Pacific Southwest, Region 9
Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations
Champions of Green Government: 2003 Recipients
1) US Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca
Department of Defense, US Army
Fort Huachuca, Arizona
In 2002 the Army initiated several water and energy projects at the facility. The most effective way to keep water in the aquifer is to avoid pumping it out in the first place. The water projects initiated included 289 horizontal axis washing machines, 2000 low flow showerheads, 363 waterless urinals, and a leak detection, repair (saving 30 acre feet per year), treated effluent reuse, treated effluent recharge - 500 acre feet per year, and education program which provided a 42 million gallon reduction (7.5%) in water use from the previous year. Pumping of groundwater went down from a high of 3,028 acre feet in 1993 to 1,523 acre feet in 2002. Wind turbines, solar thermal and photo voltaic projects were developed for green electricity production, and day-lighting projects which included the installation of natural lighting (400 skylight units in 22 buildings), along with automatic lighting controllers. These combined projects resulted in energy savings of 3 million kWh of electricity and 8 million BTU of natural gas per year.
2) Lake Berryessa Area Recyclable Hazardous Waste collection Site Staff
Department of Interior - US Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
Lake Berryessa, CA
Opening in October 2002 the recycling station has collected and safely recycled approximately 200 automotive batteries, 500 gallons of used oil, 200 gallons of latex paint, a 5 gallon bucket of household batteries, and a 55 gallon drum of oil filters. The staff have also educated the local community about the new facility. This project provides a valuable service by providing a safe place to dispose of hazardous materials for the public. In the past this type of material was illegally dumped on BOR land.
3) Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center - PPEP
Department of Defense - Navy
Port Hueneme, CA
Several projects have been initiated in the Pacific Southwest Region of EPA by the Navy’s PPEP. Several sites in California and Nevada have received assistance through the PPEP team for the development and implementation of pollution prevention equipment. The equipment and waste streams include: aqueous parts washers (solvent reductions), tube grinder (wood waste), plastic binder (plastic waste), plastic media blast booth (paint strippers, solvents & VOC’s), powder coat technology (paints and solvents), hot water weed treatment (pesticides and herbicides), solid waste bailer (cardboard and paper), and in-vessel composting (food waste, green waste, paper). These combined projects have resulted in annual reductions of 5,450 gallons of solvents eliminated, 11,000 pounds of VOC’s eliminated, 72.8 tons of wood waste recycled, 200 tons of paper and cardboard recycled, and 180 tons of food and green waste recycled on an annual basis. All these projects have provided a cost savings for the Navy of $127,000.
4) Mrs. Yolanda Pilastro
Department of Energy - Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)
Menlo Park, CA
Mrs. Yolanda Pilastro and her staff in the Hazardous Waste Group, Waste Management Department at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center managed projects to successfully reuse or reclaim wastes. Projects which resulted in waste diversion include: returning old fire protection and gas cylinders to the original manufacturers; returning empty chemical containers to vendors; sending lab chemicals and hazardous products to on-site users at SLAC; collecting and crushing empty metal containers and sending metal to a recycler; and collecting and recycling empty plastic containers containing household cleaners. This effort has managed to divert 36 metric tons of hazardous waste and saved the facility an estimated $121,000 by eliminating the expense of sending to a permitted treatment, storage and disposal facility.
5) Mr. Ali Farvid
Department of Energy - Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)
Menlo Park, CA
Mr. Farvid and his staff in the Metal Finishing Operations, Mechanical Fabrication Department at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center reduced hazardous waste generation by extending the life of electroplating bath solutions. To accomplish this, Mr. Farvid purchased analytical equipment that allowed metal finishing operators to make adjustments to plating bath solutions, which would otherwise be discarded as hazardous waste. This reduced hazardous waste generation from electroplating operations from 10,000 to 5,000 gallons per year at an annual cost savings of $35,000 to $50,000. Additionally, Mr. Farvid replaced ferric chloride, a coagulant used in rinse water treatment operations, with a system that generates the coagulant electrochemically. This eliminated hazardous waste generation associated with ferric chloride, saving $3,400 per year.
6) LLNL Drain-Down Recovery (DDR) Team
Department of Energy - Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
The DDR Team developed a new waste minimization and cost savings approach to traditional chilled and hot water circulating system maintenance drain and refill practice. The chemically treated water is now drained out of the system and stored in the DDR Trailer. After routine maintenance is completed the water is pumped back into the system. This has created several benefits including: reduced water consumption, recovery and reuse of water treatment chemicals, chemically treated circulating water discharges are eliminated, monitoring of these discharges to the POTW is eliminated, and labor costs and building system down time are reduced. This activity has managed to save approximately 72,600 gallons of water a year and a cost savings of $60,000 per year. What gives this project added value is the potential for widespread applications at other government and industrial institutional settings.
7) Pollution Prevention and Energy Management Teams at Lawrence Livermore
National Lab
Department of Energy - Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
The P2 and EM Teams worked to promote commercial and residential applications of Photovoltaic (PV) technology with the LLNL - Visitor's Center PVC Exhibit. A range of configurations and panel types was installed, allowing LLNL guests to view several outdoor settings and to better understand the value of PV power systems. An interactive computer display shows instantaneous and historical performance of each system. The generating capacity is currently around 3.5 kW but has the ability to expand up to 7.5 kW. Funding was provided by the DOE - Oakland Operations Office ROI Program.
Another PV project on the other side of the LLNL campus improves safety
at night. A parking lot and walkways are illuminated by twenty-one PV
powered lights. The effort was funded primarily by rebates received from
PG&E for
prior-year energy efficiency projects.
8) Environmental Management Team, Los Angeles Air Force Base
Department of Defense - Air Force
Los Angeles, CA
Focusing on Executive Order 13150 the Environmental Management Team took a proactive approach to improving the regions air quality with a focus on automobile pollution emissions. The Team identified several promotional activities geared directly at over 3000 employees with electric vehicles, auto clubs, transit opportunities, vanpools, rideshare programs, alternate work schedules, and a bike to work challenge. The results of these promotions have resulted in greater awareness of the air quality issues and specific actions including the creation of a telecomute center in Family Housing (22 miles from the Base), Base Bicycle Club and a bike to work challenge that has grown to 130 cyclists, 379 participants in the transit subsidy program with an increase in participation by 29%, the alternate work week schedule has increased participation from 4 to 283. The cumulative results of these efforts have managed to eliminate 2.02 tons of mobile source criteria pollutants in 2002.
9) Robert Wood, Thomas Carr, Richard Spiessl, Thomas Santoianni
Department of Defense - Navy
Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, CA
The Navy’s Energy and Sustainable Design Demonstration Facility is an excellent example of what is achievable if you provide your best effort. This building demonstrates how energy and sustainable design, construction and operation can work together to create a facility. All aspects of environmental issues from construction to operation were taken into account and provides a testing bed for new and emerging technologies. Several of the technologies and features to reduce energy consumption and first costs include: natural day-lighting, photovoltaics, solar hot water for space heating and domestic use, T8 fluorescent lamps with electronic dimming ballasts and photo-cells for artificial lighting, natural gas heat pump, displacement ventilation system, reclaimed water incorporating recycled rainwater, and drought-tolerant landscaping. Sustainability is further enhanced through the use of photovoltaics, which feeds excess power back into the electrical grid on peak solar days as well as acts as an uninterruptible power supply source in the event of a grid power outage. The building is also 100 percent daylit which eliminates the need for artificial lighting during normal working hours. Recycled components of this facility include plastic countertops, carpet, steel building frame, and the systems furniture is 80 percent recyclable. This building is 55 percent more efficient than current California Title 24 energy efficiency standards.
10) National Training Center & Fort Irwin - Environmental Division
Department of Defense - Army
Fort Irwin, CA
The Environmental Division has made a long term commitment to improving the air quality in the region. Specific actions taken include: 34 solar powered street lamps on the cantonment and housing areas, 4KW solar radio relay station, 4 solar weather stations, 1,800 solar recharge targets in live fire, 6 solar radio repeater sites, 113 electric cars for transportation around the base, and re-vegetation of shrubs and grasses.
11) National Training Center & Fort Irwin - Environmental Division
Department of Defense - Army
Fort Irwin, CA
The environmental division has implemented a comprehensive integrated approach to waste management. They have developed a three pronged approach to waste management with 1) Hazardous Material Control Center (HMCC), 2) Closed Loop Re-refined Oil Program, and 3) Propane Gas Recovery. The HMCC centralizes the purchasing, storage distribution and management of hazardous materials and maximize the material turn in and reuse of those materials. The Re-refined oil closed loop program recycles and re-refines the oil and then it is returned to the facility to be used again. This closed loop system has recycled over 69,000 gallons of oil in 2002. Finally the Propane gas recovery programs closed loop system processed 60,430 propane cylinders while recovering 700 gallons of propane and recycling 62 tons of metal. The annual cost saving of all the activities on the facility is approximately $2 million.
12) National Training Center & Fort Irwin - Environmental Division
Department of Defense - Army
Fort Irwin, CA
The facilities aggressive recycling and compositing programs have managed to exceed the Department of Defense goal of 40% diversion of all solid waste by. The state of the art commingled recycling program has resulted in a 400% increase in recycled material between 1997 and 2002. The Environmental Division continuously provides training and education to enhance public awareness and publishes articles and coordinates Earth Day activities at the elementary schools. These activities have managed to create a cost avoidance of over $350,000 a year and an increase of total tons recycled from 1,000 a year to over 4,000 a year. The Composting Program integrates the green waste (wood & green) and sewer sludge into an in-vessel technology that controls temperature and moisture for the duration of the compost process. As a result of this program 2,600 tons of sewage sludge and 60,000 cubic yards of waste wood which results in a 100% recycling of these two waste streams.
13) National Training Center & Fort Irwin - Environmental Division
Department of Defense - Army
Fort Irwin, CA
The facilities water pollution control program completed some modifications to it’s reverse osmosis filtration drinking water treatment system by changing the type of membrane used. The change managed to produce the elimination of a 50 gallon storage process, saving 166,000 kWh of electricity, and almost 33 million gallons of water annually (3% of total production). In the wastewater area a secondary aeration system allows wastewater use for irrigation and dust control and resulted in the elimination of sewage spills at the plant. In order to wash 6,000 vehicles a month the new state-of-the-art 26-bay closed loop wash rack system was installed. It created a 11 million gallon water savings (1% of total production) per year.
14) MCB Camp Pendleton - Steam & Gas Division - Facilities Maintenance
Department
Department of Defense - Marine Corps
Camp Pendleton, CA
The Steam and Gas Division aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP) has made major improvements in energy conservation, labor costs, environmental emissions, and overall quality of life. Over 20 large steam boilers at MCBCP facilities were retrofit to high efficiency hot water boilers and Domestic Hot Water (DHW) systems. This allowed the boilers to be shut off during the summer months while meeting all requirements with the DHW systems. The total annual energy savings of 29,500 MBTU's saves $235,000 per year. In the labor department the base is saving $175,000 as a result of the reduced regular inspections and maintenance requirements on larger sized boilers. On the environmental side these new boilers have significantly reduced air emissions leading to cleaner air.
15) Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) - Kunia
Department of Defense - Navy
Schofield Barracks, HI
The Pollution Prevention Program is actively working to put recycling into everyday activities. The program hired a recycling coordinator who has managed to create a highly visible effort to recycle. As a result of the outreach the coordinator is routinely informed of upcoming projects and with advance notice is able to find outlets for any waste. The closed loop yard waste recycling program has eliminated the disposal of green waste off the base. The mascot “Deranged Recycler” is actively looking for waste and exposing those who do not recycle. Finally recycling competitions are held among various departments on the facility. This success story has resulted in a 44% reduction of solid waste to the landfill and an increase of 48% of recycled material in 2002. The costs of hazardous waste disposal went from $27,309 in 1998 to $2,000 in 2002 and solid waste that goes to the landfill was decreased by 80% in the same time period.
16) Navy Region Southwest Energy Team
Department of Defense - Navy
San Diego, CA
The Energy Team has worked to implement a photovoltaic (PV) system to add to it’s current wind generating system to help reduce it’s ecological footprint. The 750 KW and 30 KW power system is part of the world’s largest covered parking system and the largest PV system installed by the Federal Government. The systems are expected to produce 1.2 million kWh per year and $228,305 annual cost saving to the facility. The system provides 3% of Naval Base Coronado’s North Island Station peak summer demand, and offset about 1% of the entire bases annual electric consumption per year. Estimates on the 25 year life-span of the system will reduce 11,660 pounds of nitrogen oxides, 10,480 pounds of sulfur dioxide, 7,430 tons of carbon dioxide. These reductions are equivalent to the removal of 1,480 cars, or not driving 18.5 million miles, or saving 2,488 barrels of crude oil per year.
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