Team Pope gears up for EOHCAMP assessment Published July 24, 2008 By 2nd Lt. Curtis Lloyd 43rd Civil Engineer Squadron POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- For the past two months, Pope has been preparing for the triennial external Environmental and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment and Management Program evaluation scheduled for Aug. 11 through 15. The EOHCAMP is an essential part of the base Environmental Management System's Plan-Do-Check Act model for integrating environmental compliance, pollution prevention, and conservation into our day-to-day activities. It is a tool used to monitor compliance with federal, state and local laws as well as Department of Defense instructions. This instrument helps identify and correct potential problems before regulators find them and before there is damage to the environment. Every Air Force base is required to have an EOHCAMP assessment annually. In Air Mobility Command, an external EOHCAMP is conducted once every three years while individual bases conduct internal EOHCAMPs during the off years. A group of third-party evaluators will perform the assessment, providing a close and objective look at the base environmental program. This review helps identify actions that must be taken to ensure Pope is in compliance with environmental requirements. "While EOHCAMP is considered an assessment as opposed to an inspection, it is really the base's environmental report card. It is a snap-shot in time that signifies the health of our program," said Wendell Williams, 43rd Civil Engineer Squadron Environmental Flight Chief. "Therefore, base personnel must approach EOHCAMP with the same sense of urgency, attention to detail, pride and professionalism that we do for an inspector general inspection." Col. John McDonald, 43rd Airlift Wing Commander, added, "While our preparation for the fall ORI has been more visible throughout the base, the EOHCAMP pre-assessment team has done a top-notch job preparing us for next month's inspection. I have no doubt the inspectors will be extremely impressed with our program." This year's external EOHCAMP team is composed of environmental experts from Headquarters AMC, Dover Air Force Base, Del., and contracted personnel from URS Group, Inc. Team Pope began gearing up for the August external assessment by forming a 10-person, EOHCAMP pre-assessment team composed of personnel from across the base along with the technical assistance of the 43rd Civil Engineer Squadron environmental program managers. Over the last couple of months, the team has evaluated operations at most organizations on base. Issues were identified and corrective actions were tracked until the deficiencies were eliminated. Some of the typical findings identified include: purchasing hazardous materials/pesticides using the government purchase card without getting approval through the HAZMART, failure to maintain current Material Safety Data Sheets for chemicals on hand, storing hazardous and flammable material in unapproved containers and/or in unapproved areas, exceeding the 55-gallon storage limit for hazardous waste in the shop area, failure to storage used fluorescent lamps or batteries in a closed container with the proper "universal waste" labeling, inaccurate or no inventory posted on flammable lockers / hazardous materials storage buildings, expired shelf-life items, failure to keep required records for air-permitted operations (e.g. aircraft painting), failure to document testing / inspection of underground storage tank systems, missing signs and labels on fuel tanks and/or hazardous waste containers, and general poor house-keeping. It is extremely important to integrate environmental compliance into our mission accomplishment. Failure to comply with environmental rules could lead to notices of violation, fines and civil penalties that must be paid with base operations and maintenance funds, thereby depleting base operational funding and ultimately causing a direct negative impact on the mission. Noncompliance could also lead to serious or fatal human illness or injury. The work center for the external EOHCAMP team will be located in Bldg. 560 for the week-long assessment. An in-brief is scheduled for August 11 at 8 a.m. In addition, an out-brief is set for Aug. 15 at 9 a.m. Both briefings will be held in the aircrew briefing room in Bldg. 900. This year's EOHCAMP assessment will primarily focus on the following areas: -Hazardous Material -Hazardous Waste -Water Quality (Storm Water, Wastewater, Drinking Water) -Underground Storage Tanks All members of the base Environment, Safety and Occupational Health Council, commanders, environmental points-of-contact, and any other interested parties are encouraged to attend.