* Reduced air (including greenhouse gas) emissions through energy efficiency
* Improved hazardous material management
* Improved energy and water efficiency
* Integration of other sustainability practices into Center activities
The Environmental Management Division provides Center environmental leadership and expertise in support of the Agency's culture of exploration and discovery. The Division carries out its function in concert with Center, Agency, National, regional, State, local, and international goals for environmental quality and NASA values of safety, teamwork, integrity, and mission success.
The Division demonstrates the Center's commitment to reducing risk to NASA's mission and Center business priorities by implementing the NASA Environmental Management System (EMS). The EMS requires the Division each year to not only support the Center in maintaining compliance but also lead the Center in reducing environmental risk to mission. The Division identifies "environmental aspects (or risks)" of Center activities and for high priority aspects, sets objectives and targets for improving environmental performance, particularly in priority Center business activities. Currently, the high priority environmental aspects of Center business priorities are Air Emissions, Hazardous Material Management, and Water and Energy Conservation. The medium priority aspects are Other Sustainability Practices, The objectives for the high and medium priority environmental aspects in FY11 are:
* Reduced air (including greenhouse gas) emissions through energy efficiency
* Improved hazardous material management
* Improved energy and water efficiency
* Integration of other sustainability practices into Center activities
"Management and Support" includes general management and Center-wide activities, events and awards, such as the budget process, major events such as Earth Day, Safety Week, and the Earthquake Preparedness drills, and award programs, such as the Ames Sustainability Award Program.
Direct mission support" includes assuring compliance with requirements either to obtain a permit or approval or meet the terms and conditions of a regulation (sometimes called permit by rule) before, during, and at the completion of a proposed action.
- Environmental Impact Analysis
- Air (includes Greenhouse Gases, Air Toxics)
- Cultural Resources Management (includes Archaeological Resources)
- Hazardous Materials (includes Toxic Gas, PCBs, Nanoparticles)
- Hazardous Waste Management (includes Medical Waste)
- Non-hazardous Solid Waste and Recycling
- Water (includes Drinking Water, Storm Water, Waste Water, Reclaimed Water, Wetlands, Floodplains, and Coastal Resources)
- Aboveground Storage Tanks, Underground Storage Tanks, Petroleum, Oils, and Lubricants
Pesticides
- Wildlife Management
- Pollution Prevention and Affirmative Procurement (P2/AP)
- Environmental Cleanup of Contaminated Soil and Groundwater, including Green Remediation, and Bioremediation
- Vapor Intrusion Sampling and Mitigation Measures
The processes for carrying out the Division's functions include:
- Maintaining Ames Environmental Management System.
- Identifying opportunities for improved environmental performance in Center-approved or funded programs, projects, and activities (includes studies, meetings, consultations, research).
- Issuing and maintaining Ames environmental policies, procedural requirements, and guidance.
- Conducting outreach, training, and advising.
- Obtaining, renewing, administering, and closing permits, plans, and other permit-equivalents.
- Developing and implementing remediation.
- Monitoring and evaluating (includes surveys, studies, inventories, audits, inspections, and self-assessments) performance; recommending and tracking corrective actions. Reporting.
- Calibrating environmental instruments
- Managing databases.
- Maintaining requisite professional certifications.
Products and Services:
- Policy, Leadership, and Management
- Retoration of contaminated sites
- Environmental compliance
- Conservation and sustainability
- Pollution prevention
Customers and Customer Satisfaction Feedback
- Ames personnel
- Residen agencies, tenants, and applicants
- NASA Headquarters
- Regulatory agencies
- Elected officials
- Public
- Customer satisfaction feedback is obtained through emails, rating forms, awards, verbal discussion, and internal and external audits.
