October 1, 1998
NOAA Environmental Compliance Policy 98-01

1.0 Policy

1.1 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is committed to operating facilities in full compliance with environmental law.

1.2 NOAA recognizes that environmental compliance conditions in violation of Federal, State, or local law must be expeditiously corrected, regardless of funding source.

1.3 Successful funding for environmental projects is frequently dependent upon understanding the various funding sources and their applicability to a given project. Increased budgetary constraints make the need for this understanding even greater.

1.4 This policy will familiarize the reader with the four primary environmental areas, discuss recurring and nonrecurring requirements, and provide examples of funding options for projects.

2.0 Definitions

2.1 NOAA's environmental program is separated into four primary areas of concern: Cleanup, Compliance; Conservation; and Pollution Prevention.

2.1.1 The focus of cleanup is to cleanup pollution resulting from past activities and restoring sites to safe conditions.

2.1.2 The compliance program ensures present NOAA operations comply with all Federal, State, local, Department of Commerce (DOC), and NOAA environmental standards.

2.1.3 Conservation focuses on the incorporation of environmental considerations into sound planning practices. The goal is to protect and enhance our natural and cultural resources including; wetlands, historic sites, and endangered species through sound stewardship, management, and the use of the environmental impact analysis process.

2.1.4 Pollution prevention focuses on all pertinent or potentialy vulnerable areas of NOAA operations and the acquisition process. The goal is to prevent future pollution by reducing the use of hazardous materials at the source and preventing environmental releases of those potential pollutants whose use remains necessary.

2.2 Requirements for Compliance, Conservation, and Pollution Prevention are divided into recurring and nonrecurring categories to identify the appropriate funding source.

2.2.1 Recurring requirements are typically for operations and services associated with on-going activities to maintain the programs (i.e., manpower, training, waste disposal, periodic sampling requirements, permit fees, plans, baseline surveys, protective clothing, special equipment, etc.). These requirements will recur from year to year.

2.2.2 Nonrecurring requirements are usually considered "one time" expenses. By virtue of their very nature, all cleanup projects are nonrecurring. The initial implementation of programs, such as environmental audits and surveys, the Chemical Information Management System, and a pollution prevention program, is also considered a nonrecurring cost. After such a program has been implemented, its maintenance is considered a recurring cost.

3.0 Procedures

3.1 Funding is identified according to its appropriation source. Appropriations are laws passed by Congress which authorize the obligation and expenditure of certain dollar amounts and specify the purpose for which the funds may be used. The specific appropriation used is dependent upon several factors, such as what is being procured and which installation/organization is being supported.

3.2 Non-Recurring Expenses: NOAA Administrative Order 216-17 (NAO 216-17), Section 6.03.a states "Central funding from the Environmental Compliance Program will be used for capital costs of structure and equipment, but not the annual maintenance and operating costs." Section 6.03.c.1 includes a special case for the National Weather Service's modernization whereby, ". . . the removal of underground storage tanks will be 'grand fathered' into the Environmental Compliance Program simply to assure overall agency consistency." Accordingly, all non-recurring costs (see appendix 1 for examples) and the specified exception shall be funded from the NOAA Environmental Compliance Program's appropriation, to the extent possible. Funding for these expenses come from the designated NOAA environmental compliance appropriation.

3.3 Recurring Expenses: NAO 216-17, Section 6.03.b states "Annual operation and maintenance costs associated with environmental compliance are defined as those costs that are a result of doing business. These costs are not capital costs, and thus should not be funded from the NOAA Environmental Compliance Program. Funding for annual operation and maintenance aspects of environmental compliance is the responsibility of each Line Office within the limits of its allocation from NOAA's Congressional appropriations." Accordingly, all recurring costs (see appendix 2 for examples) are funded from the Line Office's applicable appropriations. Funding for these expenses come from funds designated within the applicable Line Office's budget for environmental compliance-related expenses.

3.4 Construction-Related Expenses: Some environmental-related actions become necessary when NOAA program decisions affect the establishment, alteration, closure, or decommissioning of NOAA facilities. Costs associated with such activities, and if not otherwise necessary, shall be part of either the program budget of the Line Office or by the construction specific appropriation. For example, friable asbestos which has not been damaged and would not have to be removed under normal circumstances, would have its removal funded as part of a construction project and not by the environmental compliance program. For major NOAA construction projects, the Project Development, Approval, and Management (PDAM) process requires the consideration of disposal costs of existing, no longer needed properties.

3.5 Other Expenses: Certain expenses develop during facility operations which do not fully satisfy the requirements contained in the preceding three paragraphs or the examples contained in attachments 1 and 2. These expenses will require discussion among the involved parties, but will likely require funding from sources other than those described in paragraphs 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4.

3.6 Exceptions: When a situation develops that requires extensive and immediate action, the Line Office and the Environmental Compliance Staff (ECS) will jointly determine the priority of the project required to correct the situation and will jointly determine funding for the project from their existing programs. If the project requires funding beyond the capabilities of either of these sources, funding will be requested from others sources in the following order: NOAA sources, Department of Commerce sources, and supplemental Congressional appropriations. The Environmental Compliance Staff and the Line Office will jointly prepare a request for funding the required project.

3.7 Out-Year Projections

3.7.1 The ECS maintains the NOAA environmental compliance project database as described in NOAA Environmental Compliance Policy 97-02. This project database, which is prioritized using Environmental Protection Agency-established criteria, provides the basis for determining which non recurring projects will be centrally funded each year. The ECS establishes budget requests and spending plans based on the project database; desired new initiatives; and basic, NOAA-wide training requirements; among other factors.

3.7.2 Line Office budget requests and spending plans must be built around recurring costs. This will include site- or discipline-specific training and, after initial implementation, the maintenance of such programs as environmental audits and surveys and the Chemical Information Management System. Since these programs are managed by the ECS, the ECS must provide outyear cost projections for budget planning. These projections will be conservative in nature, distributed based on the Line Office's prorated share of costs, and developed in conjunction with Line Office representatives. The projections will be provided in conjunction with the annual budget development process.