Development and Implementation of an Integrated County Environmental Department

ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
 

Betsy Delaney, Michael E. Van Brunt, P.E., First Environment, Inc.; Charlie Beckett, Robert Funicello, Liam Murphy, Tom Lauro, P.E., Westchester County DEF

To Be Presented at 9:30 a.m. on October 16, 2007 at theWater Environment Federal Technical Expedition and Conference  (WEFTEC) in San Diego

During September 2006, the Yonkers Joint WWTP, operated by the
Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities, became the first WWTP in New York State to be certified to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard.  Certification of the Yonkers facility was a major accomplishment toward the development, implementation, and certification of an environmental management system for the entire Department of Environmental Facilities (DEF).  The DEF organization includes a total of seven WWTPs, forty-two pump stations, two overflow retention facilities, twenty storm flow regulating chambers, approximately 194 miles of trunk sewers, two water districts, and a solid waste division.  The wide variety of facilities to be covered under the EMS and their geographic separation coupled to provide unique challenges to the system development, requiring careful planning, early involvement of diverse stakeholders, and flexibility.  This effort required the involvement of all levels and divisions of the organization and county government, including the County Executive and DEF plant management, operations, and maintenance personnel.  Certification of the remaining six WWTPs is scheduled for 2007 with full department certification planned for 2008. 

Development of the DEF EnvMS began at the department level in August 2004 with the formation of an environmental policy from the existing DEF mission statement.  Concurrently, procedures were developed for each of the seventeen elements of the ISO 14001 standard.  Given that the DEF EnvMS will eventually cover all of DEF, these procedures set the basic framework for how the entire organization would meet the requirements of the standard. 

Following the high-level management system development, the implementation process began at the 120 MGD Yonkers Joint WWTP, the largest and most complex facility managed by DEF.  Implementation at Yonkers Joint involved the augmentation and development of training programs, standard operating procedures, logsheets, and other controls to reconcile the environmental footprint of the facility, including its regulatory requirements, with the overall DEF management structure and the requirements of the ISO 14001 standard.

Several best management practices (BMPs) were developed and implemented as part of the DEF EnvMS.  Training and communication tools were developed to help DEF communicate not only within the department, but also with supporting organizations including the Department of Public Works, which administers all capital projects at the facility, and with contractors.  Communication tools included posters, training sessions, handouts, contract documents, and bid specifications.

An electronic Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Manual was chosen as a platform for the DEF EnvMS.  The electronic O&M Manual combined traditional OEM information including parts lists and general operating instructions with facility specific standard operating procedures (SOPs), logsheets, and regulatory plans, providing operators and maintenance personnel a one-stop source of information for the facility.  An Environmental Work Order process, including root cause analysis tools, was introduced and used to perform preventive and corrective “maintenance” on the DEF EnvMS.  Environmental Work Orders were tracked using the existing maintenance scheduling software, and will be fully integrated into a maintenance scheduling software upgrade which has been significantly customized with the Environmental Work Order process.

Implementing an ISO 14001 EMS for a comprehensive county environmental department involves some specific challenges and opportunities not typically associated with implementation of an environmental management system.  The operations of WWTPs, water districts, and solid waste facilities are inherently environmental.  Consequently, the environmental management system becomes the management system for the entire operation.  Bringing the department under systems control was found to have significant benefits, including the preservation of organizational knowledge through the development of SOPs and guidance documents.  Systemic communication has improved dialogue both within DEF and between DEF and its contractors, vendors, and other county departments.  The Environmental Work Order process has given employees the opportunity and responsibility to identify and perform preventive and corrective “maintenance” on the DEF EnvMS.

During the implementation process, several key lessons were learned.  Top management involvement in the process is critical.  Existing systems should be used as much as possible and the environmental management system should fit facility systems and operations, instead of trying to make the facility’s existing systems fit the standard.  The process will be new to many personnel, so it is critical to involve them, especially the operations & maintenance personnel, as early in the process as possible.  The final paper and presentation will include a more detailed explanation of the ISO 14001 standard and specific examples of the tools developed as part of the system, challenges encountered, and lessons learned.