Fleet Readiness Center East was recently announced as the 2017 Chief of Navy Operations Environmental Award winner for Sustainability for Industrial Installations.

The honor highlighted the organization’s Environmental Management System and the Industrial Environmental Division’s efforts at community outreach, management of a sustained and mature system, and continual improvement during 2017.

“Everyone at this command should be commended for their part in achieving this award,” said Andrew Krelie, Industrial Environmental Division director. “Our landfill diversion would not be successful, our command would not save energy and water, nor would we maintain an excellent compliance record without complete command support – from the entire workforce.”

The division has made efforts during the past two years to reach out to the community for opportunities to learn, share and build on the established foundation of sustainment. Such efforts include sustained membership as an Environmental Steward of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative for more than 10 years; sustained membership in the Craven/Pamlico Local Emergency Planning Committee for continual preparation for potential environmental disasters; assisting Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Fire Department in planning and executing emergency preparedness drills; partnering with MCAS Cherry Point Child Development Center for America Recycles Day events; and Earth Day dumpster dives.

Krelie said the Environmental Division team’s dedication, passion and commitment to going above and beyond minimal regulatory requirements set the stage for the achievement.

“The team is dedicated to supporting the command and always willing to provide support to production where needed in maintaining stellar environmental compliance and proactive environmental stewardship,” Krelie added.

The division has a number of implements to ensure sustainment and maturity of the EMS. FRC East is the first Department of Defense facility to register a comprehensive EMS with the International Organization of Standardization or ISO 14001. It submits to third-party surveillance and program audits to retain registration with the organization. EMS practices are integrated in core business functions through all levels of the organization. The division uses the software system control, the Hazardous Material Management System, to more effectively and efficiently manage the handling, storage and disposal of organization’s hazardous material.

The division shows continual improvement – building on the past success of reducing hazardous material usage of things such as paint, solvents and strippers – by broadening command objectives to be more inclusive of all personnel and aligned to Executive Order 13693. The core of business was increasing energy conservation; increasing water conservation; and increasing landfill diversion.

Of note, a Utilities Energy Service Contract study was started at the air station (initiated and coordinated by Headquarters Marine Corps and Naval Facilities Engineering Command and Duke Energy). The Environmental Division and Engineering Infrastructure Planning Division are full participants on the way to finalizing a preliminary assessment that identifies aging energy infrastructure; proposes measures to eliminate redundant electrical systems; and identifies significant energy conservation measures aboard the air station.

Water conservation efforts led the division to focus on the air scrubber units in the Plating Facility that were using about 900,000 gallons of potable water and industrial processes in the Naval Engine Airfoil Center that were using 78,822 gallons of water, daily. The division is processing the feasibility of converting static rinse tanks to overflow tanks that would be connected in a system to the air scrubbing units to conserve almost one million gallons of water a year.

More than one-third of the NEAC’s industrial processes have potable water inputs, while discharging to the industrial waste water system. The source of water loss in the NEAC was narrowed down to the clean line. Artisans’ manual control of potable water usage, maintenance controls and general increased shop-level awareness led to FRC East realizing significant savings of $540,000 on potable consumption.

Executive Order 13693 requires a landfill diversion rate of 50 percent, annually. FRC East has aggressively set its goal at 60 percent to be achieved by 2020. In fiscal 17, FRC East achieved a 62 percent landfill diversion rate, credited in a large part to the command’s improved recycling discipline.