Materials Management Program

• NCCOS facilities use a wide variety of materials, many of which are regulated and harmful to the environment. The purpose of the Materials Management Program is to comprehensively manage key materials at NCCOS facilities. This summary form outlines the key components of the NCCOS Materials Management Program, including its overarching objective, annual targets, key responsibilities, and schedules. In the first phase NCCOS will focus on chemicals that are used in research, operations, and maintenance. Facilities will establish baselines of their chemicals, identify those chemicals where substitutes might be possible, and set objectives to improve the management of these so as to minimize social, economic, and environmental impacts.

Waste Management Program

• NCCOS facilities dispose of a wide variety of wastes, many of which are regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), are harmful to the environment, and costly to dispose of. The purpose of the Waste Management Program is to comprehensively manage key waste streams at NCCOS facilities. This summary form outlines the key components of the NCCOS Waste Management Program, including its overarching objective, annual targets, key responsibilities, and schedules. In general, NCCOS aims to establish baselines for facility key waste streams and set objectives to improve the management of these so as to minimize social, economic, and environmental impacts.

Training Improvement Plan

• Adequate training and communication is critical to effectively manage environmental requirements at NCCOS and support the NOAA Strategic Plan. This improvement plan is focused on improving training and communications associated with NCCOS’s EMS. This summary form outlines the key components of the NCCOS Training and Communication Improvement Plan, including its overarching objective, annual targets, key responsibilities, and schedules. In the first phase NCCOS will assess the level of education/awareness of all NCCOS employees with regard to the environmental implications of their work activities. This assessment will be used to develop programs to improve the level of awareness and capability of employees to proactively manage environmental issues associated with their jobs.

Resource Allocation Improvement Plan

•Adequate resources are critical to effectively manage environmental requirements and achieve NOAA’s Strategic Plan. This improvement plan is focused on improving the process that allocates resources within NCCOS’s EMS. This summary form outlines the key components of the NCCOS Resource Allocation Improvement Plan, including its overarching objective, annual targets, key responsibilities, and schedules. In the first phase NCCOS will try to more accurately determine the current costs associated with environmental programs by ensuring that the environmental accounting codes are correctly used by all NCCOS facilities. This will be accomplished in two phases: 1) NCCOS will ensure that all of its facilities are able to use the environmental accounting codes (i.e., they are established at the facilities) and; 2), NCCOS will implement a communications strategy to ensure NCCOS employees are aware of, and know how, to use the environmental accounting codes.

Developed per NCCOS EMS Standard EMS.006 Environmental Improvement Activities.

Page Last Updated September 5, 2007