Federal Facilities Environmental Journal最新文献

The U.S. Army manages over 12 million acres of federal training and testing lands contained within military installations throughout the 50 United States. These lands are a critical national asset for defense readiness, dedicated to providing realistic training and testing environments for army units and equipment. The locations and physiographic diversity of the Army's current land inventory is a function of historical precedent, modern-day land expansions, and requirements for strategic projection of forces. Many Army lands are relatively undeveloped, providing important ecological settings for a variety of flora and fauna, including many threatened and endangered species. As a responsible land steward, the Army is committed to protection and sustainable use of these natural resources, with concurrent benefit to both the army and the public. Army training and testing activities can cause environmental impacts that may be detrimental to the long-term sustainment of ecological functions. These realities pose significant land management challenges to the Army. The application of established ecologicalframeworks for strategically assessing land-use impacts and land management approaches is demonstrated for 31 major Army installations, using Bailey's “ecoregion classification system,” developed by the U.S. Forest Service. The Ecoregions framework is used to (1) classify and catalog the ecological diversity of Army lands, (2) provide a comparative framework for assessing land resiliencyfrom Army impacts, and (3) extrapolate knowledge of perturbed ecosystem behavior and response from one army installation to others in similar ecoregions.

The U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) and Defense (DOD) generate hazardous wastes as a result of routine operations. Waste types range from solvents, fuels, lubricants, and sludges to streams containing mixtures of these and other inorganic and organic compounds, along with potentially radioactive materials. Many of these compounds are amenable to treatment by electrochemical processes that destroy hazardous organic contaminants in aqueous streams at ambient temperatures and pressure. It is also possible to separate the radioactive components of these wastes from solution using electrochemical processes.

In this article, we discuss the environmental factors and issues associated with electrochemical waste treatment processes. We summarize the federal regulations that compel government agencies to conduct environmental management activities. Applications of electrochemical processes to waste treatment and waste minimization at DOE and DOD sites are presented, and issues associated with acceptance of these processes are addressed.

With land use becoming an ever more pressing issue for the Department of Defense (DOD), the possibility of environmental contamination from normal training operations must be addressed. This article examines the potential for contamination from the propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics (PEP) associated with military training; includes a synopsis of some of the studies conducted to date; touches on the fate and transport of PEPs; and discusses the DOD approach to investigating the potential for contamination from normal training. While DOD is attempting to proactively address potential problems, one thing has become clear: better communication, both internal and external to DOD, is a must.

The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) has historically used large amounts of methylene chloride/phenol-based chemical strippers to depaint aircraft. EPA has targeted these chemical depainting agents for elimination. For years, OC-ALC engineers have been aggressively evaluating environmentally acceptable (EA) chemical strippers for replacing methylene chloride and phenol. One of the more promising is a benzyl alcohol-hydrogen peroxide two part chemical depainting agent. Recently, there have been a number of concerns. Upon mixing the benzyl alcohol-hydrogen peroxide chemical stripper, it is theorized that a targeted hazardous air pollutant (i.e., phenol) is generated, thereby violating the NESHAP (National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants) requirement. In addition, there is concern of a potential explosion hazard when mixing hydrogen peroxide. This article addresses the potential concerns by conducting both a literature search to evaluate potential problems (i.e., health concerns, explosive hazards, chemical stability, chemical reaction mechanisms/pathways, chemical reaction end- and by-products, etc.) and laboratory experiments to determine if phenol is produced as an end-product, by-product, or reaction step intermediate.

The continuing dialogue on title transfer of military base closure property is representative of the difficult public policy considerations associated with balancing economic and environmental concerns at closed or closing military installations. With the recent announcement by the secretary of defense that the Department of Defense (DOD) would seek two more rounds of base closure, the impediments to reuse of former military property that continue to plague local communities will be subjected to further scrutiny. Mr. Swenson examines the benefits of Section 334 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 with respect to Tooele Army Depot and by implication, the application of those benefits to other base closure property. This analysis addresses that optimistic examination.

Over the last 30 years, the Department of Defense's (DOD's) Environmental Program has evolved through three distinct phases: planning, cleanup, and compliance. Increased concerns by regulators and the public over environmental and safety issues have recently brought increased attention to munitions and range management. Munitions management and western land withdrawals have been the DOD's range focus for the last five years in order to meet congressional mandates. Munitions management emphasis has yielded such direction as the Military Munitions Rule, DOD Directives 4715.11 “Environmental and Explosive Safety Management on Department of Defense Active and Inactive Ranges,” AF Instruction 13–212, and the developing Munitions Action Plan (MAP) and draft Range Rule. While munitions safety and environmental impact on our ranges are very important, they are only the most publicized of the numerous interrelated range challenges, such as noise and encroachment. DOD rangeland withdrawals have introduced new range management requirements. Numerous DOD ranges have come under attack with some actually being shut down. Attempts to establish new ranges have faced stiff opposition resulting in significant changes, decreased capabilities, and greatly increased costs. New weapon systems are being developed with increased range and autonomy that drive the need for expanded range capabilities. These events all highlight the fundamental role comprehensive range planning must fill to support sustainable ranges within DOD. This article proposes an overarching companion document to the draft MAP: a Range and Airspace Action Plan (RAAP). Three keys to the RAAP comprehensive sustainable range planning are presented: defining ranges comprehensively, documenting current range environmental impacts through National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and comprehensive planning for a sustainable future.

In 1995 as much as 80 percent of environmental funding was allocated to contracts. Given the outsource emphasis and current funding restraints, the Army needs to ensure that environmental contracting policies and procedures are efficient and effective. Numerous agencies, including the U.S. General Accounting Office, U.S. Army Audit Agency, DOD Inspector General, Society of American Military Engineers, USMA Center for Environmental and Geographic Sciences (CEGS), and Department of Energy Contract Reform Team, have reported shortcomings in environmental contracting. Environmental contracting differs significantly from construction contracting because of the uncertainty in estimating remediation costs, determining specific environmental requirements, predicting health risks of different alternatives, and operating in an ever-changing regulatory climate. Although this article advocates that DOD organize specific reform regarding environmental contracting, there are actions the contracting community can take to reduce excess contracting capacity and improve efficiencies in environmental contracting.

The Clean Air Act requires much action by Air Force bases to comply with its many and varied parts. This article discusses the alternatives used at Air Combat Command Air Force bases to avoid the more onerous requirements of the latest air regulations and reduce the probability of inspection and enforcement by regulators. These methods include pollution prevention initiatives, revision of air emissions inventories to incorporate more recent guidance and remove inaccuracies, modification of permits and permit applications to include limits and the cost avoidance and other associated benefits.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has adopted a far-reaching and challenging conservation goal. Yet, DOD faces significant challenges in achieving this goal. DOD managers are under increasing pressure from many directions regarding how to use and manage these resources. Recent actions have resulted in decidedly mixed results for the future health of the natural and cultural resources on DOD lands. It will take continued progress through such initiatives as implementing the Sikes Act Improvement Amendments and continuing to fund DOD-wide conservation initiatives through the Legacy program to ensure the continued health of DOD's natural and cultural resources.