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Environmental Management System will undergo audit

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Brian J. Valencia
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
Scott Air Force Base, Ill. --  Originally scheduled for October, the Environmental Management System, or EMS, will now undergo an audit as part of the Combined Unit Inspection.

The EMS audit will focus on environmental awareness and the knowledge and documentation of the base's environmental policy. Auditors will also look at how the base manages its energy consumption and storm water, and conforms to environmental requirements and emergency preparedness.

"The EMS is the framework with which we manage Scott AFB's environmental program," said Carla Daggitt, 375th Civil Engineer Squadron environmental engineer. "It identifies the impact the base mission has on the environment and evaluates the environmental risks. It works to continually refine our processes to minimize these impacts."

EMS helps allow the base to conduct its mission while reducing environmental risks, promoting pollution prevention, enforcing its environmental policy and meeting regulatory requirements.

Representatives from the wing and tenant organizations make up a cross functional team, or CFT, that meets at least quarterly. The CFT identifies areas where activities impact the environment and then works to develop ways to minimize those impacts. CFT members then bring that information back to their units and commanders.

"It involves the whole base," said Daggitt. "The auditors can ask anyone if they know how their job impacts the environment or what they know about the environmental policy on base."

The base's most significant aspects are energy and storm water. Each office shares a part in the effort to reduce electrical consumption by three percent each year or water by two percent each year.

"All personnel can help reduce consumption," said Daggitt. "It can be as simple as turning off a light or making sure a faucet isn't leaking. Storm water compliance can be maintained by personnel not dumping materials into storm drains."