Winter 2005 ISSUE #18

FedFacs

an environmental bulletin for federal facilities

FedCenter Launched! Environmental

Spotlight

I

n December 2002, I

began the most fulfilling phase of my

career, as a presidential appointee in the

administration of

President George W.

Bush. I joined the

Continued on page 6

Printed on Recycled Paper

Federal Stewardship and Compliance Assistance Center Debuts 

Fronmental Stewardship and CompliOctober 2004. FedCenter is designed as

a one­stop technical and compliance

assistance center focused solely on the

environmental needs of the 32,000 federal facilities. 

FedCenter assists federal facilities,

especially domestic civilian agencies,

which have significant compliance and

stewardship needs but lack adequate

resources to meet them.

FedCenter replaces FedSite, the enviInside

2

3 Feds Commit to Environmental 

Stewardship of Electronics

7

8

9

10 EMR News

Piñero Plots a Course as 

Federal Environmental 

Executive

administration as the Deputy Federal

Environmental Executive, and since

September of 2004 and the departure of

tive (FEE) John Howard, as the FEE. It

is indeed the ideal job. 

First and foremost, it is an honor and

privilege to work in public service as a

use all the experiences and skills I

developed in 24 years of working in the

environmental field. Last, but by no

means least, I help the largest organization in the world, the United States 

government, move towards more sustainable, and mission­supporting, environmental performance.

The Office of Federal Environmental

Executive (OFEE), created by Executive

Order in 1993, initially focused on recycling and waste prevention. Its current

mission is even broader: promoting environmental stewardship throughout the

federal government. 

Sustainable environmental stewardship is attained through a commitment

to environmental management concepts

and strategies, and the promotion and

implementation of sustainable practices.

Sustainable practices include sustainable buildings, electronics stewardship,

green purchasing

ronmental compliance assistance center

for federal facilities and formerly

funded and managed by the U.S. Enviter is an independently managed, webbased environmental compliance

assistance site.

The new center contains most of the

content from the former FedSite,

has been vastly expanded and improved

with additional resources and information. It is updated daily with new information, and so far has generated nearly

6,000 site visits per month. 

The new site is currently underwritten

Research Development Center/Construction Engineering Research Laboratory

(ERDC/CERL) and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE).

and directed by participating federal

ture will permit federal agencies to

access expanded environmental compliance information. 

FedCenter representatives are

actively soliciting participation from all

federal agencies to join in governing,

promoting, financially supporting, and

tent. (See related article p. 5)

The Center is designed to leverage the

edge of environmental compliance and

stewardship by linking to and building on

existing or emerging resources of its 

federal partners.  Continued on page 5

edCenter, the Federal Facilities Enviance Assistance Center, was launched in

EPA, Army Corps Watershed Agreement

4­6 FedCenter.gov Features

EPA Green Power Purchase

National Guard Transforming with EMS

NPS San Antonio Missions Win Award

11 In Brief and Enforcement News

former Federal Environmental Execupresidential appointee. Secondly, I can

ronmental Protection Agency. FedCenincluding the virtual facility tour, but

by EPA’s Federal Facilities Enforcement

Office (FFEO), and is a joint initiative of

FFEO, the Army Corps of Engineering

EPA’s FFEO initiated the idea of an independent center, and worked for over a

year with the OFEE and ERDC/CERL to

develop and launch FedCenter. 

Eventually, FedCenter will be funded

agencies. This unique operational strucguiding the Center’s activities and confederal government’s collective knowlwww.fedcenter.gov 
EPA, Army Corps Sign Watershed Management Agreement

On November 19, 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed the

Watershed Management Partnership

Agreement to promote watershed health,

economic sustainability, and community

vitality through effective management of

the nation's watersheds. This partnership will foster innovative approaches to

the many challenges facing watersheds.

EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator

for Water, Ben Grumbles and Assistant

Secretary of the Army for Civil Works,

John Paul Woodley, Jr., signed the partnership agreement.

“This partnership with the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers will foster

innovative approaches to finding effecFedFacs

is published by EPA’s Federal

Facilities Enforcement Office. 

EPA #300­N­05­003

Marie Muller, FFEO, Editor

Robin Foster, 

Legin Group, Layout

Federal Facilities Enforcement Office

Office of Enforcement and Compliance 

Assurance

U.S. EPA (2261A)

1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20460

Phone: 202­564­2510

Fax: 202­501­0069

Internet: www.epa.gov/compliance/

resources/newsletters/civil/fedfac/

index.html

tive answers to the many challenges

and demands facing the nation’s watersheds today and in the future,” said

Grumbles. “Managing water resources

on a holistic watershed basis makes

good sense—environmentally, financially, and

shed health and management, we create

a win­win partnership for the agencies

and the nation.”

The agreement focuses on sustainable economic development, protection,

and restoration efforts in a public inclusive, and collaborative

socially. This manner at the national, This partnership will foster agreement will innovative approaches to the  regional and local

enable EPA and watershed level. Other

the Corps to many challenges facing the  objectives include faciliwork together tating communication nation’s watersheds.

to try to resolve

conflicts and seek consensus among the

many different interests within a watershed concerning the future of these critical national resources.” 

Woodley also praised the agreement.

“This partnership agreement is a great

example of the benefits that can be created when federal agencies come

together to work toward a common goal

and share a common vision. By combining the organizational strengths and

capabilities of the Corps and EPA’s

Office of Water as they relate to wateramong all stakeholders

and interested parties, enhancing data

exchange, and promoting the development of innovative approaches to water

resource and watershed management. 

For a copy of the partnership agreement and more information on wetlands

management, visit the Corps’ Regulatory Branch website at: http://www

.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwo

/reg/, EPA’s website at: http://www.epa

.gov/owow/wetlands/, or the wetlands

mitigation website at: http://www

.mitigationactionplan.gov.

EPA PROPOSES TO MODIFY TRI 

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

EPA announced the first of two proposed rules intended to reduce the time and resources

needed to submit annual reports to EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). EPA believes the “Toxics Release Inventory Forms Modification Rule” will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness

of the TRI program, while continuing to provide the public with the same high level of information about chemical releases and waste management in their communities.

Comments on the proposed rule are due to EPA by March 11, 2005. For further information

on this proposed rule or ways to submit comments on EPA’s proposal, visit the TRI Web Site at:

http://epa.gov/tri/tridata/tier3/formsmodrule.html or contact Ms. Shelley Fudge 202­566­0674,

U.S. EPA, Office of Environmental Information, TRI Program Division, Washington, D.C. (EST);

fudge.shelley@epa.gov or the Emergency Planning and Community Right­to­Know Hotline,

Washington, D.C., (toll free) 1­800­424­9346 (EST). In Virginia or Alaska, call: 703­412­9810 (EST)

or (toll free) TDD: 1­800­553­7672 (EST).

.gov/compliance/resources/newsletters/civil/fedfac/index.html or FedCenter at: http://

FEDFACS ON THE WEB

This and past issues of FedFacs can be found on EPA’s website at: http://www.epa

www.fedcenter.gov/resources/newsletters

2 FEDFACS
Federal Agencies Commit to Environmental 

Stewardship of Electronics

I

n November 2004, the Executive

Office of the President, Departments

of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Health

and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, Transportation,

Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency and General Services

Administration signed a Memorandum

of Understanding (MOU) to develop and

promote common strategies for using

environmentally sustainable technologies and practices. The MOU is

intended to improve the quality, performance and environmental management

of federal electronic assets throughout

their life cycle.

The federal government invests significant resources in electronic assets.

In FY 2005, it is anticipated it will

spend approximately $60 billion on

information technology (IT) equipment,

software, infrastructure and services.

For computers alone, the federal government represents about seven percent

of the world demand. This provides a

tremendous opportunity to positively

influence the marketplace. 

Electronics are also a new and

rapidly growing segment of the waste

stream. The United States discarded

more than 2 million tons of electronics

in 2001. Significant quantities of the

nation’s IT assets are ending up in storage closets, warehouses or landfills, or

overseas where there are less rigorous

environmental standards for disposal

than in the United States. 

Most of the federal government’s 1.8

million employees have a personal computer. Given a three­year life cycle, the

government discards approximately

10,000 computers each week. The eleven

agencies and departments which became

charter signatories represent approximately $50 billion, or 83 percent of the

total annual IT budget for the federal

government. 

The combined purchasing power of the

government will help transform the

MOU SIGNATORIES COMMIT TO:

> Increase demand for more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable

electronic equipment that is cost­effective, while maintaining or improving

equipment quality and performance;

> Promote the implementation of best life cycle management practices for electronic equipment and share best practices with those outside the federal government;

> Reduce the economic and environmental life cycle costs of federal electronic

equipment;

> Promote the market growth and infrastructure for the reuse, de­manufacturing

and recycling of obsolete electronic equipment; and

> Coordinate and cooperate on other public and private sector efforts achieving

similar objectives.

availability of IT products and services

that are environmentally sustainable in

the marketplace.

Signatories are also in the Federal

Electronics Challenge (FEC). The FEC is

a voluntary partnership program that

encourages federal departments, agencies and facilities to purchase more environmentally­sound electronic products,

reduce impacts of electronic products during use, and manage obsolete electronics

in an environmentally safe way. In addition to the 11 agencies and departments,

24 federal facilities from seven different

federal agencies, together representing

more than 25,000 employees, have signed

as partners to the FEC. 

A list of the participating agencies

and facilities is on the FEC website,

http://www.federalelectronicschallenge

.net. The MOU is available at: http://

www.ofee.gov/finalmou.pdf.

CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY 

RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT COMPUTER DISPOSAL

EPA awarded its first contracts to help federal agencies dispose of computers and other used

electronic equipment in an environmentally responsible manner. The “Government­Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) for Recycling Electronics and Asset Disposition (READ)” provides federal

agencies with a dependable method of properly recycling and disposing of excess or obsolete

electronic equipment.

The GWAC is composed of eight contracts (three nationwide, three in the eastern U.S. and two

in western U.S.) awarded to small businesses. Contractors must maintain an audit trail to the

equipment's final destination to ensure reclamation and recycling efforts are documented. 

The contracts will also maximize revenues from usable electronic equipment currently in storage through a share­in­savings (SiS) program. Under SiS, the contractor will attempt to identify

opportunities to save costs associated with recycling efforts and share those savings with federal

agencies to offset the latter's recycling costs.

For more information on the READ program visit: http://www.epa.gov/oamhpod1/admin

_placement/0300115/fact.htm

FEDFACS 3
FedCenter.gov

Shown above is the home page for FedCenter, the new federal facilities environmental stewardship and compliance assistance center. Center information is updated daily, and new content on EMS, green procurement, compliance, energy and

other facility information will be added soon.

FEDCENTER SERVICES: COMPLIANCE TRACKING TOOLS

FedCenter enables users to link to the latest EPA environmental compliance information on individual federal facilities. The Center offers links to compliance tracking tools including the Online Tracking Information System (OTIS) and the Federal Agency Compliance Tracking System (FACTS). OTIS

and FACTS can be used for many functions, including planning, targeting, analysis, data quality review, and pre­inspection review. 

Check out the latest compliance information on your facility at FedCenter.gov. 

Visit: http://www.fedcenter.gov/resources/complianceauditing/ and click on links on right sidebar.

4 FEDFACS
FedCenter.gov

FEDCENTER LAUNCHED

Continued from page 1

By sharing limited resources and costs,

federal facilities can use FedCenter to

help them meet their growing environmental compliance assistance needs. 

The new center is managed under an

inter­governmental agreement with

ERDC/CERL. ERDC/CERL has previous

experience operating similar web­based

sites for the Department of Defense and

has worked with the federal community

in developing its popular environmental

audit protocols, the TEAM Guide. 

Visit FedCenter at: http://www.fed

center.gov. For further information about

FedCenter please contact: Steve Luzzi,

Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, IL 61822, stephen.t

.luzzi@erdc.usace.army.mil; 217­373­5894

or 800­USA­CERL.

Become a FedCenter Partner!

FedCenter provides environmental compliance and stewardship services for the U.S.

government. The site and its content is exclusively for federal agencies, and over time

will be directed and developed by a multi­agency, federal partnership. 

FedCenter’s success as a multi­agency partnership depends on the technical expertise and financial support of member federal agencies. FedCenter is looking for more federal partners, and current members will be contacting your federal agency in the coming weeks. 

While FedCenter is initially being funded

by EPA, its activities over time will be

determined and directed by participating

federal agencies. In order to further

ensure the success of FedCenter, and truly

make this a federal government­wide partnership, agencies will be asked to contribute and oversee the direction and activities of the Center.

Has your agency developed compliance assistance information that would be of

interest to other federal agencies? If so, please let FedCenter know and we may post it

and make it available to others. 

Do you have an environmental success story? FedCenter plans to periodically showcase environmental initiatives which improved environmental compliance.

By pooling limited environmental resources to direct and support FedCenter, participating agencies will create a more effective compliance assistance resource focused

exclusively on their particular environmental needs. 

Join the FedCenter Partnership!

FedCenter is your compliance assistance center. Help us make it more effective and

responsive by becoming a partner. To join, or get additional information, please contact:

FedCenter at http://www.fedcenter.gov; or Mike Shields at 202­564­9035, shields.mike

@epa.gov; or Steve Luzzi at: 217­373­5894, stephen.t.luzzi@erdc.usace.army.mil.

FEDCENTER’S MISSION: 

> Improve federal agency environmental compliance and promote environmental stewardship;

> Leverage federal environmental expertise and limited resources to meet

regulatory needs; 

> Implement the Presidential Management Council’s initiative to improve 

federal environmental, health and safety compliance and performance; and 

> Meet environmental management system (EMS) commitments under 

Presidential Executive Order 13148. 

FEDCENTER SERVICES

FedCenter.gov offers a wide assortment of

compliance assistance tools and information in a number of vital environmental

areas:

• Federal and state regulatory requirements for various facility activities 

• P2 opportunities and best management

practices 

• State environmental program links 

• Access to DoD and other environmental

assistance centers 

• Environmental conferences, meetings,

training, and workshops information 

• Applicable laws and Executive Orders

• Industry sector­specific newsletters

• Federal facility environmental compliance information (OTIS/FACTS) links.

In time and after consultation with its federal partners, FedCenter will develop a variety of assistance services specific to federal agency needs, including: 

• EMS training and auditing 

• “Ask an Expert” hotline service 

• Vendor directories for green products 

• Regulatory “watch alert”

• Subject­matter expert discussion lists

and various fee­for­service activities. 

FEDFACS 5
FedCenter.gov

CORPS’ ERDC/CERL PROVIDES TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR FEDCENTER

When EPA’s Federal Facility Enforcement Office reached out to the federal community for help in implementing FedCenter, a central part of its

mission to assist, educate, and ensure that federal facility managers

have timely access to environmental regulatory information, it turned to

the Army Corps of Engineers’ environmental information system experts

at the Environmental Research Development Center/Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC/CERL).

For FedCenter.gov, ERDC/CERL is using state­of­the­art technology to

ensure the federal community gets environmental information quickly and

efficiently. ERDC/CERL’s extensive knowledge and use of these tools in the

Corps’ own information technology environment will provide a sturdy

foundation upon which to expand its support and enable federal facilities

to have the necessary tools to meet their environmental obligations.

This is not the first time ERDC/CERL has helped the federal environmental community with its information­sharing needs. Since 1974,

ERDC/CERL has built a solid reputation of developing and fielding information technology solutions for the federal environmental community.

This expertise and experience played a major role in EPA’s decision to

entrust ERDC/CERL with this important mission.

The ERDC/CERL, located in Champaign, Ill., served for the past 12

years as developer and operator of the Department of Defense’s premier environmental resource – the Defense Environmental Network &

Information eXchange (DENIX). DENIX serves as the central collaboration platform and information clearinghouse for environment, safety and

occupational health news, information, policy and guidance for the DoD

community.

Prior to this, ERDC/CERL pioneered one of the first online environmental information systems, the Environmental Technical Information

System (ETIS), whose flagship product was the Computer­aided Environmental Legislative Database System (CELDS), a database of federal and state regulatory abstracts. ERDC/CERL, in collaboration with

the EPA, Department of Energy and other federal agencies also

developed the EnviroText Retrieval System (ETRS), the successor to

ETIS.

For more information on the software, document management, collaboration capabilities and other technology used by ERDC/CERL on

FedCenter, please contact Steve Luzzi, FedCenter Site Manager at

ERDC/CERL, 217­373­5894, stephen.t.luzzi@erdc.usace.army.mil.

ENVIRONMENTAL SPOTLIGHT

Continued from page 1

and innovative waste prevention. 

OFEE, with its small, committed

staff, helps the federal government be

better environmental stewards by

bringing agencies together to discuss

common issues and share ideas, raising

awareness, and acting as a liaison

between agency environmental efforts

and the  Administration. As John

Howard used to say, “OFEE succeeds

when we connect the dots.” 

As a White House office and task

force, OFEE has the luxury of being

interagency, and can verbalize policies

in the context of daily agency operations. Having a connection to EPA

allows OFEE to partner and leverage

the immense environmental intellect in

that agency to support these efforts. 

James Connaughton, Chairman of the

President’s Council on Environmental

Quality (CEQ), has indicated this Administration will continue to promote environmental stewardship in the federal

government as a way to protect natural

resources and support mission efficiency.

With this reaffirmation of OFEE’s priorities and goals, we look forward to achieving the mission we began.

OFEE will continue, with even more

enthusiasm, its ongoing initiatives and

efforts. For the near future, we see

much development in sustainable buildings, electronics stewardship, and more

widespread green purchasing efforts.

For example, 2004 saw the launch of the

Federal Electronics Challenge, the

availability of government­wide green

purchasing training, and an exponential

growth in green building applications. 

OFEE will also continue its strong

emphasis on environmental management

systems (EMS), now focusing on maximizing newly implemented systems to

meet environmental performance goals.

We will also work with agencies on verifying their systems as the E.O. 13148

December 2005 implementation deadline

nears. To date, there are over a thousand

EMS implementations under way in the

federal community.

Another very important effort carrying over into 2005 is the compliance management initiative stemming from a President’s Management Council (PMC)

inquiry on agency compliance performance. Overall, agencies are doing well

in regulatory compliance, but there is

always room for improvement. We are

working closely with agencies to help

them integrate compliance considerations into environmental management

and agency operations. 

OFEE is very excited to be an initial

partner on FedCenter, the new online

environmental stewardship and compliance assistance center for federal facilities. FedCenter will help agencies find

ideas and best practices to meet the

intent of the PMC Initiative. FedCenter

will eventually be a resource owned,

operated and used by the entire federal

community. We encourage agencies to

become FedCenter partners.

I look forward to working with the

entire family of federal agencies, departments, and organizations as we move

ahead in our efforts. In the two short years

I have been here, I can say with confidence

that the federal workforce is committed to

stewardship of our resources, as well as

looking for ways to accomplish our respective missions effectively. 

Visit the OFEE on the web at:

http://www.ofee.gov

Edwin Piñero was appointed Federal

Environmental Executive in September

2004. Prior to joining this administration

in January 2003, Piñero was owner of

Piñero Consulting, an environmental management firm. He has also served as Director of the Bureau of Environmental Sustainability as well as being the State Energy

Director in the Pennsylvania Department of

Environmental Protection under then

Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge.

6 FEDFACS
EPA’s Johnson and OFEE’s Piñero Stress Environmental

Challenges at Joint Service Conference

Steve Johnson, EPA Deputy Administrator, and Edwin Piñero,the new Federal Environmental Executive (FEE) were

keynote speakers at the 9th Annual Joint Services Environmental Management (JSEM) Conference & Exhibition held in San

Antonio, Texas in August 2004. Both Johnson and Piñero discussed environmental challenges facing the federal community,

and approaches and opportunities for meeting these.

“National security, public health and environmental protection are clearly consistent and reinforcing public values, rather

than competing ones,” Johnson said. “We are forever bound in

our national security and environmental missions.”

Johnson, who praised the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD),

its services and the larger defense community for increasingly

making environmental stewardship and compliance a core component of its work, also encouraged EPA and DoD officials to

communicate frequently and frankly at all levels, share knowledge and technology, and partner to address issues of mutual

concern, such as perchlorate contamination, and the need to

ensure both safe, effective training at military ranges when

they're operating, and necessary clean up when they close.

“Together,” he concluded, “we can make America safer, stronger

and environmentally sound.”

The JSEM Conference was co­hosted by the U.S. Army Envi­ Joyce Stubblefield, Federal Facility Program Manager of U.S.

ronmental Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and the Air Force EPA Region 6 (Dallas) mans an EPA booth at JSEM Conference.

Center for Environmental Excellence, Brooks City­Base. The

JSEM brought together 4,000 professionals from military ser­ The next conference will combine two major events ­ the

vices, industry, academia, local, state, and federal agencies to JSEM Conference and the NDIA’s Environment & Energy Divishare ideas, success stories, case histories, current trends, and sion’s Annual Symposium. It will be held in April 11­14, 2005, in

technologies for pollution prevention and hazardous waste man­ Tampa, Fla. For information about the upcoming conference,

agement. visit http://www.jsemconference.com.

EPA Announces Nationwide Green Power Purchase

EPA announced a “green power” trans­ lion kWh of green power for 26 of its Order also requires that federal agenaction involving biomass resources facilities, laboratories and offices, across cies reduce their greenhouse gas emis­

(paper pulp) in Georgia and its the nation. Green power now accounts sions 30 percent from 1990 levels by

Research Triangle Park (RTP), N.C., for 77 percent of EPA’s estimated 2010. 

facilities. This is the largest EPA green national electricity consumption. EPA purchases green power through

power procurement to date.  Executive Order 13123 “Greening a process utilizing RECs (green tags),

EPA finalized a three­year contract the Government through Efficient which are both cheaper and easier to

with Unicoi Energy Services of Mari­ Energy Management”, encourages all procure than delivered power. For a

etta, Ga., to provide RTP with 100 mil­ federal agencies to expand the use of more detailed explanation of green tags,

lion kilowatt­hours (kWh) of renewable green power by developing renewable go to: http://www.epa.gov/greeningepa

energy certificates (RECs) annually — energy projects, supporting the develop­ /greenpower.htm#greentags. For more

equivalent to the energy consumed by ment of renewable projects by others on information about EPA’s Green Power

3,680 homes each year. Currently, EPA federal land, and purchasing electricity program visit: http://www.epa.gov

annually purchases more than 220 mil­ from renewable energy sources. The /greeningepa/greenpower.htm. 

FEDFACS  7
EMS

National Guard Transforming with EMS

As Army National Guard leaders ineach of the 54 states and territories

put their heads together to learn more

about how to embrace mandated environmental management systems

(EMS), one common message continues

to emerge: It’s all about mission readiness. 

“Our goal is to enhance our ability to

provide quality training lands and facilities to train soldiers,” said Lt. Col.

Jerry Walter, chief of the environmental

programs division for the Army

National Guard. “Through EMS, we

strive for continuous improvement to

reduce mission and environmental

impacts.” 

Executive Order 13148, “Greening

the Government through Leadership in

Enviromental Management” in April

2000, requires, among other things,

that appropriate federal facilities have

environmental management systems in

place by Dec. 31, 2005. The Guard has

been actively pursuing ways to meet the

requirements of the Order and enhance

the training received by soldiers and

airmen.

“By adopting EMS and better managing the environmental impacts from

our operations, we ultimately enhance

mission readiness through the ability to

provide realistic training,” said Bill

Vagt, Environmental Program Manager

for the Alaska Army National Guard

and chairman of the National Guard

Bureau’s Environmental Management

Committee. 

Executive Order 13148 has been the

driving force behind the Guard’s efforts

to integrate EMS into everyday operations and, according to Vagt, if implemented correctly will lead to substantive changes.

In the Army National Guard, each

state, territory, and also training facilities in Massachusetts and Idaho are

developing an EMS. According to Walter, the National Guard already has

many strong environmental programs

that include elements of an environSgt. Ramon Nichols, an automotive mechanic with the Alaska Army National

Guard, gathers used shop rags and prepares them for disposal in the SmartAsh

burner which significantly reduces hazardous waste emissions at Camp Denali,

Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Sgt. Mike Cortez, a heavy mobile equipment mechanic with the Alaska Army

National Guard stores used vehicle batteries at the Combined Support Maintenance Shop (CSMS) located at Camp

Denali, Fort Richardson, Alaska. 

mental management system, but the

EMS process allows the Guard to bring

all these elements together systematically.

According to Lt. Col. Brian Rogers,

strategic planning officer for the Army

Guard’s environmental programs division, because EMS is a continual cycle

of planning, implementing, reviewing

and improving, it shifts the environmental focus from a defensive, reactive

posture to one that is proactive and

based on sound planning and decision

making. Continued on page 9

MARK HEAYN, GUILD COMMUNICATIONS MARK HEAYN, GUILD COMMUNICATIONS

8 FEDFACS
GUARD TRANSFORMING WITH EMS

Continued from page 8

Rogers also indicates that EMS may

offer the Guard additional benefits

including reductions in environmental

compliance costs, increased worker

safety, cleaner working environments,

increased operational readiness, and

improved community relations. 

Currently, there is an extensive

effort to train state National Guard

leaders and require all soldiers and airmen to become aware of the EMS.

Training is being offered for key leaders

as well as members of teams of soldiers

and airmen representing major functional areas such as operations and

EMS may offer the Guard

additional benefits including

reductions in environmental

compliance costs, increased

worker safety, cleaner

working environments,

increased operational 

readiness, and improved

community relations.

training, maintenance, logistics and

personnel support. Additional training

is being developed to reach all Guardsman. 

According to Lt. Col. Janet Noble,

Deputy Human Resources Officer with

the South Carolina National Guard, the

mindset of soldiers and airmen is evolving from “a misson first, dispose of or

recycle waste second”, attitude to one

that calls for eliminating, reducing, or

reusing waste in the first instance—

without compromising mission success. 

“We’re changing the course and taking out good ideas and applying them,”

said Lt. Gen Roger Schultz, Director of

the Army National Guard. “In the end,

it’s about a soldier — preparing them for

battle focused duty and wartime missions. It’s a balance between our environmental priorities and mission readiness.”

“Environmental management is

everyone’s responsibility,” said Eileen

Chabot, EMS manager for the New

Hampshire National Guard. “We want

the ‘e’ on EMS to stand for everyone”.

Submitted by: Rick Breitenfeldt,

Office of Public Affairs & Strategic Communications; National Guard Bureau,

703­607­2575; Rick.Breitenfeldt@ngb

.ang.af.mil. Walter Debany, NGB­PA,

also contributed toward this article.

EMS

Got an Article?

If you have an article about an environmental activity or program at your

agency or facility, and you'd like us to

consider it for publication in the next

FedFacs, please contact: Marie Muller

at muller.marie@epa.gov. FedFacs is

published twice a year; articles should

be 500 words or less. The U.S. EPA

reserves the right to edit or decline any

article.

SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS TEAM WINS 

The San Antonio

Missions National

Historical 

Compliance

Improvement Management System

the Alamo Federal

(FEB) Excellence in

Government

Program

The Missions

nized for its implementation of the

ISO 14001 international standard for

environmental

management and

For more information about the San Antonio Missions CIMS, please contact Dan Steed, Chief

and Mike Johnson.

EXCELLENCE AWARD

Park’s

(CIMS) Team won

Executive Board’s

Awards 

Teamwork award. 

Team was recogthe park’s subsequent acceptance into the EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track Program.

San Antonio Missions is also a member of the Recycling Alliance of Texas, and strives to

increase its recycling efforts and support community cleanup projects to reduce dumping incidents and prevent pollution in the park’s environs. 

Today, the 28 FEBs around the country act as regional hubs for government activity and

offices located outside Washington, D.C. Their goals include improving communications and efficiency, reducing government costs and facilitating government services, as well as creating

partnerships with community groups. The Excellence in Government Awards Program recognizes federal agency efforts in these areas.

of Resource Management and Visitor Protection at (210) 534­8875 extension 234 or:

Dan_Steed@nps.gov.

San Antonio Missions Team members: (from left to right)

Kurt Schoenberger, Gloria Gonzales, Dan Steed, David

Vekasy, James Oliver. Team members absent were Liz Dupree

FEDFACS 9
EMR

EPA Conducts EMR at the GSA Region 7

EPA Region 6 (Dallas) conducted an

environmental management review

(EMR) at the General Services Administration (GSA) Region 7 Public Buildings

Service (PBS) located in Fort Worth,

Texas in September 2004. 

An EMR is an third­party evaluation

of an organization’s environmental proreduce the environmental impact of its

activities, products and services. 

GSA is developing a nationwide EMS

rather than focusing on any particular

facility or property. Most GSA properties

are office buildings, and in some form or

another all of these properties create

environmental impacts. However, the

environmental

tal Management Principles (CEMP). ISO

14001 will allow GSA to enhance its

partnerships with customer agencies

also using ISO 14001 for its environmental management systems.

EPA Region 6 will provide an EMR

report and a follow­up to GSA within

six months after the final report. The

report will include observations and

recommendations to the EMS. 

Larry Rexroat is the Supervisory

Environmental Scientist at the GSA

PBS Region 7 Fort Worth office and the

point of contact for their EMS. Keith

Raines, Director, GSA PBS Western

Service Center Operations and Nathan

Smith, Subject Matter Specialist–

Environmental at the GSA PBS headquarters office also participated in the

EMR. 

For more information, contact:

Larry Rexroat, GSA PBS Region 7 at

(817) 978­7260 or Joyce Stubblefield,

EPA Region 6 at (214) 665­6430. 

implementation in Louisiana (www.iso

louisiana.com). 

The DOE’s SPR Project Management

Office in New Orleans has been involved

in EMS efforts for several years. In 2000

it volunteered for an EMR for its sites in

Texas and Louisiana, which soon after

became ISO 14001 certified. The DOE

SPR senior leadership assisted EPA

Regions 4 (Atlanta) and 6 in training

senior federal managers in New

Orleans. The SPR became a charter

member of EPA’s Performance Track

leadership program, is a Clean

Texas/Cleaner World Certified National

Leaders applicant, and received a White

House “Closing the Circle” award honorable mention in 2004.

Dr. Smith can be reached at (504)

734­4970 or brent.smith@spr.doe.gov.

gram and management

system, and is conducted to determine

how well a facility has

developed and implemented an EMS. 

The EMR at PBS

focused on compliance

assurance and pollution

impacts of office The EMS will allow PBS  buildings around

the country are to analyze, control,  virtually identical

and reduce the  and it is more effienvironmental impacts.  cient to implement

one national­level

prevention, enabling systems, performance and accountability, measurement

and improvement, and management commitment. 

The EMS for PBS is a cornerstone of

its environmental programs and will

allow PBS to analyze, control, and

EMS while GSA

regional offices design specific functions

relevant to their facilities.

The GSA PBS nationwide EMS

approach uses the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001

Plan­Do­Check­Act model. GSA previously used the EPA Code of EnvironmenDOE’s Brent Smith Assists with EMRs

I

n fiscal years ‘03 and ‘04, Dr. Brent

Smith, Environmental Manager with

the Department of Energy (DOE),

Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Project Management Office, provided leadership and support to the EPA Region 6

(Dallas) Environmental Management

Review (EMR) Team. 

The Team, with Smith’s assistance,

reviews federal facility environmental

management systems (EMS) at federal

facilities and provides compliance assistance to those needing to improve or

develop their own EMS. Dr. Smith

assisted Region 6 in meeting its requirements for a national EPA EMR initiative

with the Veterans Health Administration,

and is currently working with EPA on the

GSA Public Buildings Service Greater

Southwest Region 7 Fort Worth EMR.

Dr. Smith has over 25 years of experience in the environmental field, and

an extensive background in EMS. He is

a registered Environmental Management Systems Lead Auditor, an Environmental Manager, and a Certified

Environmental Professional in

Louisiana. He is also an EMS Trainer

for AQS Management Systems, and an

EMS Lead Auditor for the American

Petroleum Institute. 

Smith also is a member of several

professional environmental organizations in Louisiana, is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Management at the

University of New Orleans, and the

author of numerous book chapters, journal articles, web pages, and newsletters. Among his web pages is one dedicated to ISO 14001 and ISO 9001

10 FEDFACS
InBrief

Robert Gill Is New Director at Dallas Air Force Office

I

n August, 2004, Robert M. Gill became the director of the

Air Force Regional Environmental Office, Central Region,

in Dallas, Texas. The Regional Environmental Offices are

part of the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence

(AFCEE) at Brooks City­Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Gill represents the Air Force to state and federal

regional agencies in the 21 states that comprise EPA Regions

5 (Chicago), 6 (Dallas), 7 (Kansas City), and (8) Denver. His

duties include environmental program oversight, assistance

to major commands in resolving unusual or complex environmental compliance problems, and protection of Air Force

Enforcement News

RCRA Consent Agreement and Final Order

with BIA Blackfeet Agency 

The Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)

Blackfeet Agency, Facilities Management and Roads Complex in Browing, Mont., entered into a RCRA consent agreement and final order (CAFO) with EPA Region 8 (Denver) in

October 2004. The facility is located within the boundaries

of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. 

EPA’s June 2004 complaint issued to BIA alleged various

violations of RCRA hazardous waste requirements, including failure to perform hazardous waste determination, failure to inventory property, and failure to comply with used

oil requirements. EPA Region 8 also issued a notice of violation (NOV) for Clean Water Act Spill Prevention, Control,

and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulation violations at the

facility. 

The facility was required to pay a $34,381 penalty and is

now in compliance with RCRA. EPA Region 8 continues to

offer BIA assistance in developing an acceptable SPCC plan,

and has proposed entering into a SPCC Federal Facilities

Compliance Agreement to facilitate SPCC compliance at

BIA’s Blackfeet Agency, Facilities Management and Roads

Complex or, more broadly, the BIA Rocky Mountain

Regional Office. For more information contact: Andrew

Cherry (202) 564­2589 or Amy Swanson (303) 312­6906. 

interests in third party hazardous waste sites.

Mr. Gill came to the Dallas Regional Office from the

Naval War College, where he recently completed additional

graduate studies. His previous positions include Remediation Program Manager at the Massachusetts Military

Reservation, and Base Civil Engineer at Brooks Air Force

Base. Mr. Gill earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil

Engineering from Colorado State University, Fort Collins,

Colo., and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State

of Arizona. He also holds a Master’s degree in Engineering

Management.

EPA Fines DOI Water Treatment Facility For

Failing To Maintain Chemical Risk Plan

In late December 2004, U.S. EPARegion 9 (San Francisco) fined

the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) $7,500 for failing to

maintain its plan that outlines how its water treatment plant in

Yuma, Ariz. will respond to accidental chemical releases, as

required by the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. § 7412 (r)(7)].

The DOI's Yuma desalting plant failed to maintain records

showing that its chlorine gas system was operating properly

and that its employees were properly trained in handling any

accidental chemical releases.

The CAA requires all facilities using hazardous substances

above specified threshold quantities are required to develop

chemical risk management plans. The plan must include an

assessment of potential effects of an accidental release, history of accidents over the past five years and employee training. The plan must also include an emergency response program that outlines procedures for informing the public and

response agencies, such as the police and fire departments, in

the event of an accident.

The DOI has paid the penalty and corrected the violations.

As part of a new enforcement policy, the EPA offered the DOI

a reduced penalty because the agency acted quickly to correct

the problems and pay the fine, and the facility presents a relatively low risk to the public.

Upcoming Events

FedCenter has a full listing of upcoming events, trainings, and conferences and is updated daily. 

Go to www.fedcenter.gov and click on the “Events” tab for a complete listing.

FEDFACS 11
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