The United States Air Force`s Environmental Compliance Assessment and Management Program (ECAMP) is a process to improve Air Force environmental compliance, management, and programmatic support. Midway into the third round of Command-initiated (external) ECAMP evaluations for its fourteen Air Logistics and Systems Centers, the Air Force Material Command (AFMC) is continuing to identify the root causes of instances of environmental noncompliance. The AFMC initiated an analysis of all negative findings identified during the second round of external ECAMP evaluations (June 1991 to January 1993). Presented here is a summary of the analysis with emphasis on trends and root causes

Horstman, P.

Levenson, J. B.

Weaver, M. A.

UNT Digital Library

U.S. AIR FORCE MATERIEL COMMAND'S SECOND ROUND ECAMP RESULTS' James B. Levenson Ph.D., CHMM, Argonne National Laboratory (708) 252-7476 Marja A. Weaver, M.S.E.E., HQ AFMCICEVC (513) 257-5878 and Philip Horstman, M.S., Argonne National Laboratory (708) 252-9848 INTRODUCTION The United States Air Force's Environmental Compliance Assessment and Management Program (ECAMP) is a process to improve Air Force environmental compliance, management, and programmatic support. Midway into the third round of Command-initiated (external) ECAMP evaluations for its fourteen Air Logistics and Systems Centers, the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is continuing to identify the root causes of instances of environmental noncompliance. The AFMC initiated an analysis of all negative findings identified during the second round of external ECAMP evaluations (June 1991 to January 1993). Presented here is a summary of the analysis with emphasis on trends and root causes. BACKGROUND Currently, Air Force Policy Directive (AFPD) 32-70, Environmental Quality, directs Air Force compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local environmental laws and standards. Implementing AFPD 32-70, Air Force Instruction 32-7045, Environmental Compliance Assessment and Management Program directs environmental compliance evaluations of Air Force operations and activities and provides instructions to assign noncompliant findings with Finding Identification Codes. To facilitate the analysis of negative fmdings, we employed the Finding Identification Codes prescribed in the ECAMP process. Finding Identification Codes are a couplet of keywords composed of Finding Category Codes (FCCs) and Violation Type Codes (VTCs). Since the implementation of requirements set forth in the January 1991 ECAMP manual, the AFMC has expanded the list of FCCs (Table 1) and VTCs (Table 2) to more accurately describe the variety of conditions frequently encountered at its installations. The new codes have not been arbitrarily assigned, but result from a thorough review and reassignment of keywords to all negative findings documented during the ECAMP evaluations. Combined, the couplet describes a noncompliant condition and provides the basis for looking across the Command for noncompliance trends and building supporting financial programs for 'Work supported under a milita.ry interdepartment purchase request from the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, HQ AFMCKEV, through U.S. Department of Energy contract W-31-109-Eng-38. The submitted manuscript has been authored by a contractor of the U. S. Government under contract No. W-31-104ENG-38. Accordingly. the U. S. Government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to publish or reproduce the published form of this 1contribution, U. S. Government or allow purposes. others to do so, for MASTER DISTRlBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS U I DlSCLAl M ER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. environmental requirements. The resulting Finding Identification Codes have been broadly adopted for the (new) ECAMP manual and the multi-service TEAM Guide. Finding Category Codes beyond the key word "Others" in Table 1 are additions since publication of the January 1991 ECAMP manual. An asterisk indicates additional codes identified since the June 1994 edition of the ECAMP manual. TABLE 1. AFMC Finding Category Codes Air Emissions 1A Fuel Burners 1B Incinerators 1C Volatile Organics 1D Others 1E Ozone Depleting Chemicals 1F Particulates/Bead Blast 1G Air Toxics, Metals 1H General Requirements 11 Vehicle Emissions* Natural/Cultural Resources 4A Wildlife/Recreation/Forestry 4B Cultural/Historic 4C LandIAgriculture 4D Wetlands/Floodplains 4E Others 4F ThreatenedEndangered Species* poL 7A Aboveground Tanks 7B Underground Tanks 7C OperationslManagement 7D Others 7E OilWater Separators 7F DrumStorage 7G Hydrant Systems* 7H Loading/Unloadmg Racks* Water Quality 10A Sanitary Wastewater 10B Industrial Wastewater 1OC Storm Water Runoff 1OD Non-point Runoff 1OE Operations 1OF Others 1OG Facilitiesaquipment 10H OilWater Separators 101 DrinkingWater Hazardous Materials 2A Storage Structures 2B OperationsManagement 2C Others 2D Flammables 2E Caustics/Corrosives 2F Compressed Gas Cylinders 2G Incompatibles 2H Hazard Communication 21 SARA Title III* Noise SA AICUZ 5B Procedures 5C Others 5D Management* Solid Waste 8A Landfills 8B Receptacles 8C Recycling 8D Others 8E Medicalwaste 8F Regulated Materials Hazardous Waste 3A Accumulation Points 3B TSD Facilities 3C Training 3D Waste Minimization 3E Others 3F Oilmater Separators 3G Satellite Accumulation Points 3H Operational Procedures 31 Unauthorized Locations* Pesticide 6A Facilities 6B Operational Procedures 6C Others 6D Equipment* 6E Materials & Storage* 6F Personnel Issues* SDecial Programs 9A PCBs 9B Asbestos 9C Radon Mitigation 9D Others 9E IRP 9F EIAP 9H ECAMP 9J Low Level Radiation 9K AutomationIssues or WIMS-ES 9G A-106 91 Lead-Based Paint Pollution Prevention 11A Management Plans 11B ODCs 11C EPA 17 11D Hazardous Waste Minimization 11E Recycling 11F Affirmative Procurement 11G Energy Conservation 1lH Education and Training 111 Hazardous Material Control 11J Others TABLE 2. AFMC Violation Type Codes Administrative Potential Discharge Dischawe A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 AS A9 Records Labels Reports Manifests Lack of a Permit Inadequate/Missing Plan StatePublic Notification Public Notification Fire Standard P1 Operational Practices D1 P2 Inadequate Facility D2 P3 Inadequate EquipmentlContainer D2 P4 Others D4 P5 No Testing/Verification D5 P6 Containment D6 P7 Propertymabitat Modification* D7 PS Biotic Contamination* D8 D9 Excess Chemical Parameter Excess Physical Parameter Excess Physical Parameter Spills/Leaks or Releases Others Containment* PropertyMabitat Destruction* Illegal Take* Erosion/Sedimentation* .A10 Program Planning A l l  Sampling A12 Training A13 Other A14 Registration A15 Uncharacterized A16 Lacking or Incomplete Inventory/Survey A17 SamplinglTestingNerifi~tion* D 10 Biotic Contamination* MATERIALS & METHODS A total of 1,558 environmental findings resulted from the second round of external ECAMP assessments at the fourteen Air Logistics and Systems Centers. Each finding resides in a database that includes all WIMS-ES fields. A printout of a finding's Descriptive Phrase, Finding Detail, and Finding Identification Codes by protocol and installation was generated for this analysis. Each finding phrase and detail were read to validate coding and, where applicable, codes were updated on the printout and in the database. Categorized as Discharge, Potential Discharge, and Administrative, Violation Type Codes were used to initiate the analysis because they represent a hierarchy of concern. The worst-case situation is a Discharge that must be dealt with immediately. The next worst-case condition is a Potential Discharge that does not require immediate attention but is of sufficient concern to warrant management attention. The final VTC is Administrative, widely held as easily fixed, dealing with records and administrative procedures. The data were reassembled into a matrix to identify "spikes," or areas of concern warranting further investigation. A three-step process of investigation, termed "peelback," was undertaken. The first step identified the number of findings, by ECAMP protocol, for each VTC category (Discharge, Potential Discharge, or Administrative). Step 2 grouped by protocol the FCCs with the highest occurrences. The final step ordered the number of findings with the highest occurrence within each VTC for the FCCs and provided the sequence of noncompliance trends. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Of the 1,558 findings, 158 (10%) fall within the VTC Discharge category, 723 (46%) within Potential Discharge, and 677 (44%) within Administrative. What follows is a discussion of the trends found using the peelback procedure for protocols associated with the highest regulatory vulnerability. Water Oualitv: Fourteen percent (218) of all findings were related to Water Quality and 36% of these findings resulted in a discharge to the environment. Thirty-nine percent of the Water Quality discharge findings are related to industrial discharge. The review of discharge-related findings reveals that wash racks contribute to the majority of Industrial Wastewater releases. Investigation of the wash rack finding details indicates the causes are associated with operational practices. The remaining findings for Industrial Wastewater deal with exceedances of chemical or physical parameters. Sanitary Wastewater discharges (19%) are primarily exceedances of chemical parameters specified in pre-treatment permits. Storm Water Runoff discharges (19%) are attributed to exceedances of physical parameters, including debris in watercourses or high total suspended solids readings and turbidity. The majority of discharge findings associated with Nonpoint Runoff (12 %) identify soil erosion from both construction and nonconstruction sites. There are no significant Potential Discharge or Administrative trends. - POL: Another 14% (219) of the total findings were identified in the petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) protocol. Only 16% of these findings are related to environmental discharges. Ninety-six percent of the findings are attributed to overfilling tanks or with faulty equipment associated with tank fiiling. Lack of containment or faulty fittings for fuel/lubricant dispensers are common. Even findings associated with worn equipment could be mitigated through proper operational procedures. Fifty-seven percent of the POL findings were categorized as Potential Discharge situations. Nearly three-quarters of them require a technical fix such as equipment or facility repair: Containment (53, and Inadequate EquipmentKontainer (35). Common problem areas are impervious or missing dikes and berms, inoperative or missing detection systems or cathodic protection, and lack of POL pipeline/fill security. The technical requirements have been aggressively addressed in the AFMC environmental compliance funding process. It is anticipated that future ECAMP findings will show a decrease in POL findings due to technical inadequacies. Administrative POL issues include the lack of site-specific spill response plans and incomplete underground storage tank records. Hazardous Waste: For Hazardous Waste, 313 findings (20% of the total) were identified. Only 25 of the findings (8%) identify discharges to the environment. Fifty-six percent of the Hazardous Waste discharges are linked to Hazardous Waste accumulation points. The remaining 44 percent are identified as Operational Procedures. The majority of finding details are the same in both cases: leaking containers and spills resulting from poor management practices. Fifty-eight percent (180) of the Hazardous Waste findings address Potential Discharges. Operational Practices and Inadequate EquipmentKontainer are cited most often. Sixty-eight percent of the Hazardous Waste Potential Discharge findings occurred at Initial and 90-Day Accumulation Sites while only 7% are attributed to treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. Administrative Hazardous Waste issues deal with response and management plans, and incomplete labeling at accumulation areas. The overall trend identifies a need for more explicit training. The AFMC has recently initiated a Command-wide hazardous waste training initiative to bring individual unit responsibility into the hazardous waste management program. Air Emissions: Eight percent (123) of the findings were in the Air Emissions protocol. Twenty-two identified actual emissions to the atmosphere. Findings for discharges of Volatile Organics (45%) are attributed to uncovered degreasers and leaking seals on bulk fuel tanks. With the conversion from JP-4 to JP-8 jet fuel, it is anticipated that findings for fuel tank seals will disappear in the third round of ECAMP evaluations. Ozone Depleting Chemical (18%) discharges include venting of CFCs from large refrigeration systems and exceeding freon permit limits. Findings for Fuel Burners (14%) primarily address exceedances of opacity limits. Operational practices and mitigation equipment problems shared equally as root causes for Air Emissions. There are several Administrative issues which identify incomplete emission source surveys or records (particularly VOCs), permit opacity limit exceedances on fuel burners, and unpermitted VOC sources. Most common is the failure to document the volume of paint used and the associated volume of VOC content. Hazardous Material: Nearly 20% of all findings (307) were identified in the Hazardous Material Management Protocol. Sixty-seven percent (207) of the findings were categorized as Potential Discharges due to improper storage of flammables, caustics, corrosives and compressed gas cylinders. Thirty percent (93) of the findings were Administrative, primarily citing inadequate plans and procedures (49) and poor Hazard Communication program management (25). Cross-functional management attention from Ground Safety, Fire Protection, and Bio- environmental Engineering can lead to a coordinated resolution of these Hazardous Material issues. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the five protocols discussed comprise 76% of all findings for AFMC’s second round of external ECAMP evaluations. There are no findings that describe problems that are unresolvable in any of the protocols. Continued cross-functional cooperation within the Command should resolve the issues addressed. The AFMC continues to use ECAMP data analysis to develop Command-wide initiatives to improve environmental compliance. As previously noted, AFMC has addressed facility and equipment deficiencies leading to noncompliance in POL areas. The number of findings due to operational practice is also receiving a high level of attention. The potential for regulatory intervention for Hazardous Waste findings with procedural root causes has focused management attention on developing and issuing standardized Command-wide operating procedures and training requirements for Hazardous Waste management. This process of data analysis establishes an appropriate framework for application of AFMC resources to improve environmental compliance and management. Finding Category Codes are useful for investigating instances of environmental noncompliance and identifying their root causes. The AFMC process illustrates how spikes for the various protocols, FCCs, and subsequent VTCs are “p led  back” to reveal issues for management attention. DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsi- bility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Refer- ence herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom- mendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. 

US Air Force Materiel Command`s second round ECAMP results

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US Air Force Materiel Command`s second round ECAMP results

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