United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

Office of Enforcement and

Compliance Assurance

(2261A)

EPA #300-N-01-006

Spring 2001

Partnering at NAS Patuxent River 

is a CERCLA Reuse Success

Printed on Recycled Paper

an environmental bulletin for federal facilities

ISSUE #11

Despite numerous potential pitfalls and

constraints including multi-funding of

the project, the Naval Air Station (NAS)

Patuxent River partnering team succeeded in accelerating the CERCLA

process for a former drum storage area,

the Bohneyard, and preparing it for beneficial reuse.

Commissioned on April 1, 1943, NAS

Patuxent River is naval aviation’s premiere research, development, test, and

evaluation facility. The NAS hosts the full

spectrum of acquisition management,

research and development capabilities, air

and ground test and evaluation (T&E),

aircraft logistics, and maintenance management for naval aviation. The station

encompasses 7,900 acres and includes

Webster Field Annex, an outlying parcel in

St. Inigoes, Maryland, about eight miles

Inside

FedFacs

The General Services Administration

(GSA) National Capital Region (NCR)

has seized the opportunity to promote

environmental excellence through its

newly designed “stormwater pollution

prevention” initiative that includes a

stormwater management plan and training. The objective of the initiative is to

impart a basic understanding of the

causes of stormwater pollution and the

types of activities that require stormwater permits, as well as provide a valuable

reference tool for GSA facility managers.

Training on implementing the stormwa- Continued on page 12

GSA’s Stormwater 

Management Program

ter management plan was provided for

NCR property and project managers

region-wide. GSA NCR is integrating this

environmental initiative throughout the

organizational culture by actively encouraging consideration of the impact of projects, activities, and operations on

stormwater and the environment.

The environmental problem faced in

this area is real. The percentages of paved

surfaces and roof tops have dramatically

decreased the natural filtration system of

the surrounding soils. Washington, DC

Continued on page 13 Bohneyard drum storage in 1978. The drums were removed between 1979 and 1982.

2 FedEnviroNews-Online Debuts

3 National Environmental 

Achievement Track

4 The Hammer

6 Partnerships

7 Demonstrating Federal Leadership 

in the Western United States

9 Upcoming Events

10 Workshops and Conferences

14 Sector Facility Indexing ProjectExpansion to Federal Facilities

15 EPA’s Federal Facilities Program 

Managers
2 FEDFACS

Interagency Response to the Los Alamos

National Laboratory Fire: Post-Cerro

Grande Fire Flood Risk Assessment

The Cerro Grande Fire of May 2000

burned through watersheds of

canyons that run through the Los Alamos

National Laboratory (LANL), possibly

impacting the water quality of the Rio

Grande and Cochiti Reservoir. An Interagency Flood Risk Assessment Team

(IFRAT) was formed to better understand

how contaminant transport from

increased flooding due to the fire might

affect downstream property owners,

water users, and general public health.

The IFRAT includes the following organizations: EPA Region VI, New Mexico

Environment Department (NMED), Los

Alamos National Laboratory (LANL),

Department of Energy, and New Mexico

Health Department.

The Cerro Grande Fire has increased

the potential for runoff and erosion

events in waters that cross LANL property. Sampling and analysis efforts are

being conducted by NMED, LANL, EPA,

and other entities. The majority of the

samples taken thus far were from the initial flood event during the monsoon of

2000. Additional samples will be taken

during the Spring of 2001 snow runoff

and the 2001 monsoon season. Sampling

and analysis includes surface water,

groundwater, sediment, soils, crops, fish,

and wildlife in the areas that might be

affected by the flood.

The initial sample results are being

analyzed by the IFRAT Risk Assessors.

The risk assessment team will consider

several activities associated with water

and sediment runoff from the fire and

characterize the potential risk to the public and to the environment. The IFRAT

has developed risk models for possible

radionuclide, metal, and organic contamination in the Rio Grande and Cochiti

Reservoir. Analysis of the preliminary

results will occur in the Spring of 2001,

while long-term analysis will continue to

be monitored by the IFRAT.

An “Open House” was held on December 18, 2000, to share information regarding monsoon flooding and runoff from

areas affected by the fire. Congressman

Tom Udall delivered the opening remarks

at the open house and encouraged the

public to participate in the meeting. The

IFRAT’s main purpose for the meeting

was to hear citizens’ concerns about the

fire, flooding, and the potential for flood

related runoff of contaminants. For more

information, visit the IFRAT’s website at

www.nmenv.state.nm.us/ifrat/.

For information on the Interagency

Flood Risk Assessment Team, please contact Anna Treinies (EPA) at (214) 665-

8348, Kirby Olson (NMED) at (505) 827-

1558, or Lars Soholt (LANL) at (505)

667-2256.

FEDENVIRONEWSONLINE DEBUTS

On December 8, 2000, the Federal Facilities

Enforcement Office launched its first issue

of FedEnviroNews-Online, a computerized,

subscription-based, electronic newsletter.

Subscribers to this monthly newsletter

receive environmental news and information relevant to federal facilities. 

Recent issues of FedEnviroNewsOnline highlighted information on new policies, regulations, and protocols pertaining

to federal facilities; national training, workshops, and conferences; and other information of interest to federal facility environmental practitioners. The format for

FedEnviroNews-Online is succinct, allowing subscribers to quickly get information

on a variety of topics, and then follow the

instructions or links within each news item

for further information.

Subscriptions to FedEnviroNewsOnline are available free to federal facility

environmental managers and staff, as well

as state environmental practitioners. To

subscribe, follow these steps:

1. Send an e-mail message addressed to:

listserver@unixmail.rtpnc.epa.gov

2. Leave the subject line blank

3. In the body of the message, on one line,

write: subscribe FEDENVIRONEWSONLINE first name lastname

Note: Please adhere to spacing and case

parameters (For example: subscribe

FEDENVIRONEWS-ONLINE jane doe).

4. You should receive a welcome e-mail 

message within 24 hours indicating you 

have been added to the subscriber list.

For additional information, please contact Marie Muller, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at

muller.marie@epa.gov

Sampling and analysis

includes surface water,

groundwater, sediment, soils,

crops, fish, and wildlife in the

areas that might be affected

by the flood.
FEDFACS 3

EPA Selects Federal Facilities as Charter Members of

National Environmental Achievement Track

EPA congratulates several federal

facilities for their selection as charter members in the National Environmental Performance Track’s Achievement Track program, including DOE’s

Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities

in both Louisiana and Texas, West Valley

Demonstration Project in New York,

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, and Kansas City Plant in Missouri;

the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in

Massachusetts; NASA’s White Sands

Test Facility in New Mexico; and the U.S.

Postal Service’s Portland Processing and

Distribution Center in Maine and Hartford Processing and Distribution Center

and Hartford Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Connecticut. The National Environmental Performance Track’s program

recognizes and rewards both public and

private sector facilities for exceeding

environmental protection requirements.

The National Environmental Achievement Track is the first level of EPA’s new

National Environmental Performance

Track program. EPA plans to launch the

second level of the program, the Stewardship Track, in the Summer of 2001. The

National Environmental Performance

Track program was established by EPA

to recognize and encourage top environmental performers — those businesses

that go beyond compliance with regulatory requirements.

Each federal facility in the program

has made voluntary commitments for specific environmental improvements in four

areas over the next three years. Likewise,

the other Achievement Track facilities

have strong records in environmental

management with more waste recycling

and greater reductions in air and water

pollution than are legally required. They

have reduced their cumulative energy consumption by millions of kilowatts per year

and are committing to an average of 22

percent improved energy efficiency. Commitments for future water use reductions

average 31 percent. Some companies have

even exceeded in virtually eliminating discharges to surface water, while others are

significantly reducing discharges to

groundwater to protect underground

drinking water supplies. Waste reduction

at these facilities is projected to average 44

percent per year, representing millions of

pounds of saved resources as process and

packaging materials are recycled or

reused. Others are significantly reducing

emissions of greenhouse gases to help protect the ozone layer, and some will cut their

output of toxic air pollutants in half.

The expectation is that the program

will motivate other facilities to achieve

similar improvements, and complement

existing regulatory activities. The program has been designed so that criteria

for participation are proportional to the

benefits and that small, medium, and

large facilities will participate. Emphasis

DOI CAFETERIA USES ENVIRONMENTALLY 

PREFERABLE FOOD SERVICE PACKAGING

Guest Services, Inc., which provides food service management operations to U.S. Government

agencies under contract with the General Services Administration, has entered into a commercial

agreement with EarthShell® Corporation, manufacturers of environmentally preferable food service packaging, for the procurement of disposable plates and bowls for the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Washington, DC cafeteria. The agreement began in March and will be reviewed after

one year. EarthShell packaging has been used successfully in a pilot project with DOI for two

years. The pilot project began on Earth Day 1999 and was originally scheduled to run for six

months, but continued due to its success and positive feedback from DOI employees. 

“We have tested the EarthShell products in both our cafeteria and in the Department of Agriculture composting facility,” said Ken Naser, team leader of Solid and Hazardous Materials Management at DOI. “In both environments the products performed exceptionally well. Our cafeteria

staff is pleased with the durability and usability of the plates and bowls, and the research staff at

the composting facility is equally satisfied with EarthShell’s compostability. This is the first food

service packaging that combines performance with environmental advantages.” 

EarthShell, located in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, supplies DOI with foodservice packaging made primarily from natural limestone and starch. The manufacture of these products

requires less total energy and results in lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional rigid

packaging. EarthShell packaging reduces risks to wildlife and the environment because it

biodegrades when exposed to moisture in nature. EarthShell Packaging is recyclable through

composting.

For more information about the EarthShell Corporation, visit their web site at www.EarthShell.com. 

is being placed on continued environmental improvement, effective state/EPA

partnerships, and the need to inform and

involve citizens and communities.

Among the 228 charter members in the

program are municipalities and several

branches of the federal government. The

roster of private sector companies

includes small businesses and large corporations, representing the automotive,

pharmaceutical, sports equipment, food

processing, chemical, and petroleum

industries, to name a few. The facilities

and corporate headquarters are located in

38 states and Puerto Rico.

All federal facilities are encouraged to

review the program qualifications and

consider applying. Applications will be

accepted again from August 1 through

October 31, 2001. For further information

on the National Environmental Performance Track and the process being recognized for similar achievements is available at www.epa.gov/performancetrack.
4 FEDFACS

tions in North and South Dakota.

The settlement provides for a penalty

payment of $93,383 and the performance

of three supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) valued at a minimum of

$425,410. The supplemental environmental projects include establishing and

implementing a multi-media environmental cleanup program at the Marty Indian

School and removing three underground

storage tanks at the school’s triballyowned store in Marty, South Dakota.

These projects will improve environmental protection from UST leaks and

enhance the quality of life in Indian country in that area.

Following EPA’s enforcement action

and a large-scale UST removal effort, BIA

met the 1998 UST upgrade deadline and

continues to perform site assessments and

cleanup — where necessary — at the

removal sites. Only eight tanks at four

facilities subject to this action remain in

the ground and one is under contract to be

removed. The parties agreed that BIA’s

obligations under the consent agreement,

including penalty payment, are subject to

the availability of funds to ensure tribes or

tribal programs are not negatively

impacted by the settlement. Once gasoline

or chemicals get into groundwater, it is

extremely expensive and sometimes

impossible to clean up the contamination.

It makes more sense to emphasize leak

detection over cleanup to keep contamination out of the water supplies.

For more information, please contact

Amy Swanson of EPA Region VIII at (303)

312-6906.

Region VI Settles Administrative Action Against BEP

Fort Worth Facility

EPA Region VI filed a Consent Agreement

and Final Order (CAFO) on January 18,

2000, against the U. S. Department of the

BIA Agrees to Fine and

Cleanup for Underground

Storage Tank Violations

In the Fall of 2000, EPA Region VIII and

the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) executed a settlement agreement regarding

EPA’s RCRA/Underground Storage Tank

(UST) enforcement action involving the

U.S. Department of Interior, BIA Aberdeen

Area Office. The enforcement action

against BIA was initiated in December

1997, and settlement was reached in May

1999. Finalization of the consent agreement was temporarily stayed pending a

decision by the Department of Justice’s

Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) regarding

EPA’s UST penalty authority against federal facilities. Following the issuance of

OLC’s opinion upholding EPA’s penalty

authority in June 2000, the parties agreed

to sign and file the previously-negotiated

consent agreement. The action addresses

the BIA Aberdeen Area Office’s past noncompliance with several UST notices of

violation issued over a five year period.

The action includes approximately 52

BIA-owned USTs located at BIA facilities

and grant schools within the BIA

Aberdeen Area on nine Indian reservaTreasury, Bureau of Engraving & Printing

(BEP) in settlement of an administrative

action filed against BEP’s Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The

Complaint alleged that BEP violated regulations concerning the state and federal

air regulations including the Texas State

Implementation Plan, New Source Performance Standards, and National Emission

Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

during the operation of its Western Currency Facility. As part of the CAFO, BEP

submitted their supplemental environmental project (SEP) completion report on

January 29, 2001. The final cost for the

SEP was $257,587. BEP upgraded their

air pollution control equipment on the

chrome plating line and added air pollution control equipment to the nickel plating line. BEP is also recycling the rinse

water from three chromic acid plating

tanks thereby reducing the amount of liquid hazardous waste shipped each year.

For more information, please contact

Toni Allen at (214) 665-7271 or Jan Gerro

at (214) 665-2121.

Cannon Air Force Base

Issued “Show Cause Letter”

for Possible EPCRA § 313

Violation 

Cannon Air Force Base, located 6 miles

west of Clovis, New Mexico, was issued a

“show cause letter” on February 1, 2001,

under Executive Order 13148, “Greening

the Government Through Leadership in

Environmental Management.” On May 3,

2000, an EPCRA compliance inspection

was conducted at Cannon AFB. Prior notification had been given in order for facility

personnel to ensure that appropriate documents were available for review. From

the information provided by Cannon AFB,

it appears the facility has failed to report

The Hammer

FedFacs

is published by EPA’s Federal Facilities

Enforcement Office.

Joyce Johnson, FFEO, Editor

SciComm, Inc., Layout

To receive FedFacs in the mail, contact:

Federal Facilities Enforcement Office

U.S. EPA (2261A), 1200 Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20044

or Fax : 202-501-0069

Read FedFacs on the Internet:

http://www.epa.gov/oeca/fedfac/ann/index.html

Continued on page 5
FEDFACS 5

I

n 1998, Region VI began an effort to

identify all formerly used defense sites

(FUDS) in Arkansas, Louisiana, New

Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Each of the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE)

District offices were visited and FUDS

files were reviewed and copied. In January of 2001, Region VI completed the

draft inventory of FUDS, with a preliminary evaluation of risks at these sites,

and provided it to USACE and to each of

the state environmental agencies for

review and comment.

In March of 2001,

Region VI hosted a series

of meetings, inviting each

state environmental

agency and their respective USACE District and

Division offices to discuss

EPA’s draft report. The

primary purpose of these

meetings was to allow them to identify

any mistakes EPA had made in identifying or evaluating each site. The report is

expected to be finalized in May of 2001.

In the Region VI states, 907 FUDS

were identified, mostly in New Mexico

and Texas. Of these, 415 were recommended for further action and 42 were

identified has having significant potential

for listing on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). Also, due to a lack of

file information, EPA was unable to complete the environmental evaluation of

another 165 sites. To put the regional unione toxic chemical (Naphthalene) to EPA

and the State of New Mexico as required

by EPCRA § 313.

Cannon AFB contends they are not in

violation of EPCRA § 313 by taking the

“motor vehicle exemption” for all aircraft

refueled at the base. However, EPA guidance stipulates only aircraft stationed at

the base may qualify for this exemption.

Aircraft stationed at other federal facilities do not qualify for the exemption. The

issue under discussion is whether EPA or

DoD guidance should be followed in the

case of a disagreement. In this case, the

refueling of non-facility aircraft.

For more information, contact Rajen

Patel at (214) 665-2788.

Region VI Settles With U.S.

Army Pine Bluff Arsenal for

Clean Air Act Violations

On February 7, 2001, EPA Region VI filed

a simultaneous Complaint and Consent

Agreement/Final Order settling Clean Air

Act violations found at the U.S. Army’s

Pine Bluff Arsenal in Pine Bluff,Arkansas.

The alleged violations were found during a

multi-media inspection on February 7-10,

2000. Pine Bluff Arsenal uses and maintains refrigeration equipment to control

humidity in numerous buildings. Thirteen

pieces of refrigeration equipment were

identified during the inspection that contained greater than 50 pounds of refrigerant. EPA alleged that the U.S. Army violated 40 C.F.R. Part 82, Subpart F, for 1)

failure to maintain service records documenting the date and quantity of refrigerant added to the thirteen individual pieces

of refrigeration equipment, and 2) failure

to certify acquisition of recovery or recycling equipment. The U.S. Army will pay a

cash penalty of $21,000.

For more information, please contact

Ellen Chang Vaughan at (214) 665-7328 or

Toni Allen at (214) 665-7271 EPA Region

VI.

THE HAMMER

Continued from page 4

verse of FUDS in perspective, at the

November 2000 meeting of the Association of State and Tribal Solid Waste Management Officials in Austin, Texas,

USACE presented information that

Region VI has the second highest number

of sites, and the second highest “cost-tocomplete” in the country, exceeding that

of three other regions combined.

Region VI is coordinating the efforts of

the RCRA New Mexico and Federal Facilities Section, RCRA Enforcement Section,

and the Superfund Site Assessment Team

to achieve the most impact with the

fewest resources. Region VI is also

attempting to establish a cooperative

partnership with USACE and state environmental agencies with the goal of facilitating an integrated and effective FUDS

program involving all stakeholders.

Region VI anticipates an increasing role

in providing technical assistance and consultation on FUDS.

For more information, please contact

Michael Overbay of EPA Region VI at

(214) 665-6482.

EPA Region VI FUDS Inventory

In January of 2001, Region VI completed 

the draft inventory of FUDS, with a 

preliminary evaluation of risks at these

sites, and provided it to USACE and to 

each of the state environmental agencies

for review and comment.

PCB PHASEOUT AT FEDERAL FACILITIES

EPA Region V initiated a project, funded through the PBT initiative, to seek reductions of the

amount of PCBs in electrical equipment owned and operated by the federal government. The

first phase of the project was to identify which federal facilities own electrical equipment with

high concentration PCBs (>500 ppm). According to EPA’s PCB Transformer Registration Database, when considering all the different federal departments and agencies that registered PCB

transformers, the federal government is the single largest owner of PCB transformers. According to the database, and accounting for one known error, approximately 62 federal facilities registered 2215 PCB transformers (transformers containing fluids with >500 ppm PCBs) nationally,

or a little over 10% of the total PCB transformers registered. The departments or agencies that

registered the most PCB transformers are TVA, DoD, DOE, and DOT. The next phase of the project is to determine the most effective way EPA can seek reductions of the PCBs from the other

federal departments or agencies.
6 FEDFACS

Partnerships

Building A Road To Success:

Government Partnering 

on Transportation and the

Environment

EPA Region VI has teamed with the

Federal Highway Administration

(FHWA) and the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers (USACE) to improve transportation and environmental protection

in Texas. There are more than 1,300

transportation projects undertaken

annually in Texas totaling over $3 billion that can have potentially devastating effects on the environment. Compliance with the National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental laws has helped to minimize

environmental impacts. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century

(TEA-21) recently challenged government agencies to “streamline” the

process for addressing applicable environmental regulations to reduce the

duration of transportation projects. It

targets accelerated compliance with all

applicable environmental requirements.

In order to support this Department of

Transportation (DOT) mandate, while

continuing to meet burgeoning NEPA

demands across its 5-state jurisdiction,

the EPA Region VI Office of Planning

and Coordination, within the Compliance Assurance and Enforcement Division, established a staff position in

Austin, Texas. The position is being used

to work more closely with FHWA and

related agencies on streamlining environmental compliance related to transportation projects in Texas.

Through its efforts to enhance coordination with Texas transportation agencies, Region VI has begun a more comprehensive approach to addressing

issues that serve as stumbling blocks to

compliance with NEPA and other environmental regulatory authorities. Application of differing agency policies, interpretations, and definitions has driven a

communication wedge between transportation and resource agencies.

Acknowledging the critical nature of

this matter, EPA, FHWA, and USACE

have committed to partnering at a

higher level of interaction, understanding, and problem solving to eliminate

historical barriers and

clearing the way for innovation and improvement.

In September 1998,

EPA Region VI hosted an

interagency Executive

Summit on Transportation and Environmental

Streamlining in Irving,

Texas. At that meeting,

there was general consensus among

participants that the Region VI states

would initiate streamlining activities

appropriate to their state. In January

1999, a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)/FHWA Streamlining

meeting was held in Austin, Texas to

identify opportunities and roadblocks to

streamlining and to develop preliminary

strategies to address these opportunities and eliminate roadblocks. Participants identified priority issues, corresponding strategies, and pilot projects.

Another EPA-coordinated meeting was

held in Austin on January 31, 2001, during which EPA, FHWA, and USACE discussed issues related to delays in authorizing transportation projects in Texas.

Interagency participation was limited to

these particular organizations, due to

the nature of the issues. The participants reinforced that a partnering

approach is the most effective way to

resolve the issues and then prioritized

the issues for action.

The issues primarily relate to permitting requirements of the Clean Water

Act Section 404 and Section 10 of the

Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, and

several NEPA requirements. Recommendations for both interim and longterm resolutions were developed jointly

by the federal agencies and brought to

the attention of the TxDOT on February

14, 2001, through a daylong series of

facilitated discussions at the executive

and technical levels. Next steps for the

federal partners include the formation

of issue-driven, federal/state teams with

TxDOT to further develop the recommendations into workable solutions. The

overarching objective of this collaborative approach is not to create new formal

agreements (MOUs or MOAs), but to

build better working relationships

among the agencies through improved

communication, coordination, and resolution.

For more information, please contact

Dominique Lueckenhoff, EPA Region VI,

at (512) 916-5012.

Texas Pollution Prevention

Partnership Takes Flight

The Texas Pollution Prevention Partnership (TXP3) held a full-day meeting on

November 2, 2000, hosted by Chuck

Gawenis of the Corpus Christi Army

Depot (CCAD). The twenty TXP3 attendees toured the CCAD facility that performs scheduled maintenance and overhaul of the Army’s Apache, Blackhawk,

and Huey helicopters and several attendees took an aerial tour of the Corpus

Christi area in a Huey helicopter. The

TXP3 is a collaborative initiative of the

Department of Defense (Air Force, Army,

Compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and

other environmental laws has helped to

minimize environmental impacts.
and Navy installations in Texas), the

Texas Natural Resource Conservation

Commission (TNRCC), EPA Region VI,

Texas Army National Guard, NASAJohnson Space Center, and other Civilian Federal Agencies. Its mission is to

promote pollution prevention as the

standard way of doing business for federal facilities by developing and implementing model initiatives, building

trust, and producing measurable

results. The TXP3 boasts numerous successes, including reductions of nearly

one million pounds of hazardous waste

and savings of over $2.7 million at federal facilities in Texas. The TXP3 meeting at CCAD included presentations

and discussions on Army Pollution Prevention efforts, the DoD Munitions

Issue, EPA Sector Facility Index Project

(SFIP), TNRCC Clean Texas Program,

and the TXP3-sponsored Green Base of

the Future initiative.

The TXP3 also held a recent meeting

at Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, Texas,

on March 6, 2001. Thanks to the efforts

of TXP3 partner Col. Pat Fink (Chief,

Environmental Directorate, HQ Air

Education and Training Command, San

Antonio), the TXP3 members sat in on a

base Environmental Compliance

Assessment and Management Program

(ECAMP) Team meeting, toured the

base Joint Service Fire School (main

fire training school for Department of

Defense), participated in an Environmental Leadership Course given to the

Goodfellow AFB wing commander and

senior leadership, and held its regular

meeting. The next TXP3 meeting will be

hosted by Joyce Stubblefield, EPA

Region VI Federal Facilities Coordinator, in Dallas on May 23, 2001. Other P2

Partnerships in Region VI are being

invited to attend the meeting. Tentative

plans are for the August 2001 meeting

to be held at Fort Sam Houston, San

Antonio, Texas.

For more information, contact TXP3

Co-Chairs Dr. Thom Rennie (DoD REC

Region 6) at (214) 767-4678 and Israel

Anderson (TNRCC) at (512) 239-5318.

Demonstrating Federal

Leadership in the Western

United States

On Earth Day 2000, a “Statement of

Unity” was signed by leaders of the

EPA, GSA, DOE, the National Park Service, Navy, and Air Force that created a

“Federal Network for Sustainability”

(FNS). Why was this collaborative network of Pacific region federal agencies

created to focus on sustainability?

Because sustainability is a concept

about the interconnectedness of the

environment, the economy, and social

equity. Sustainability creates a long

term approach to environmental protection and process improvements. It prevents pollution from the start. It calls

for systems thinking and leverages

scarce resources. The various missions

of the federal agencies give expression

to the concept of sustainability through

individual programs and initiatives and

through collective leadership values.

The FNS seeks linkages and partnerships. During its first year, one focus of

the FNS was on using the power of government as consumer and using environmental management plans (systems). Government can use

sustainability principles as a framework to manage its own consumption

and waste generation practices. The

FNS hosted two Green Power Summit

conferences and an Environmental

Preferable Purchasing training program.

For more information on the FNS, contact Alan Hurt, Navy, at (619) 524-6253

(Hurt.Alan.C@asw.cnrsw.navy.mil) or

Curtis Framel, DOE, (206) 553-7841 (curtis.framel@ee.doe.gov).

FEDFACS 7

Huey photo right to left: Chuck Gawenis (CCAD host), Israel Anderson (TXP3 CoChair), Ken Zarker (TNRCC), Col Pat Fink (HQ AETC), Glenda Swierc (TNRCC),

Joyce Stubblefield (EPA Region VI), and Dr. Thom Rennie (TXP3 Co-Chair).
8 FEDFACS

Anacostia Watershed Toxics Alliance

mental remediation, hazardous waste,

asbestos, indoor air quality (IAQ), sustainable design, and recycling) to GSA

employees, contractors, and client agencies.

The PBS Environmental Hotline is a

tool designed to assist PBS Regional

Environmental Managers with technical

environmental information and services. For

many PBS client agencies, the GSA Building

Manager is the best first

step to answer environmental questions and concerns. GSA

Building Managers can discuss environmental regulations relating to their specific GSA properties, arrange for environmental sampling, and obtain

technical support from the regional

Environmental Manager. PBS Regional

Environmental Managers are technical

experts on environmental issues relating to their properties and can interpret

regional environmental policies.

Where the client agency environmental issues are time-sensitive and beyond

GSA in-house expertise or in cases

where no GSA policies exist, the environmental issue will be directed to the

PBS Environmental Hotline service.

The Hotline is designed to quickly provide relevant environmental information. It is not a complaint line. The key

to the success of the Environmental Hotline is collaboration between GSA and

the client agency.

For more information or to offer suggestions for improving the hotline,

please contact Jerry Hefner at (202)

501-4774.

I

n 1987 the Anacostia Watershed Agreement was signed by the District of

Columbia, Montgomery and Prince

George’s Counties, and the State of Maryland to collectively dedicate resources to

the restoration of the “most polluted”

watershed in the nation. Since this signing, a restoration committee was formed

to provide the resources needed to accomplish the agreement’s mission to evaluate

the presence, sources, and impacts of toxic

contaminants on the Anacostia River, and

to evaluate and take actions to enhance

the restoration of the watershed. Since its

formation in 1991, the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Committee has adopted

an action plan which, with the aid of

many informal partners, has made

remarkable progress in addressing the

problems of toxics contamination in the

river sediments and the watershed.

In March 1999, the Anacostia Watershed Toxics Alliance was created as a

public-private partnership for the purpose of addressing the toxic sediments in

the tidal Anacostia. The creation of the

Alliance was based on the determination

that 1) a watershed-wide focus on toxics

and their management was needed in the

Anacostia; 2) a solid scientific foundation

was needed to support further action on

the issue; and 3) an inclusive, voluntary

public-private partnership was the

appropriate vehicle to achieve that focus.

The Alliance will clean up the Anacostia in three phases:

Phase 1: Compilation and Evaluation of

Existing Data

Phase 2: New Data Collection and Risk

Assessment

Phase 3: Implementation of Cleanup and

Restoration

The General Services Administration

(GSA) Public Building Service (PBS)

Environmental Business Strategies

Division established its PBS Environmental Hotline in October 2000. The

objective of the new Environmental

Hotline is to help integrate environmental requirements into day-to-day PBS

business processes and improve overall

environmental performance. Building

on the successes of the PBS NEPA Hotline, PBS will now provide a range of

environmental services (e.g., environSeveral subcommittees were formed to:

collect and evaluate the data, recruit new

members, contract needed restoration

services, evaluate new and innovative

cost-effective protocols, and conduct a

risk assessment of the effects on human

health and the ecosystem.

Several members of the AWTA have

worked together to gather and analyze

sampling results from several sites along

the Anacostia and produce a GIS (Geographic Information System) to visually

demonstrate the effects on human habitats and the ecosystem. This information

will be updated periodically and can be

used by researchers, students, and other

interested parties. Anyone interested in

seeing this demonstration and the

progress made in the restoration process

can visit the Anacostia Watershed Toxics

Alliance at http://www.chesapeakebay.

net/AWTA.

GSA Public Building Service Establishes 

Environmental Hotline

The PBS Environmental Hotline is a tool

designed to assist PBS Regional 

Environmental Managers with technical

environmental information and services.
FEDFACS 9

Region VII conducted its first Environmental Management Review (EMR) of

the Hinton, Iowa, facility of the Western

Area Power Administration Upper Great

Plains Region (Western) on January 8-11,

2001. The review was conducted by a

team of EPA and state specialists. Western is a division of the Department of

Energy (DOE) and distributes hydroelectric power generated by other government

agencies to small co-ops and municipal

utilities.

An EMR evaluates an organization’s

environmental program and management

system to determine the extent of the

development and implementation of specific environmental protection programs

and plans which, if properly managed,

should ensure regulatory compliance and

progress toward environmental excellence.

In Region VII, federal facilities EMRs are

scheduled through Diana Jackson, Federal

Facilities Program Manager. The intent of

an EMR is to assist federal facilities in

improving environmental management

systems, not to identify regulatory violations. Any violations discovered would be

addressed outside the review process using

the EPA self-audit policy.

Environmental Management Reviews

Commence in Region VII

The EMR at Western Area Power

Administration focused on management

and internal compliance auditing. Other

areas observed were internal communications, documentation, and training

related to the facility’s environmental

management system. The review team

identified both successes and opportunities for improvement at the facility. No

violations were observed.

As an indication of the success of the

region’s first EMR, Western Area Power

Administration bestowed its Gold Star

Award on the members of the review

team for their contributions and assistance. William Rice, Region VII Acting

Regional Administrator, presented the

awards to the team members on behalf of

the Western officials.

The EPA field team consisted of Ruben

McCullers (ARTD/CRIB), Wes Bartley

(ARTD/SWPP), and Clint Sperry (ENSV/

ARCM). Denise Rayborn and Ken White

of the Iowa Department of Natural

Resources also participated in the review

process, as did two EPA contractors. Joe

Francis, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, joined the group for

the opening and closing conferences.

GSA PACIFIC RIM

REGION PARTICIPATES

IN EPA ENVIRONMENTAL

MANAGEMENT REVIEW

PROGRAM

The General Services Administration (GSA)

Pacific Rim Region supports national environmental program efforts through its voluntary participation in the EPA Environmental Management Review (EMR) Program.

The GSA Public Building Service (PBS) has

been working since 1999 on a national

“Improving Environmental Performance”

initiative. The objective of this initiative is to

integrate environmental considerations into

the PBS business to improve its environmental management program. The GSA

Pacific Rim Region expected that the EPA

EMR would provide an objective review of

its environmental program activities as they

relate to national programs. GSA plans to

provide the EMR results to GSA building

managers and client agencies occupying

GSA space.

The EMR “Ground Rules Letter of Agreement” signed by EPA and GSA set the stage

for the 5 days of intensive work led by Larry

Woods of EPA Region IX. This EMR was

designed to focus on:

1. Formality of Environmental Programs

2. Program Evaluation, Reporting, and 

Corrective Action

3. Environmental Planning and Risk 

Management

The review began on February 8, 2001, at

GSA’s Regional Office in San Francisco with

interviews of GSA Headquarters and

Regional Management Staff. The fieldwork

was concluded at the Lukeville, Arizona,

Border Station with a walk-through inspection and interviews of GSA management

and client agency staff.

The final EMR report is expected from

EPA in May 2001, however, the preliminary

feedback is very positive. EPA has documented that the GSA Pacific Rim Region

has unique environmental programs that

directly enhance their environmental performance. 

Contact Rebecca O’Dell at (415) 522-

3337 for more information.

UpcomingEvents

May 24-25, 2001

Region VI Pollution Prevention Conference

Dallas, TX

www.p2.org/events

August 14-16, 2001

U.S. EPA Federal Facilities Conference and 

DoD Environmental Seminar

Chicago, IL

(312) 353-6478 or (630) 910-3213, ext. 224
10 FEDFACS

EPA Region V and DoD to

Provide Free Environmental

Training

EPA and the Department of Defense

(DoD) will conduct a combined 2001 U.S.

EPA Federal Facilities Conference and

DoD Environmental Seminar in Chicago,

Illinois, on August 14th, 15th, and 16th.

The Federal Facilities Conference portion

will be held on August 14th and the morning of the 15th and will be directed toward

federal agency environmental personnel.

The Environmental Seminar portion will

be held on the afternoon of August 15th

and August 16th and will be intended for

DoD environmental personnel. Attendees

may register for either or both of the two

training opportunities.

The purpose of the combined conference

and seminar is to provide an educational

opportunity for those who have responsibilities or concerns regarding the environmental management of DoD or other federal facilities. The conference agenda will

consist of topics of importance and interest

to these environmental managers.

The conference/seminar presentation

media will include presentations, videos,

discussion groups, and booths/exhibits.

Conference participants will also be

invited to tour the EPA Region V laboratory.

For more information, please contact

Lee J. Regner at (312) 353-6478 or Hugh

M. McAlear at (630) 910-3213, ext. 224.

Region VI Pollution 

Prevention Conference 

The EPA Region VI Pollution Prevention

Roundtable and the National Pollution

Prevention Roundtable, in partnership

with federal facilities and local industry

and municipalities, is sponsoring a conference on May 24 and 25, 2001 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas. Going “Beyond

Compliance Assistance Through Pollution

Prevention” is a proposed theme for the

conference as we strive to demonstrate

how pollution prevention, energy efficiency, and water conservation can prevent compliance issues and be economically beneficial to facilities.

For more information contact Michele

Russo at (202) 466-P2P2, michele

russo@compuserve.com, or see www.p2.

org/events.

Feds Unlock the Mysteries

of EMSs

On March 22, 2001, environmental managers of federal agencies completed the

last workshop in a series designed to

unlock the mysteries of Environmental

Management Systems (EMSs). The series

of 2-hour workshops conducted since September 2000 has focused on the keys to

planning and implementing EMSs. At

each session, 20 to 30 federal representatives from DoD, DOE, and Civilian Federal Agencies participated in hands-on

workshops at EPA Headquarters. Sponsored by the Executive Order 13148

(Greening the Government through Leadership in Environmental Management)

EMS Sub-Work Group and supported by

EPA’s Federal Facilities Enforcement

Office, the workshops provided basic information about EMS requirements, group

exercises, and agency-specific examples.

The workshops included practical planning skills in the following areas:

1. Auditing as a gap analysis and selfassessment tool

2. Writing environmental policy statements

3. Identifying environmental aspects and

impacts

4. Setting and maintaining environmental objectives and targets

5. Establishing and maintaining emergency preparedness and response

Workshops and Conferences

To further assist federal agencies with

their EMS obligations under E.O. 13148,

the EMS Sub-Work Group is putting

together agency-level self-assessment

tools. These tools, or self-assessment

instruments, will help agencies, facilities,

and installations compare their existing

management programs with EMS standards and guidance.

For further information, contact Sarah

Hart of FFEO, after June 1, 2001 at (202)

564-2457 or hart.sarah@epa.gov.

Reducing Your Ecological

Footprint Training

EPA Region VIII Federal Facilities Coordinator Dianne Thiel designed a training

course based on the “footprint” model presented in the book Our Ecological Footprint by Mathis Wackernagel and William

Rees. Ms. Thiel has conducted the twohour course for EPA Region VIII staff, the

Colorado Department of Public Health

and Environment, and the Department of

Energy Regional Office in Golden, CO.

She plans to conduct the course for other

federal agency personnel.

Actions we take every day have farreaching impacts on the environment.

Americans, because of our high standard

of living and consumer culture, have

larger environmental impacts than any

other nation, with Canada and Europe

not far behind. Our Ecological Footprint

was written to help us understand the

environmental impact of this lifestyle. An

“ecological footprint” is the acres of ecologically productive land (and water)

needed to supply the energy, food, and

lumber we use, plus the land needed to

handle our waste and absorb the carbon

dioxide generated by burning fossil fuels.

The footprint model measures not just

the resource consumption and pollution

for which we are directly responsible, but

also estimates our share of the pollution

and resources used to make the products

we buy. For example, an automobile
FEDFACS 11

Mexico. The course addressed how to conduct an onsite review of the water

sources, facilities, equipment, operation,

maintenance, and compliance data of a

public water system to evaluate the adequacy of the system, its sources, operations, and distribution of safe drinking

water. The course ran three and a half

days, including one full day and three half

days of classroom instruction and discussion and two half days of field exercises.

An interagency agreement was developed between EPA Region VI (Dallas) and

Forest Service Region III (Albuquerque)

to have the Drinking Water Academy conduct Sanitary Survey Training for the

USDA Forest Service for about thirty

employees. EPA Region VI provided the

instructors and all the course materials

and the Forest Service paid for all the

necessary travel, per diem, equipment,

training facilities, and the systems to be

used during the field portion of the training. The training emphasized Non-Community Water Systems, of which the Forest Service has thousands.

Region VI staff visited four Forest Service water systems in September 2000.

Region VI evaluated the water systems,

met with the Forest Service officials to

debrief them, and sent the Forest Service

a written report based on the evaluation

findings. The results of these evaluations

were used in the Sanitary Survey training as case studies.

EPA Region VI is willing to conduct

future training with other federal agencies, however, the agency must be able to

cover the cost of the course, which

includes travel for three instructors for a

week and some minor charges for materials, usually totaling $4,000 - 5,000. Agencies may be able to use the IAG process to

pay the expenses.

For more information, please contact

Bill Davis of EPA Region VI at (214) 665-

7536.

owner’s footprint includes more than just

gas and oil. It includes the energy and

resources consumed to manufacture the

vehicle and build roads. Ecological footprints are commonly calculated for countries or regions. The book and training

provide questions to help estimate individual footprints as well as suggestions

for actions to reduce footprints, such as

using mass transit instead of driving.

For More Information, please contact

Dianne Thiel at (303) 312-6389.

Region VI NEPA Training 

Region VI hosted its second NEPA training the week of March 19-23 at the Magnolia in Dallas, Texas. The Shipley Group

presented “How to Manage the NEPA

Process and Write Effective NEPA Documents” to about twenty attendees from

various federal and state agencies including DOE, INS, Army, Air Force, FAA,

TXDOT, USFS, COE, and DOI.The goal is

to offer informative and consistent training to the federal facility community. The

region is working in conjunction with the

Shipley Group to offer various NEPA

workshops both in Dallas and in the

states contiguous to Texas. Please contact

Jana Harvill at (214) 665-8369 for more

details.

Regions VI and VIII Join

Forces to Conduct Environmental Justice Training at

DOI Meeting

EPA Regions VI and VIII Environmental

Justice programs joined forces to present

Environmental Justice (EJ) training to

Department of the Interior employees at

the annual DOI Conference on the Environment held March 13-15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conference,

titled “The Path Before Us: Environmental

Stewardship for the 21st Century,” was

hosted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

As the lead federal agency for Environmental Justice, EPA was invited to present

a training course to conference attendees

on the subject. EPA representatives from

Headquarters also participated in many

other aspects of the conference.

The Environmental Justice training

course was initially developed by Region

VIII, but has been refined through collaboration with several Regions and Headquarters. The course aims to provide participants with an understanding of EJ

concepts so that they may identify, facilitate, and respond to EJ issues more effectively in their organizations. The fourhour course includes a number of activities designed to involve participants in

the material.

“The course was very well received.”

said Deldi Reyes, Region VIII EJ trainer.

“Participation was lively, and people

really engaged in the material we presented. Most importantly, I think they

came away with a better understanding

of environmental justice and how to effectively analyze and address the issues. In

addition, the course evaluations were

very positive.”

“This training is really a great tool for

environmental justice,” Region VI EJ

Trainer, Mary Wilson, said. “It gives participants an opportunity to examine their

own ideas about what EJ is and isn’t, and

can provide a solid basis for analyzing

issues surrounding EJ.”

EPA is currently developing an

expanded EJ Training, “EJ 101”, for delivery to a wide range of audiences. The

training is being developed through the

EJ Training Collaborative, which is made

up of EPA Regional and Headquarters

representatives, other federal and state

government partners, community-based

organizations and academia. The Training Collaborative plans to pilot this new

training sometime in fiscal year 2001.

If you would like additional information regarding the EJ pilot training

development and implementation efforts,

contact Deldi Reyes at (303) 312-6055 or

Sheryl Good at (404) 562-9559.

EPA Region VI Conducts

Sanitary Survey Training for

the USDA Forest Service

EPA Recion VI conducted Sanitary Survey Training for the USDA Forest Service

on April 23-27, 2001 in Albuquerque, New
12 FEDFACS

The cleanup team for Naval Weapons

Industrial Reserve Plant (NWIRP) at

McGregor, Texas, has won the Secretary

of the Navy’s Environmental Cleanup

Team Award. Each year the Secretary of

the Navy recognizes one individual or

team for demonstrating excellence in the

Navy’s cleanup program. NWIRP McGregor, located on 9,700 acres 20 miles southwest of Waco, Texas, is a closed Navy

facility where former industrial activities

included manufacturing weapons and

solid-fuel rocket propulsion systems. The

McGregor Team was selected because of

its streamlined approach to cleanup, use

of innovative technology, and cost savings. In an eight month period, the Team

generated a conceptual design, evaluated

several bench and pilot scale studies, and

implemented full scale remediation systems, saving $6.5 million. In addition,

the City of McGregor was given the Community Economic Development Award by

the Texas Department of Economic

Development in recognition of the redevelopment efforts at the facility.

The McGregor Team also won the

Grand Award from the Consulting Engineers of Tennessee in association with the

American Consulting Engineers Council

for the innovative and low-cost remediation of perchlorate contaminated groundwater through an in situ system. Before

closing in 1996, NWIRP McGregor stored,

used, and disposed ammonium perchlorate (AP), an oxidizing agent used in solid

rocket propellant. AP is a salt, very soluble and mobile in water, and may persist

in the environment for decades. AP

affects the thyroid by inhibiting hormone

production.

In February 1999, the Texas Natural

Resource Conservation Commission

(TNRCC) requested the Navy implement

Interim Stabilization Measures to

address migration of AP offsite in excess

of Texas Provisional Drinking Water

Standard of 22 ug/L. Two large raw water

sources for 400,000 people were of concern, and the Navy’s response resulted in

several innovative remediation systems

after bench scale studies were conducted.

The in situ treatment system for the

Propellant Manufacturing Plant consists

of a Permeable Bioreactive Barrier using

three cutoff and collection trenches to

intercept and treat groundwater before

offsite migration. Each trench used either

compost, granular activated carbon, or

cotton seed/meal as a carbon source.

Under normal flow conditions, AP was

reduced from 20,000 ppb to 4.0 ppb detection limits. Since October 2000, rainfall

over 200% of the normal has overpowered

the system so that residence time is not

sufficient for efficient bioremediation. A

Calgon Ion Reactor has been installed in

a pilot test mode to polish the water

before discharge

Offsite in situ biotreatment on Texas

relies on antiquated combined storm

water drainage and sewage systems to

carry rainfall to treatment facilities. However, when as little as 0.27” of rain falls,

the drainage system backs up, resulting

in raw sewage being released into rivers

and tributaries.

GSA NCR first became involved in

EPA’s Federal Agencies Committee of the

Chesapeake Bay Program as a voluntary

member. Because NCR owns and manages numerous facilities in the ChesaGSA’S STORMWATER 

MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Continued from page 1

A&M property consists of 200 borings

(bioborings) in multiple lines backfilled

with cottonseed meal, aggregate, sodium

acetate, and AP-reducing microorganisms. The array of boreholes (15 to 20

rows of 11 boreholes) were placed along

the AP plume. Early sampling from the

new system indicates AP concentrations

are trending down, although it is not

clear whether the reduction is from

degradation or dilution.

Onsite surficial soil contamination

contributes to offsite AP migration after

storm water runoff. Three soil treatment

cells are under construction over existing

soil contamination for in situ treatment.

The cells are designed to infiltrate carbon

and nutrient rich water back into the formation, manage contaminated soil from

other areas, and provide water storage

capacity when needed. Also, a pilot phytoremediation study northeast of Area F

is ongoing where 2000 cottonwood whips

have been planted. Early sample results

are inconclusive. Normal maturation

time is three years.

All ongoing remediation activities are

Interim Measures. No final remedies

have been selected.

For more information, contact David

Neleigh at (214) 665- 6785, or Bob Sturdivant at (214) 665-7440.

McGregor Cleanup Team Wins National Award

peake Bay watershed area it became

apparent that its inventory could potentially impact the environment. GSA NCR

soon became one of the programs leading

proponents.Additionally, GSA realized its

responsibility to the surrounding communities which prompted GSA to move to

the forefront of this issue.

GSA NCR developed a comprehensive

region-wide stormwater management

plan in 2000, compiling best management

practices and stormwater pollution prevention measures for all GSA facilities

within the National Capital Region.

This program is still in its infancy, it is

too early to assess the results in terms of

reduced runoff and pollution. However,

GSA NCR believes that, when fully

implemented and accepted in the organizational culture, the new region-wide

stormwater management plan will contribute significantly to overall improvement in the water quality of local

streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay.

Furthermore, the program is designed to

be easily adapted and implemented

within other GSA regions nation-wide.

Contact Kelly Holland at (202) 708-

5255 for further information on this initiative.
FEDFACS 13

south of the NAS. Over 25 miles of shoreline, ranging from sandy beaches to tidal

marshes, line three sides of the installation. Bordered by the Patuxent River and

Chesapeake Bay, the NAS has three seaplane basins, six man-made freshwater

ponds, and three tidal creeks.

In August 1998, the NAS Installation

Restoration (IR) Program began formal

partnering. The partnering meetings are

intended to open the communication

channels and avoid disputes, outline a

mutual commitment on how to interact,

and form a relationship of teamwork,

cooperation, and good faith performance.

Currently, the team includes representatives from the activity’s IR program, Engineering Field Activity Chesapeake (EFA

CHES), Maryland Department of the

Environment, and the U.S. EPA. Contractor involvement consists of key representatives from the Navy’s Comprehensive

Long-term Environmental Action Navy

(CLEAN) and RAC (Remedial Action

Contractor) contracts, CH2M Hill and IT

Corporation. Meetings are held once a

month. This partnership results in more

cost-effective actions, efficient use of dollars spent, and an improved quality of

product.

The NAS Supply Department Fuels

Division approached the partnering team

and inquired about reusing an existing

CERCLA Site (Bohneyard or Site 6) for

an aircraft fuel tanker parking lot. At the

time, the fuel tanker parking areas and

the fuel farm were not centrally located.

The operations were about two miles

apart. Site 6 is located next to the fuel

farm and adjacent to the taxiways and

runway. Moving and consolidating fuel

operations in one area made sense and

would save money. Thus, the Bohneyard

was an ideal reuse candidate. Reuse of

the CERCLA site also met the NAS’s

long-term operational needs by centralizing fuel tanker truck parking next to fuel

storage.

As a result, the partnering team

decided to accelerate the CERCLA

process. A series of expedited evaluations

and onboard reviews were

implemented to accelerate

schedules for the proposed

plan, record of decision (ROD),

remedial design, and remedial

action. Timing the construction schedule and the funding

availability was critical to the

plan’s success. The team

decided to separate the site

into two operable units (OUs).

This also aided in streamlining the

process. The feasibility study (FS) evaluated several options including a cover. The

OU-2 comprises groundwater and downstream surface water and sediment, and is

currently under investigation.

The partnering team coordinated with

the EPA biological technical assistance

team (BTAG comprised of EPA, U.S.

FWS, and NOAA members). Based on

future reuse, the remedial investigation

(RI) concluded that because the ecological

habitat would be limited following construction and that the cover would eliminate the exposure pathway for ecological

receptors, the ecological risk assessment

was complete. The BTAG agreed with

this conclusion. A gravel layer would be

added as an additional barrier between

the contaminated soil and the portions of

the site that did not contain concrete.

In support of the NAS’s mission, the

alternative selected in the ROD involved

constructing a concrete parking lot over

about one-half of Site 6 (3 acres). A soil

cover over a gravel layer was placed over

the remaining area of the site. The ROD

also included a remedy for Site 6A, an

asphalt cover. This area is currently used

for storage/staging of equipment. The

ROD selected an asphalt cover to facilitate

continued use as a storage facility. Site 6A

is in the design phase. Institutional controls will consist of access restrictions to

prevent trespassing, land use controls to

restrict site development and access to

groundwater, and monitoring to assess

whether contaminants are migrating into

the environment. The selected remedy

achieves the goal of reusing a CERCLA

site while protecting human health and

the environment.

In order to meet the station’s schedule,

the conceptual design was completed

while the RI and FS were ongoing. The

ROD was signed on 9/29/99.The ROD was

accepted on 10/12/99, and construction

began on 10/26/99. Funding for the project was critically coordinated. Defense

Fuels, Defense Base Operating, and Navy

Environmental Restoration Account

funds paid for the construction. Despite

the possible pitfalls and constraints, construction began on schedule. The Bohneyard was ready for reuse in the Spring of

2000.

Photograph of the Bohneyard fuel tanker parking lot in December 2000.

PARTNERING AT NAS 

PATUXENT RIVER

Continued from page 1

The partnering meetings are intended to

open the communication channels and

avoid disputes, outline a mutual 

commitment on how to interact, and form

a relationship of teamwork, cooperation,

and good faith performance. 
14 FEDFACS

I

n response to widespread stakeholder

interest, EPA is scheduled to announce

in May the expansion of the Sector Facility Indexing Project (SFIP) to include a

subset of federal facilities. This expansion

means that communities can obtain

important compliance and inspection

information about local federal facilities,

and the facilities themselves will be

encouraged to become more accountable.

As a community-right-to-know project,

SFIP is a computerized database of environmental information that is intended to

make facility-level compliance data readily available to the public in one location

on the internet. SFIP includes such information as a facility’s compliance and

enforcement history, information on pollutant releases and spills, and demographics of the surrounding community.

All of this information is already publicly

available. This project combines data

from several existing EPA databases in

order to allow easier access and review.

The new federal facility subset will

include all federal facilities which are

considered to be major facilities in at

least two of the three following programs:

the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, or

the Resource Conservation and Recovery

Act. This new subset will join the approximately 650 facilities in five industry sectors - pulp manufacturing, petroleum

refining, automobile

assembly, iron and

steel, and primary

smelting and refining

of nonferrous metals -

that initially comprised SFIP.

When EPA launched

the SFIP website

(www.epa.gov/oeca/sfi) in May 1998, we

committed to monitor and evaluate the

progress of this project. User groups both

inside and outside the Agency were consulted in our evaluation and the results

were positive. Extensively accessed by a

variety of users, the SFIP website has

been found to be understandable and

easy to navigate, resulting in numerous

analyses to be undertaken that have used

SFIP data. Users have commented that

SFIP has met the challenge of summarizing complex compliance and pollutant

release information from multiple statutory programs. Users have also stated

that the project serves as an incentive to

achieve and maintain compliance while

helping to improve quality in the underlying databases.

With this expansion, we have continued to ensure that we maintain the public’s confidence in the integrity of the

data. Once again regions, states, and the

affected facilities were given the opportunity to review the data and resolve any

data quality issues through a coordinated

EPA/state effort prior to release.

When the expansion is completed, we

encourage you to use this information

and provide us with comments by contacting Rob Lischinsky by phone at (202)

564-2628, by e-mail at lischinsky.

robert@epa.gov, or by mail at U.S. EPA,

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (mailcode 2223A), Washington, DC 20460.

Together we can work toward ensuring

that everyone has easy access to important information relevant to the protection of our health and environment.

Again, the website containing the initial

five sectors is currently available at

www.epa.gov/oeca/sfi.

Sector Facility Indexing Project – Expansion 

to Federal Facilities

I

ssued in 1998, Executive Order 13101,

“Greening the Government Through

Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal

Acquisition,” was intended to strengthen

the federal government’s commitment to

recycling and buying recycled content and

environmentally preferable products. The

executive order, in conjunction with the

requirements of RCRA 6002 that directs

federal purchasing decisions for recycled

products, provides the baseline for the federal government’s affirmative procurement policy. RCRA 6002 requires each

procuring agency to procure items “composed of the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable.” After E.O.

13101 was issued, the Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) was amended to implement policies to assist government agencies in carrying out the requirements of

the Executive Order.

EPA inspectors contacted 74 facilities

in 2000 about their affirmative procurement procedures. In 2001, RCRA program personnel will contact an additional 30 to 40 federal facilities in Region

III to focus attention on RCRA 6002 and

affirmative procurement requirements.

Federal agencies have responded in support of affirmative procurement. For

example, the Department of Defense

(DoD) through a 5-year, multi-million dollar contract for maintenance and repair

of parking lots, has reused 3,328 tons of

recycled asphalt and recycled 4,380 tons

of asphalt.

For more information on E.O. 13101,

consult the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive’s web page at www.ofee.

gov/index.html. Guidelines for procurement along with products and specifications can be found at www.epa.gov/cpg/ or

http://pub.fss.gsa.gov/environ/recycledprod.cfm.

Region III Stresses Affirmative Procurement

This expansion means that communities can

obtain important compliance and inspection

information about local federal facilities, and

the facilities themselves will be encouraged

to become more accountable.
FEDFACS 15

Each EPA Region has a designated Federal Facilities Program

Manager (FFPM), who, in conjunction with other EPA Regional

staff, is responsible for coordinating the implementation of EPA’s

federal facilities policies and programs at the regional level. They

serve as the primary regional point of contact for facility environmental managers. FFEO works closely with Regional FFPMs.

HEADQUARTERS

Greg Snyder, Director

Planning, Prevention, & Compliance Staff

U.S. EPA Headquarters (2261A)

Federal Facilities Enforcement Office 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20460 

E-mail: snyder.greg@epa.gov

Phone: 202-564-4271

Fax: 202-501-0069 

REGION I 

Anne Fenn

U.S. EPA Region I

Office of Environmental Stewardship

1 Congress Street, Suite 1100, Mail: SPP

Boston, MA 02114-2023

E-mail: fenn.anne@epa.gov

Phone: 617-918-1805

Fax: 617-918-1810

REGION II 

Kathleen Malone

Alt: John Gorman

U.S. EPA Region II

Compliance Assistance Section

290 Broadway, 21st Fl.

New York, NY 10007-1866 

E-mail: malone.kathleen @epa.gov 

Phone: 212-637-4083 (Malone)

E-mail: gorman.john@epa.gov

Phone: 212-637-4008(Gorman)

Fax: 212-637-4086 

REGION III

Bill Arguto 

U.S. EPA Region III

Office of Environmental Programs 

1650 Arch Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029 

E-mail: arguto.willam@epa.gov

Phone: 215-814-3367

Fax: 215-814-2783

Their responsibilities include giving program assistance and training for federal facilities; informing federal facilities about current

environmental issues and developments; managing, tracking,

overseeing, and planning compliance activities; encouraging pollution prevention; and coordinating with the region’s media program

staff to implement federal facilities enforcement programs.

EPA’s Federal Facility Program Managers

REGION IV

Stacy Gent-Howard

U.S. EPA Region IV

Env. Accountability Division, Federal Facilities

61 Forsyth St., SW

Atlanta, GA 30303-8960

E-mail: howard.stacy@epa.gov

Phone: 404-562-9633

Fax: 404-562-9598

REGION V

Lee J. Regner

U.S. EPA Region V

Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance

77 West Jackson Blvd

Chicago, IL 60604-3507

E-mail: regner.lee@epa.gov

Phone: 312-353-6478

Fax: 312-353-5374 

REGION VI

Joyce F. Stubblefield

U.S. EPA Region VI 

Compliance Assurance & Enforcement Division

1445 Ross Avenue

Dallas, TX 75202

E-mail: stubblefield.joyce@epa.gov

Phone: 214-665-6430

Fax: 214-665-7446

REGION VII

Diana Jackson

U.S. EPA Region VII

Enforcement Coordination Office

901 North 5th Street

Kansas City, KS 66101

E-mail: jackson.diana@epa.gov

Phone: 913-551-7744

Fax: 913-551-9744

REGION VIII

Dianne Thiel

Connally Mears

U.S. EPA Region VIII

Office of Partnerships and Regional Assistance,

8P-P3T

999 18th Street

Denver, CO 80202-2466

E-mail: thiel.dianne@epa.gov

Phone: 303-312-6389 (Thiel)

Fax: 303-312-6044

E-mail: mears.connally@epa.gov

Phone: 303-312-6217 (Mears)

Fax: 303-312-6409

REGION IX 

Sara Segal

Larry Woods

U.S. EPA Region IX

Cross-Media Division 

75 Hawthorne St, CMD-2

San Francisco, CA 94105

E-mail: segal.sara@epa.gov;

Phone: 415-744-1569 (Segal)

E-mail: woods.larry@epa.gov

Phone: 415-744-1580 (Woods)

Fax: 415-744-1598 

REGION X

Michele Wright

U.S. EPA Region X

Office of Enforcement & Compliance (OEC-164)

1200 6th Avenue

Seattle, WA 98101

E-mail: wright. michele @epa.gov

Phone: 206-553-1747

Fax: 206-553-7176

FEDERAL FACILITIES PROGRAM MANAGERS

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental

Protection Agency (2261A)

Washington, DC 20460

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

Address Service Requested

LIST OF ACRONYMS

AWTA Anacostia Watershed Toxics Alliance

BEP Bureau of Engraving & Printing

BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs

CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act

CFA Civilian Federal Agency

DoD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

DOI Department of the Interior

DOJ Department of Justice

DOT Department of Transportation

EJ Environmental Justice

EPCRA Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act

EMR Environmental Management Review

EMS Environmental Management System

FFEO Federal Facilities Enforcement Office

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

FUDS Formerly Used Defense Sites

GIS Geographic Information System

GSA General Services Administration

LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory

MDE Maryland Department of the Environment

NAS Naval Air Station

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act

NMED New Mexico Environment Department

NPL National Priorities List

OU Operable Unit

P2 Pollution Prevention

PCB Polychlorinated Biphenyl

RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

RI/FS Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study

ROD Record of Decision

TNRCC Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission

TXP3 Texas Pollution Prevention Partnership

USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

UST Underground Storage Tank