12.3 Environmental Commitment (AFH-1 Section 12E)
Key Takeaways
- The Air Force is trustee to over 8 million acres of natural habitat and has followed a compliance-based approach to environmental management for over 20 years.
- AFI 32-7001 implements the environmental management system for all Air Force installations in the United States, territories, and foreign countries.
- The three environmental management system priorities are compliance, risk reduction, and continuous improvement; the four phases are Plan, Do, Check, and Act.
- AFI 32-7001 program areas include hazardous waste, natural resources, cultural resources, environmental planning, and overseas compliance policy, among others listed in AFH 1.
- The Air Force Civil Engineer Center manages compliance, restoration, sustainability, and National Environmental Policy Act programs, including hazardous waste generation and natural and cultural resource management.
12.3 Environmental Commitment (AFH-1 Section 12E)
Quick Answer: The Air Force is trustee to over 8 million acres of natural habitat. The environmental management system has three priorities — compliance, risk reduction, and continuous improvement — and four phases — Plan, Do, Check, Act. AFI 32-7001 applies to installations in the United States, territories, and foreign countries. The Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) manages compliance, restoration, sustainability, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) programs, including hazardous waste generation and natural and cultural resource management. Supervisors must integrate environmental considerations into daily work and every level of decision-making.
Section 12E is A for SSgt and B for TSgt. TSgt application is using the lists when a process generates pollutants or someone treats hazardous waste as "civil engineering's problem."
Trustee, AFI 32-7001, and supervisor duty
"The USAF is a leader and devoted guardian of the environment. As trustee to over 8 million acres of natural habitat, the USAF takes considerable measures to defend and enhance America's rich natural resources and cultural heritage." Over the last 20 years the Air Force has followed a compliance-based approach, with what the handbook calls an unparalleled record of responsiveness to regulation, community interests, and ecological needs. Natural resources and cultural heritage are named together in that opening — the same pairing later appears in AFCEC's support list.
Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century aims at all Airmen actively eliminating waste and continuously improving processes. AFI 32-7001, Environmental Management, implements the EMS framework for all USAF installations within the United States, territories, and foreign countries. Overseas compliance policy is its own program area for that reason.
DoD is "the nation's largest user of federal lands, consumers of energy, and operators of large industrial complexes," so it must reduce its environmental footprint. "All USAF commanders, supervisors, and process owners shall integrate environmental considerations into daily work activities and at all levels of decision-making for current or proposed actions that may adversely impact the environment." TSgt application: a solvent substitution, a trench, a shop layout, or a process that generates pollutants is an environmental decision. Deferring it because "CE owns the program" fails the handbook's assignment of responsibility. The EMS is "a set of processes and practices that enable a reduction in environmental impact and an increase in operating efficiency" — two outcomes, which is why 12E sits in a resources chapter.
Priorities and Plan-Do-Check-Act
| Priority | What AFH 1 says it means |
|---|---|
| Compliance | Maintain all environmental legal obligations and regulatory guidelines |
| Risk reduction | A standardized approach to protect assets, personnel, and material by identifying and managing risks from environmental encroachment |
| Continuous improvement | A culture of improvement that reduces environmental impacts and regulatory burden |
Memorize compliance, risk reduction, continuous improvement. Restoration is one of AFCEC's four managed programs, but it is not an EMS priority.
Four phases, outlined in DoDI 4715.17, Environmental Management Systems:
| Phase | Contents |
|---|---|
| Plan | Scope, policy and commitment statement, aspects and impacts, legal and other requirements, objectives and targets, and action plans. Focus resources on risks that most threaten mission capability |
| Do | Risk reduction strategy for processes that generate pollutants. Optimize for pollutant reduction, lower energy use, reduced natural-resource use, water conservation, and health and safety |
| Check | Monitoring and measuring to raise leadership awareness, identify trends of non-conformance and non-compliance, find improvements, provide lessons learned to other installations, and minimize litigation risk |
| Act | Management review of the system's suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness |
TSgt application of Check: a mis-labeled drum is a compliance event; repeated mis-labeling is a trend of non-conformance. Act is not "do the cleanup"; Act is whether the management system itself is suitable, adequate, and effective.
Environmental program areas
AFH 1 lists program areas from AFI 32-7001 and other environmental AFIs. NEPA is not a row here; AFH 1 names NEPA when it assigns AFCEC's four managed programs in 12.36.
| Cluster | Program areas AFH 1 names |
|---|---|
| Media | Air quality; water supply |
| Materials and waste | Hazardous materials; hazardous waste; solid waste; toxic substances; petroleum, oil, and lubricants; storage tanks |
| Living and cultural resources | Pest management; cultural resources; natural resources |
| Process and assessment | Environmental planning; environmental restoration; environmental baseline surveys; overseas compliance policy |
Hazardous waste, natural resources, and cultural resources are on this list. TSgt application: a used-solvent drum is hazardous waste (and often hazardous materials and storage tanks). A ground-disturbing project can implicate natural resources, cultural resources, environmental planning, and — if it is a federal undertaking — the NEPA program AFCEC manages.
AFCEC, NEPA, and hazardous waste
AFCEC is responsible for managing the USAF compliance, restoration, sustainability, and National Environmental Policy Act programs. Those four programs are a testable list. NEPA is how federal agencies examine environmental effects of proposed actions before they commit to the action. AFCEC supports HAF, major commands, and installations with compliance programming and execution expertise for regulatory programs related to air emissions, water quality, wastewater discharges, hazardous waste generation, and natural and cultural resource management. It is the central point for collection and analysis of environmental data, with experts in regulatory compliance, environmental restoration, hazardous waste management, pollution prevention, and environmental assessments.
TSgt close: for an improperly stored used-solvent container, integrate environmental considerations into daily work: stop the non-compliant storage, treat it as hazardous waste, pull in the installation environmental function, and look for a Check-phase trend.
Which organization does AFH 1 assign responsibility for managing the USAF compliance, restoration, sustainability, and National Environmental Policy Act programs?
What are the three priorities of the Air Force environmental management system?
Which environmental management system phase includes monitoring and measuring to identify trends of non-conformance and provide lessons learned to other installations?
Which set of program areas does AFH 1 list as identified in AFI 32-7001 and other environmental AFIs?