. Behrmann emphasized the relation-
ship between sustainable practices and
FWS mission and objectives by encourag-
ing the use of recycled products such as
re-refined lubricating oil,environmentally
preferable copy paper.
EPA Region 9 Recognizes DOE
Stanford Linear Accelerator
Center For Reducing Solvent
Emissions
EPA Region 9 (San Francisco) recog-
nized the Department of Energy's Stan-
ford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)
in Menlo Park, California as a "Cham-
pion of Green Government" for efforts to
reduce their use of ozone depleting sol-
vents and prevent thousands of pounds
of emissions.
Replacing the ozone depleting sol-
vents was a complex task for scientists
and staff at SLAC because when parts
and equipment being cleaned must be
returned to a particle accelerator, conta-
mination can interfere with subatomic
particle experiments. The Alternative
Solvents Team (Ali Farvid, Balbir Gosal,
Robert Kirby Harold Morales, Mary
Regan, Michael Hug, Butch Byers, and
Richard Cellamare) began by using x-
ray photoelectron spectroscopy to com-
pare the cleaning performance of exist-
ing and new cleaning methods. Once
this method was in place to determine
how "clean is clean", the team proceeded
to: (1) replace two vapor degreasers with
a low- water aqueous cleaning system;
(2) implement alternative organic-based
solvent in the cleaning of vacuum equip-
ment; and (3) purchase and install a
near zero emission vapor degreaser.
The result is a dramatic reduction in
solvent emissions from the facility's Plat-
ing Shop. From 1988 to 1998 average sol-
vent emissions for the Plating Shop aver-
aged 5,400 pounds per year. In 2001
solvent emissions were less than one
pound. Last year EPA Region 9 recog-
nized the Alternative Solvents Team as
Champions of Green Government for
their efforts, and Continued on page 14
FEDFACS 11

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In the News
EPA Regional CWA/SPCC
Compliance Assurance
Initiative for Federal Facilities
The recent extension of compliance dead-
lines for Clean Water Act (CWA) Spill
Prevention, Control, and Countermea-
sure (SPCC) regulations enable EPA
Region 4 (Atlanta) to conduct a novel two
year comprehensive compliance assur-
ance initiative for federal facilities. The
initiative will use an integrated strategy
consisting of compliance assistance fol-
lowed by inspections and enforcement to
ensure federal facility compliance with
these regulations.
The initiative will begin by identifying
a pool of federal facilities believed to be at
risk for noncompliance. Region 4 will
then implement this initiative in three
phases:
1)	Provide compliance assistance
through educational outreach to
selected federal facilities on common
compliance issues;
2)	Encourage selected federal facilities to
use EPA's Audit Policy to self-disclose
violations; and
3)	Conduct cluster compliance evaluation
inspections at selected federal facili-
ties.
In 1974, EPA established this rule
under authority of the CWA to ensure
regulated facilities prevented discharge
of oil into or upon navigable waters of the
United States or adjoining shorelines.
Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill,
Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act
(OPA) of 1990 that set additional require-
ments, including preparation of a Facility
Response Plan (FRP), for certain facilities
storing large quantities of oil.
On July 17, 2002 (167 Fed.Reg.
47,042; codified at 40 C.F.R, §112), EPA
published final amendments to the SPCC
rule pursuant to Section 311(j) of the
CWA. The rule was effective August 16,
2002. In this rule, EPA granted regulated
facilities six months to amend their SPCC
plans, and 12 months to implement them.
In response to facility requests for more
time to update or prepare plans in accor-
dance with the amendments, EPA
extended the compliance deadline to 18
months. Among the reasons for this
extension was a shortage of professional
engineers to certify that plans meet
requirements, and EPA's desire to collec-
tively address individual facility compli-
ance deadline extension requests. EPA
recently issued another and final rule on
April 17, 2003 that extended the compli-
ance deadlines to August 17, 2004 for
revised plans and February 18, 2005 for
implementation of the revised plans.
Even though there have been laws and
regulations since the 1970s ensuring pre-
vention of oil pollution, the regulated fed-
eral facility community compliance rate
is of concern. In 1995, EPA conducted a
survey of more than 2,600 oil storage
facilities in 23 different industries to ana-
lyze the effectiveness of EPA's SPCC pro-
gram. Specifically, this study investigated
whether a facility's overall compliance
with the SPCC program, as well as spe-
cific individual regulatory provisions,
impacted certain measures of oil spill
risk.
The analysis indicated that a large
proportion of facilities which met the
SPCC capacity threshold applicability
requirements may not actually be in full
compliance with SPCC regulatory
requirements. In addition, for several
years Region 4 has delivered outreach
assistance and conducted multi-media
compliance evaluation inspections at fed-
eral facilities and discovered many were
in noncompliance. Other regional studies
support this analysis and indicate 90 per-
cent of the 1200 federal facilities in the
region are likely out of compliance.
Region 4 is addressing this problem by
implementing a three-phase comprehen-
sive compliance assurance initiative on
federal facilities. Before the actual initia-
tive begins, Region 4 will identify a pool
of federal facilities believed to be at risk
for noncompliance. Region 4 will likely
select this pool from federal facilities with
deficient FRPs and SPCC plans, those
which reported oil spills, or have compli-
ance problems in other programs such as
CWA, National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES), and
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) subtitles I and J. Region 4 will
then compare its data with non-EPA data
bases and further identify federal facili-
ties which may be required to have
OPA/SPCC plans.
The first phase of the initiative will
occur during the amendment and imple-
mentation period of the OPA/SPCC regu-
lations. Region 4 will prepare and distrib-
ute to selected federal facilities materials
describing SPCC and OPA laws and reg-
ulations, instruct federal facilities on how
to comply and where to get further assis-
tance. Region 4 will then conduct compli-
ance assistance visits at selected federal
facilities to evaluate SPCC Plans and
FRPs. If deficiencies are found, EPA will
make recommendations to facility man-
agement on how best to modify and
implement plans. In the latter part of the
first phase, Region 4 will organize a
SPCC and OPA compliance assistance
seminar for the selected federal facilities.
In the second phase, Region 4 will
send out letters to the selected federal
facilities encouraging them to use the
EPA Audit Policy to disclose facility viola-
tions, especially those violations related
to SPCC/OPA requirements. After
approximately six months of encouraging
the use of the EPA Audit Policy, EPA will
begin the third phase by targeting com-
pliance evaluation inspections at those
selected federal facilities that have not
disclosed violations under the EPA Audit
Policy and appear to be at the highest
risk for noncompliance.
Region 4 believes this initiative will
improve OPA/SPCC federal facility com-
pliance rates in its region, and possibly
serve as a national Continued on page 13
12 FEDFACS

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IN THE NEWS/CWA/SPCC
Continued from page 12
In Brief
Regulatory Notes:
Executive Order 13212, Actions to Expedite
Energy-Related Projects, has been amended
and reissued as Executive Order 13302. The
amended Order was published in the Fed-
eral Register on May 15, 2003. (68 Fed.
Reg.27429). You may also view the amended
Order at: http://www.ofee.gov/eo/13302.pdf
Executive Order 12580, Superfund Imple-
mentation, was amended June 20,2003. The
amendments address Brownfields and can
be found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
news/releases/2003/06/20030620.html
OFEE Announces Federal Electronics Chal-
lenge - The Office of the Federal Environ-
mental Executive has announced the Federal
Electronics Challenge, a new initiative
designed to help the federal government
continue to improve the environmental stew-
ardship of its electronic assets. For more
information, please visit: http://www. fed-
eralelectronicschallenge.net/
Around the Country
U.S. EPA Region 6 Compliance Assistance
Activities (Federal Facility Program Manager:
Joyce Stubblefield 214-665-6430')
EPA Region 6 (Dallas) was invited to partici-
pate at the U.S. Postal Service Southwest
Area Environmental Compliance staff meet-
ing held in November 2002. Several environ-
mental topics were covered by EPA Staff,
Kara McCoy-Belle (EMRs), Brent Larson
("No Exposure," Storm Water), John
Cernero (On-site fueling and UST), and Gabe
Gruta (RCRA 6002 Inspections).
EPA invited to U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Prisons (BOP) South Central
Regional Office to discuss water related
issues and Environmental Management
Reviews. In addition, EPA has had the oppor-
tunity to hold conference calls and discus-
sions with several BOP sites throughout
Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
EPA developed an environmental manage-
ment review fact sheet for the Federal Execu-
tive Board to use attheir meetings about envi-
ronmental management system workshops.
The executive meeting was held in New
Orleans, Louisiana, in February2003. EPA(Kara
McCoy-Belle) consulted with the Dallas FEB
office on the fact sheet. Ms. Marvel Robertson
from the New Orleans Federal Executive
Board opened the executive meeting.
EPA Regions 4 and 6 Federal Facilities Pro-
grams and the Region 6 Pollution Prevention
(P2) Roundtable collaborated on its annual
meeting in New Orleans, LA on February 25-
28,2003. Region and state P2 program activi-
ties and strategies were discussed, including
opportunities for further collaboration. A
highlight of the meeting was a presentation
from representatives of the Department of
Energy Strategic Petroleum Reserve, who
described the pollution reductions achieved
with their P2 based EMS. This collaborative
opportunity provided excellent new insights,
perspectives, contacts and new partnerships
for the Pollution Prevention Roundtable,
states and federal facilities. Region 6: Joy
Campbell, P2; Gabriel Gruta, FF; Region 4:
Tony Shelton, FF.
model for other cooperative efforts to
improve federal facility compliance. EPA
anticipates that the initiative will bolster
the collaborative relationship between
the federal facility community and EPA,
thus improving their compliance rates for
other environmental statutory require-
ments.
EPA Region 4 Reorganizing
Program with Help of States
and Federal Facilities
The Federal Facilities Branch (FFB) of
the Waste Management Division, EPA
Region 4 (Atlanta) is reorganizing and
refocusing its program through a unique
effort which includes internal and exter-
nal surveys with staff, states and other
federal agencies. The effort is intended to
fully analyze and understand program
needs, while allowing staff and clients a
role in designing a program which meets
those goals.
The FFB oversees cleanup of federal
facilities in its eight states. In the mid-
1990s, FFB began to partner with both
states and federal agencies to clean up
federal facilities in its region. Partnering
teams share technical and procedural
information and decisions, and train par-
ticipants in group dynamics and interper-
sonal and intra-organizational tier com-
munication. Because of these partnering
efforts, cleanup operations have become
more efficient and require fewer staff.
In response to a recent internal reor-
ganization and decreased Superfund
resources, FFB management decided a
revitalization would be useful. With the
help of a consultant, surveys were con-
ducted on an internet interface in order to
ensure confidentiality. In addition to EPA
federal agencies and states were also
invited to participate. External response
to the survey was 66 percent, and
included all regional states, all Depart-
ment of Defense services, and the Depart-
ment of Energy. After survey results were
compiled and analyzed, facilitated meet-
ings with FFB management and staff
were held to discuss and evaluate infor-
mation, and to develop an action plan for
prioritization of changes and implemen-
tation.
The reorganization effort is ongoing.
Implementation teams have instituted
short-term solutions for some issues, and
are conducting additional analysis for
others. The FFB management is opti-
mistic this effort will lead to many posi-
tive changes, with happier and more pro-
ductive Branch employees and more sat-
isfied external customers. This effort will
continue as initial issues are resolved and
survey results point to further improve-
ments. For further information on this
effort, please contact Annie Godfrey at:
godfrey.annie@epa.gov.
FEDFACS 13

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New Federal Facilities Stewardship
& Compliance Center
FEDERAL AGENCY
HAZARDOUS WASTE
COMPLIANCE DOCKET
UPDATE
The seventeenth update to the Federal
Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance
Docket will be published in July 2003. The
Docket identifies federal facilities which
have hazardous waste or have the potential
to release hazardous waste into the environ-
ment.
Section 120(c) of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as
amended by the Superfund Amendments
and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA),
requires EPA to establish the Docket. It was
first published February 12, 1988, and is
updated periodically. The Docket can be
viewed at: www.epa.gov/compliance/
c I ea n u p/f e d e ra l/in d ex. htm I Additional infor-
mation can be obtained from Augusta Wills:
wills.augusta@epa.gov
IN THE SPOTLIGHT/SLAC
Continued from page 11
further the goals of Executive Order
13148 to eliminate ozone-depleting sub-
stances.
NASA Using Landfill Gas For
Energy
EPA recognized the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) as the
first federal agency to directly use landfill
gas to produce energy at one of its facili-
ties, the Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md. NASA's decision to use
landfill gas, a renewable energy source,
will save taxpayers millions of dollars over
the next 10 years, and also prevent as
much pollution annually as planting
47,000 acres of trees, or removing 35,000
cars from Maryland's roads. EPA's Landfill
Methane Outreach Program is a voluntary
assistance and partnership program that
promotes the use of landfill gas as a renew-
able energy source. For more information
on EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Pro-
gram, visit: http://www. epa.gov/lmop
EPA's Federal Facilities Enforcement
Office (FFEO) has launched an initia-
tive to create a new and enhanced stew-
ardship and compliance assistance center
for federal facilities. With this initiative,
FFEO intends to enhance and supple-
ment the existing virtual compliance
assistance center for federal facilities,
FedSite (www.epa.gov/fedsite). The new
web-based Center will be independent,
supported and directed by federal agen-
cies, and will integrate both good prac-
tices and compliance assistance resources
of the federal government in one site.
Among the services likely to be offered
federal facilities by the new Center will be
compliance assistance tools, pollution pre-
vention information, environmental man-
agement system information, as well as
interactive training and certification
opportunities. In addition, the Center will
provide the latest regulatory/executive
EPA/FORT MEADE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
CENTER RECEIVES IS014001 CERTIFICATION
Continued from page 3
14000 technical and environmental con-
ferences, and is considered by many to
be a model for federal EMS efforts.
In particular, ESC has been recog-
nized by the federal community for its
robust documentation of EMS elements
such as the activities and impacts regis-
ter and environmental management pro-
gram form. These documents have been
used as exhibits in EMS training to pro-
vide examples of how the EMS elements
are addressed during implementation
and the outcome of initial EMS efforts
under "real world" circumstances.
The Ft. Meade Science Center experi-
ence is particularly important due to the
facility's status as a small (165 people),
civilian facility. This type of facility rep-
resents a significant portion of the fed-
eral community affected by the E.O.
13148 requirement to implement an
order information, green product/vendor
information and listserver subscription
services. The new Center is envisioned as
an essential tool in assisting federal agen-
cies timely meet the EMS requirements of
Executive Order 13148.
FFEO staff have begun meeting with
agencies to discuss plans for the new Cen-
ter. FFEO is soliciting suggestions con-
cerning Center governance, structure and
services agencies identify as necessary to
further environmental stewardship and
compliance. FFEO will soon publish a
request for initial proposals (RFIP) in the
Federal Register requesting suggestions
about the Center. The new Federal Facil-
ities Stewardship and Compliance Center
is expected to be operational by April next
year. For more information or to offer
comments or suggestions about the new
Center, please contact Mike Shields at
202-564-9035 or shields.mike@epa.gov.
EMS. The Center has provided presenta-
tions during training exercises for broad
federal audiences and has partnered
with EPA's Office of Acquisition and
Resource Management to produce a
series of multi-media training modules
that lead organizations through the
implementation process.
Greg Allen, of EPA Region 3, also
received a White House Closing the Cir-
cle award for the associated EMS train-
ing modules. The training modules are
rich with examples, templates, and
detailed information from the Center
and are helping the 37 EPA facilities and
several other federal agencies currently
implementing EMSs. Several other fed-
eral agencies have expressed interest in
using the training modules as part their
implementation strategy. Agencies inter-
ested in learning more about the Cen-
ter's EMS, or obtaining training modules
may contact Greg Allen at
allen.greg@epa.gov or Jerry Oakley at
oakley.jerry@epa.gov.
14 FEDFACS

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UpcomingEvents
FNS Sponsors EMS Training for
Facilities and Senior Managers
July 16-17,2003, San Diego
Under the auspices of the Federal Network for Sustain-
ability (FNS), EPA Regions 8 (Denver), 9 (San Francisco)
and 10 (Seattle) are offering environmental manage-
ment system training for federal agencies in the west-
ern states, July 16-17, 2003 in San Diego, CA. This
workshop will focus on early steps in EMS develop-
ment, and include exercises on policy development,
identification of aspects and impacts and setting objec-
tives and targets. For more information on the San
Diego workshop, please visit: http://www.epa.
gov/region09/cross_pr/fedfac/03agenda.html
Super Energy Savings Performance
Contracting Workshop
July 22-23, Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Man-
agement Program is presenting a free workshop for
federal employees involved in energy management,
engineering, and procurement. Attendees will learn
how to lower capital costs while reducing long-term
energy and water bills. For further information or to
register, call (703) 243-8343.
Federal Facility Workshop on EMS
August 5-7,2003, Kansas City, Kansas.
U.S. EPA Regions 5 (Chicago) and 7 (Kansas City) will
host a free EMS training, "Designing Your EMS: A Fed-
eral Facilities Workshop" on August 5-7, 2003, in
Kansas City, Kansas. This workshop is designed for fed-
eral facility EMS coordinators and team members, and
others at federal facilities who control operational
activities and/or report on their facility's environmental
performance. The training will cover what an EMS is,
EMS requirements under Executive Order 13148, and
designing and implementing an EMS for facility opera-
tions. For more information or to register, please visit:
www.epa.gov/region7/ EMS_W0RKSH0P
2003 RCRA National Meeting
August 12 -15, Washington, DC.
"RCRA: Putting Resource Conservation into RCRA."
This year along with EPA, the meeting is being
cosponsored by the Air & Waste Management
Association (A&WMA), Solid Waste Association of
North America (SWANA), International City/County
Management Association (ICMA), and Association
of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management
Officials (ASTSWM0). This year's meeting focuses
on the Resource Conservation Challenge, which is a
major national effort to find ways to conserve nat-
ural resources through waste reduction and energy
recovery programs. For more information please
visit: www.epa.gov/ osw/meeting
NDIA8th Annual Joint Services
Pollution Prevention & Hazardous
Waste Management Conference
and Expo
San Antonio, TX, August 11-14.
The Conference theme is "Sustaining Readiness
Through Environmental Stewardship". This confer-
ence brings together professionals from military
services, industry, academia, and local, state and
federal agencies to share ideas and success stories
relating to pollution prevention and hazardous
waste management. Visit the conference website
at: www.p2-hwmconference.com
Federal Facilities Manager's
Symposium
August 20 - 22,2003, Portland, Oregon.
The Federal Facilities Manager's Symposium, enti-
tled "Learning from the Past, Building for the
Future," is designed to promote better understand-
ing and foster better communication on critical fed-
eral facilties issues that are important to the states.
The Symposium is sponsored by ASTSWMO and is
being organized by the ASTSWMO Federal Facili-
ties Training and Technology Transfer (T3) Focus
Group. For more information please contact Dania
Rodriguez at ASTSWMO daniar@sso.org, 202-624-
5973.
EPA/State/DoD Region 3 Federal
Facilities Conference
Sept. 9- 11,2003, Williamsburg, I/A
EPA Region 3 (Philadelphia) will host its annual col-
loquium in Williamsburg, VA on Sept. 9 - 11, 2003.
This colloquium, themed "Interdisciplinary Environ-
mental Management - Integrating Resources for
Environmental Excellence" is co-hosted with Region
3 states, Department of Defense and the General
Services Administration. Session and training topics
include EMSs, Chesapeake Bay & Natural Resources,
remediation, pollution prevention and innovation,
range management and encroachment, hazardous
waste management, NEPA and coastal zone man-
agement, and more. Registration and other prelimi-
nary information can be found at: http://www.
epa.gov/reg3esd1/fedfac/index.html or by contacting
Bill Arguto at arguto.william@epa.gov or Denise
Rigney at rigney.denise@epa.gov
"Partners to Promote Stewardship"
U.S. EPA Region 8 (Denver), the
National Park Service - Inter-mountain
Region, Peaks to Prairies
Sept 29 - Oct. 2, 2003, Grand Teton National
Park, Wyoming
The Pollution Prevention Information Center and
regional states are sponsoring "Sharing Common
Ground: Partners to Promote Stewardship" Sept. 29 -
Oct. 2, 2003 in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
This conference is for federal, state and local land
managers, regulatory agencies, and non-profit and
private sector organizations involved in public land
use, which are looking for ways to work cooperatively
to sustain the wealth of environmental resources on
public lands and the surrounding communities. For
more information please visit: http://www.meslIc.
net/conference
2003 International U.S. Green Building
Conference and Expo, USACE Various
Environmental Training
November 12-14,2003, Pittsburgh, PA
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Profes-
sional Development Support Center has released the
fiscal year 2003 course schedule, at http://pdsc.
usace.army.mil/courseschedule.asp. Information on
various environmental courses may be found on the
site either by searching with a keyword or by using
the course number (CN). Environmental courses
include Clean Air Act Workshop (CN 443),
CERCLA/RCRA Remediation Processes, (CN 356)
Environmental Regulatory Practical Application (CN
398), and many others.
FEDFACS IS

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LIST OF
ACRONYMS
ALJ
Administrative Law Judge
BIA
Bureau of Indian Affairs
BOP
Bureau of Prisons
CAA
Clean Air Act
CEMP
Code of Environmental

Management Principles
CERCLA
Comprehensive

Environmental Response,

Compensation and

Liability Act
CWA
Clean Water Act
DoD
Department of Defense
DOE
Department of Energy
DOI
Department of the Interior
EAB
Environmental Appeals

Board
EMR
Environmental Management

Review
EMS
Environmental Management

System
EO
Executive Order
EPA
Environmental Protection

Agency
ESC
Fort Meade Environmental

Science Center
ESE
Environmental Service

Center
FFB
Federal Facilities Branch
FFEO
Federal Facilities

Enforcement Office
FNS
Federal Network for

Sustainability
FRP
Facility Response Plan
FWS
Fish and Wldlife Service
GIS
Geographic Information

System
ISMS
Integrated Safety

Management System
ISO
International Organization

for Standardization
NASA
National Aeronautics and

Space Administration
NEPA
National Environmental

Policy Act
NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System
NPS
National Park Service
OFEE
Office of the Federal

Environmental Executive
OPA
Oil Pollution Act
OPPTS
Office of Prevention,

Pesticides, and Toxic

Substances
OSHA
Occupational Safety and

Health Act
P2
Pollution Prevention
RCRA
Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act
SARA
Superfund Amendments and

Reauthorization Act
SLAC
Stanford Linear Accelerator

Center
SPCC
Spill Prevention Control and

Countermeasure
SPR
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
TCEQ
Texas Commission on

Environmental Quality
TVA
Tennessee Valley Authority
USACE
U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers
UST
Underground Storage Tank
VHA
Veterans Health

Administration
VISN
Veterans Integrated Service

Network
United States Environmental
Protection Agency (2261)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
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Address Correction Requested
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