Chambersburg, PA -- Letterkenny Army Depot (LEAD) has once again been recognized for its commitment to environmental responsibility. An Environmental Performance Assessment (EPAS) Audit was conducted by a twelve member team from the Army Environmental Command and the Army Medical Command to evaluate the status of the Depot's environmental compliance with state and federal regulations as well as DoD and Army regulations.
"The EPAS audit was outstanding and the highlight for the week," Col. Cheri A. Provancha, Letterkenny Army Depot (LEAD) Commander said.
The team spent a week at the Depot to evaluate areas that included: Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Material, Air Quality, Solid Waste, Pollution Prevention, Storage Tanks, Wastewater, Waste Munitions, Natural Resources, Pesticide Management and Environmental Impacts. Each area was thoroughly examined to ensure that things such as hazardous waste materials were properly labeled and all the databases were current and correct.
"The audit was an intense examination of all of our records, reports, permits and plans," Randy Quinn, Chief Environmental Management Division said. "There was a lot of preparation involved and my staff spent the weeks leading up to the audit visiting every cost center to ensure the shop floors looked right."
The audit resulted in six Class I findings, non-conformance with state or federal regulation. However, four of the Class I findings were based on new regulatory requirements to take effect in November, 2011. Although LEAD is currently in compliance, these findings were listed because corrective action is still being implemented. There were no Class II findings, non-conformance with State or Federal regulation effective six months after the audit. A total of six Class III findings were reported for non-conformance with DoD or Army regulations. There were no findings reported in seven of the environmental programs.
According to the lead Team Auditor, LEAD had the lowest number of Class I and overall findings of any installation since he began conducting audits in 1995. After auditing over one hundred installations, he stated that LEAD is also the only installation he has audited with no Hazardous Waste findings.
The workforce has researched and developed opportunities to improve in areas to position the Depot to become more environmentally responsible. From recycling and alternative energy solutions to reducing pollution and waste, the Depot's environmental efforts have generated results.
This recognition of success could not be achieved apart from the commitment of the team, who has worked to make these efforts increasingly impactful. During the out brief, the lead Team Auditor said he was quite pleased with the overall attitude of the personnel at Letterkenny with regards to the environmental program. Their willingness, participation and communication on all aspects of the programs was exceptional.
Quinn said that the staff made the audit successful, "The employees here are dedicated and the people on the floor take a lot of pride in what they do."
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