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Show 1 V April 15, 1999 Land, water, air V. "I ( r f lfil(i f Environmental compliance ensures the base meets all current environmental requirements. They work with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Utah Department of Environmental Qual- Week directs our thoughts and our to our relationship with the Earth. From days, man has left behind evidence of his industry. Prehistoric man left shards in caves, mummies in pyramids and graffiti on canyon walls. Modern industrial man will leave behind homes, buildings and highways. But will man leave behind an Earth trashed on a gigantic scale with industrial wastes? These industrial wastes became the focus of attention during the 1960s and 1970s when Congress passed several laws dealing with the environment. These laws put two requirements on industries first, they must cease doing things that contaminate the earth; and second, they must clean up the accumulated contamination. What about military bases? The environmental legislation required defense bases, including Hill AFB, to change their ways. Engineers and scientists at Hill began the investigation of hazardous waste sites on the base during the 1970s. They discovered practices that at the time were acceptable but today would not be tolerated because of the environmental dangers. They found cleaning solvents, petroleum products and heavy metals dumped in pits. Chemicals had leaked from tanks and underground pipes that were not properly protected. These and other practices led to contamination moving through the soil from the base into nearby communities. Today Hill AFB has a proactive program handled by the Environmental Management Directorate to prevent pollution and to clean up past contamina-tioEM works in three teams of engineers, scientists and other specialists who handle all the directorate's commitments past, present and Earth ity, who by Charles Freeman Chief, Environmental Public Affairs And the winner of the 1998 Secretary of Defense's Environmental Security Award for Recycling (Industrial Category) is. ..Hill AFB. That was the message from headquarters last month and was received to the delight of Hill officials. This is the first time the base has won the recycling award at the DoD level. In 1996, Hill won the General Thomas D. White Awards at the Air Force level for Pollution Prevention (Industrial Category) and Recycling. The award encompasses a wide range of activities managed by the base. They include the Base Recycling Program, a range residue recycling program, composting and wood recycling, reduction of hazardous sludge, a solvent vapor recovery system and a constructed wetland wastewater treatment unit among others. Allan Dalpias, the director of Environmental Management, calls the award not only an environmental accomplishment but something that's good for business as well. "We divert a lot of material that would have been disposed of as solid waste. ..and that's the success story," said Dalpias. Current figures estimate the base recycles 6,531 tons of material a year generating a,savings of $816,375 in cost avoidance from recycling material that would have otherwise have been paid for landfill costs. Although the base's recycling program is probably the most well known, Dave Friese, Hill's solid waste program manager, stressed winning fT - 1 1 set these standards. ing hazardous chemicals from the industrial processes at the base and promotes good pollution prevention practices. Within the Pollution Prevention Division are specialists who oversee the natural and cultural resources located on Hill and the Utah Test and Training Range. The restoration team of engineers and scientists cope with the environmental cleanup required because of past practices. The division is responsible for nine Operable Units, which are a collec- tion of identified locations where contaminants exist in the soil and ground water. The division has discovered that many of these contaminants have trav- eled off the base into local communities through shallow ground water systems. The Restoration Division has sunk hundreds of probes and monitoring wells to discover how these chemicals have moved through the soil and underground water from Hill and to track levels of cont- amination. Restoration works with numerous contractors to develop the most efficient and effective ways to clean-u- p contaminated areas both on Hill and in nearby communities. Each site requires a different treatment. Hill accepts responsibility for its role to clean up past mistakes and prevent future ones. Earth Week serves as a time for us all to focus on our relationship with the planet Earth. The current environmental processes under way at Hill AFB emphasize that Hill shares the responsibility to preserve and conserve our planet. IP y li Pollution prevention identifies ways of remov- m U - I pollution prevention and environmental restoration. Environmental Management Directorate 4 t f future. The three are environmental compliance, by Ross Hammond ;TY ) 6C "The earth does not belot belongs to the eh w Suquamish Tribe, Wop vemi Recycling program saves landfill costs by Jeff Watkins Environmental Engineer the award was a total team effort. "Each directorate contributed to the program in several ways," said Friese. "The benefits of winning this are tremendous. It would be hard to measure how it enhances the perspective of what Hill is about." The base's recycling program had humble beginnings that involved only the collection of cardboard and paper. It consisted of one truck, an outdoor storage yard and three employees. Today, 14 different items are collected using more than 10 trucks. In addition, 15 employees operate a dedicated Recycle Operations Center. Alyric Ray manages the base's recycling center and says it's rewarding to be recognized for the ongoing recycling efforts. "We are very pleased, to be part of the recycling team," said Ray, "We feel we have the best program of its kind in the state and are glad that others feel we rank high in DoD." Friese says Environmental Management recycling personnel began looking closer at the recycling numbers in 1992. "At that time we were recycling about 20 percent," said Friese. We have since climbed to more than 50 percent." In addition, Friese says he is now looking at the possibility of recycling construction debris including concrete. "That's our next big project," he said. Hill's award presentation package can be viewed on the Internet atwww.denix.osd.mildenixPub-HcNewsEarthday99Awards99winners.htrn- The DoD award will be presented to base l. offi- cials during a ceremony at the Pentagon on April 27. The Alternative Fuel Program at Hill AFB star i ii orr ine iean in mftft. in me eariy iyyus as a result Amendments of 1990 and the Energy Policy Ac 1992. Executive Orders generated from those two stat mandated the federal government participaii and lead efforts to reduce air emissions genen fuel use and? by conventional petroleum-basereduce national dependence on foreign oil. The statutes combine to form the required that 75 percent of all new vehicle acquisition! 1999 and beyond are capable of operating on al native fuels, and such fuels are used to the gr est extent practicable. It's estimated over 60 perc? of air emissions leading to formation of ozone; generated by vehicular operations. Vehicular of ations are expected to increase over 70 percent ing the next decade. The Alternative Fuel Prog: addresses those issues. It's clear Hill AFB needs to take an active rol' managing vehicular air emissions. Although! eral alternative fuels are available as replacemfr for petroleum-base- d fuel, compressed nam gas CNG was selected because of its low c market availability and low emission genera,' l rate. Conversion kits were developed, allowing to operate on either gasoline or CNG. Af d I ject was initiated resulting in installation of converr kits on more than 160 vehicles. Today more than 140 vehicles at Hill both tri' and sedans operate on CNG. Commercial manufacturers are now providing dedicated C vehicles that can be obtained from Governnv Services Administration. An Alternative Fuel Working Group includest |