This Environmental Management System Manual is a repository for documentation related to the Environmental Management System (EMS) including:

• EMS Procedures that describe how we carry out key tasks within the EMS such as training, identifying environmental aspects, or managing records.

• Programs & Controls that operate under the EMS, such as work plans and programs for achieving EMS objectives and targets and carrying out audits.

• EMS Records or directions that enable individuals to locate appropriate records that confirm the completion of specific EMS activities such as, the identification of Environmental Aspects, EMS training that has been given to specific employees, or the completion of management reviews.

• Definitions, References, and Appendices that contain additional information useful to individuals reviewing the EMS.

This EMS Manual is managed and maintained by: Dan Poulos, 850-234-6541, the Regional EMS Coordinator for the SEFSC.

The official public version of the EMS is web based and the web site always will contain the most current EMS material. For purposes of Records Management a hard copy mirror of the EMS and all ancillary documentation will be printed and placed in the EMS Coordinator’s files upon initial roll out of the EMS. Any revisions to sections of the EMS will be printed and placed as appendices within these files. A complete reprinting of the EMS will take place at least every three years, at which point the older records will be destroyed, in accordance with the records retention schedule. For further details see Section 4O.

The printed version is located at the SEFSC, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida

This EMS Manual was updated in: NA

In addition, to the sequence of charts created in Module 1-Significant Aspects, Objectives and Targets, the EMS Manual holds documentation of the environmental management programs, the operational controls, the EMS audit programs and procedures, all other EMS procedures, EMS records and other descriptive information useful to anyone being introduced to the EMS or to those responsible for the EMS.

C. EMS Implementation

EMS Implementation Start Date: January 2006
EMS Implementation Completion Date: Ongoing

The Center is implementing this EMS; in order to become more fully aware of the adverse environmental impacts of our facility and our activities with a focus on reducing or eliminating those impacts, to reduce the amount and cost of resources by eliminating wasteful practices, and to comply with Executive Order 13148 and the EPA Administrator's Position Statement on EMSs dated May 15, 2002.

Formal Environmental Management Systems emerged in the early 1990s to provide organizations with a proactive, systematic approach for managing the potential environmental consequences of their operations. Such systems have been widely adopted by industry and government and have been effective at improving regulatory compliance and environmental performance.

In April 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13148, "Greening the Government through Leadership in Environmental Management" that established a 5-year EMS implementation goal for all Federal Facilities. President Bush and the current administration have supported this position. EPA, as the principle steward for the environment, has taken a leadership position by developing an EMS implementation initiative.

Although several recognized EMS frameworks exist, most are based on the International Organization for Standardization's ISO-14001 EMS standard. As a result, ISO-14001 is the framework on which organizations most frequently choose to base their EMS, and this is proving to be the case with U.S. Federal Facilities.

Phase 1: Planning

The organization identifies how its operations might harm the environment, and develops methods to reduce this harm.

Phase 2: Doing
The organization implements these methods to reduce harm and operates them for a designated time period.

Phase 3: Checking
The organization assesses whether the methods that it is operating to reduce environmental harm and ensure regulatory compliance are proving to be effective.

Phase 4: Acting
The organization determines what changes are necessary based on the performance assessment of the methods (see Phase 3) designed to reduce environmental harm.

The findings of Phase 4 may indicate that adjustments to methods already in place are necessary or that entirely new methods are needed to achieve established environmental objectives. Output from this phase is fed back into Phase 1 Planning, to make necessary changes and additions designed to bring the EMS to the desired level of effectiveness. This system feedback propels the continual improvement of the EMS.

The EMS continually moves through this cycle, fine-tuning its management of those areas of the organization's operations that harm the environment. This "continual improvement cycle" is a core tenet of the EMS; it allows the system to adapt to the dynamic nature of the organization's operations.

E. Structure and key elements of the EMS

1. Scope

The scope of this EMS is the employees and facility of the SEFSC located at 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida. Pertinent facts regarding the EMS are located on our website.

Every organization has its own goals that stem from the vision and aspirations of its founders and leaders. These may span the gamut from client service to social service to national defense goals. The possibilities can be virtually limitless. An EMS takes this as a fact, as a pre-existing condition from which the awareness and desire to be environmentally responsible emerge. That desire itself becomes an organizational goal when it is transformed into a commitment. 

Environmental Hazards

A list of our activities, products or services that might result in an environmental risk or impact is maintained on this website.

2. Policy

The EMS Policy was signed by Senior Management and is located on our EMS website.

Our environmental policy statement is a declaration of our senior management's commitment to the environment, and serves as the foundation for the EMS. Everyone in our organization is expected to be familiar with and understand our policy. Our policy is considered when setting EMS objectives and targets, and it is understood that the implementation of the EMS serves to operationalize the commitments in the policy. Our environmental policy statement is, therefore, a vehicle for communicating our organization's aspirations for environmental protection as well as a functional tool for establishing the operational boundaries of the EMS. Our environmental policy is aligned with our organization's core mission and includes a commitment to continual improvement, pollution prevention, and regulatory compliance. Our environmental policy statement reflects management consensus on its content and aims, and was formally endorsed by having these senior managers be signatories of the Policy.

3. Planning

EMS planning activities determine the environmental aspects and impacts of the work conducted at the Center. Environmental management programs (EMPs) are designed to control and reduce, where possible, the impacts associated with the identified aspects.

3a. Environmental Aspects

The Centers Environmental Aspects are listed on our EMS website. Procedures for identifying our significant aspects are located in Section 4A.

Our organization's interactions with the environment is shown in our environmental aspects. The interactions are identified by reviewing all the activities, products and services of our organization and assessing the possibility each of them have for an environmental impact. Our EMS is designed to control and reduce, where possible, the impacts associated with the identified aspects.

3b. Legal and Other Requirements

Our EMS recognizes that certain environmental aspects are significant for an organization because they are regulated or the subject of certain legal or other requirements, which can affect our organization's ability to carry out its mission. These may include Federal, State and City laws, regulations, Executive Orders, as well as, industry standards, and organizational policy, guidance and memorandum. In most cases it is prudent for all environmental aspects with legal implications to be designated as significant. Procedures for identifying legal and other requirements are located in Section 4B.

3c. Objectives and Targets

The Objectives and Targets are listed on our EMS website. Our procedure for determining our objectives and targets are located in Section 4C. Our objectives and targets are established to address our significant environmental aspects and are integrated at all levels and functions of our organization. Objectives and targets are set by considering, in part, the legal and other requirements, the views of interested parties, as well as, technological, financial and other operational considerations. This ensures that our objectives and targets are robust, that they respond to legitimate concerns, that they are realistic for the organization, and that it is possible to develop strong management programs to achieve them.

3d. Environmental Management Programs (EMPs) 

The Environmental Management Programs or EMPs contain information describing our program approaches and strategies for achieving our objectives and targets, as well as the performance indicators, and the roles and responsibilities for accomplish tasks, and the competency of individuals associated with those tasks. Our EMPs tie many elements of the EMS together (e.g., significant aspects, objectives and targets, resources, responsibilities, and capabilities) and provide a link to our Work Plans. The Work Plans contain details on the resources (e.g., financial, human, and technological) and timeframes and milestones to accomplish the objectives and targets. The Work Plans are accessible from links on Objectives and Targets page on our EMS website. The procedure for developing our Work Plans is located in Section 4E.

4. Implementation and Operation

4a. Roles, Authorities and Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities for activities under the EMS are clearly defined and as stated above, many of these appear in the EMS programs and operational controls. While our EMS is largely sustained by the voluntary participation and commitment of our employees, certain duties are assigned with clear roles and responsibilities and with attendant accountability for performance and results. For example, senior management must appoint a EMS Coordinator/Management Representative to be responsible for leading the creation, implementation, and maintenance of the EMS. Other roles are assigned to members at various levels and functions throughout the organization where significant environmental aspects are present. Additional information regarding roles, authorities and responsibilities is provided in Sections 4F, 4J, 4Q, and 4R.

4b. Training, Awareness, and Competence

Our EMS requires two types of training: general awareness, and competence training. General awareness training for all our employees focuses on the importance of the environmental policy, the role of employees, and the potential consequences of failing to provide environmental care. Competence training is prescribed for our employees that work in proximity to significant environmental aspects and focuses on the possible significant impacts of those aspects, their specific roles and responsibilities, the objectives and targets for those aspects, and the operational controls in place to avert the actualization of the potential impacts. Competence training is detailed in the EMS programs and in the documentation of operational controls. Most of our competency training on our operational controls is done in email messages sent to all our occupants. The EMS Coordinator ensures that both types of training are conducted as appropriate to satisfy these requirements. For additional information and a description of the approach taken to identify EMS training needs, see Section 4F.

4c. Communication

Most of the documents comprising the EMS are posted on the internet to make them readily accessible in a convenient format for our employee and our external stakeholders. Clearly, effective integrated environmental management demands effective communications to coordinate staff internally and to liaise with external stakeholders. Maintaining employee awareness of EMS initiatives, motivating them, and supplying them with knowledge of their roles and responsibilities all require communication. It is also true that communication is a two-way process; that employees can make recommendations to management and give their views when necessary.

We have tried to consider the views of interested parties in our EMS by first making our information readily available on the internet and meeting with our building manager and the other main tenant in our building. These face to face meetings provided for effective two-way communication between external stakeholders and our facility.

Interested parties can communicate their views to our facility, and the we will respond to these parties. The EMS Work Plans provide for outreach to external stakeholders including our building landlord, our building's other tenants, as well as suppliers and vendors, to make them aware of our EMS. For additional information and a description of the approach taken to provide internal and external communications, see Sections 4J, 4k and 4L.

4d. EMS Documentation

It is important that our organization maintain information that would allow someone with a legitimate interest in the EMS to understand how it is designed and implemented. This information is essential for employees who need to know about an EMS issue, as well as for external parties such as customers, regulators, registrars and other interested parties. In many. cases the EMS Manual will fulfill this documentation requirement. However it is likely that some documents will be maintained outside the EMS Manual in which case they must be referenced in the Manual. For additional information regarding documentation see, Sections 4N and 4O.

4e. Document Control 

Our readily available documentation on the internet and document control procedures ensure that we are maintaining information in a manner that would allow someone with a legitimate interest in the EMS to understand how it is designed and implemented. Our web based EMS also provides all the information that is essential for employees to know about EMS issues, as well as providing this information for external parties such as contractor, vendors, other regulators, registrars and other interested parties. This EMS Manual provides an overview or our EMS documentation and refers to and links out to other essential EMS document. However it is likely that some documents will be maintained outside the web based EMS and EMS Manual in which case they just be referenced in the Manual.

Due to the wide variety of documents used in the EMS it is essential that a formal approach be developed to control and organize them. Our web based system and document control procedure ensures that documents being used are the most up-to-date versions. Since the controlling copy of the EMS is on the web, and printed copies are unofficial, removing obsolete documents from circulation is not necessary. For additional information and a description of the approach taken to provide document control, see the Procedures for Document Control in Section 4N.

4f. Operational Control

It is important to control those activities, products or services that might cause a deviation from our organization's environmental policy or result in significant impacts. Our Operational Controls are designed to support the achievement of EMS objectives and targets. Our operational controls specify laboratory or administrative measures implemented to reduce the risk that an impact will occur. Our Operational Controls document the who, what, how, when and where for activities we want to manage that are related to our EMS. The procedures for developing our operational controls are located in Section 4D.

5a. Monitoring and Measurement

Monitoring and measurement is fundamental to our EMS, it ensures that management plans; controls, and training are effective. Furthermore, it enables our organization to identify its progress toward achieving objectives and targets, and the reasons for our level of achievement. Without effective monitoring and measurement it would be impossible for us to continually improve - which is the basis of our EMS. We will periodically monitor performance, operational controls, and general conformance with EMS objectives and targets. For additional information and a description of the approach we have taken to provide monitoring and measurement see Section 4I.

5c. Records

While it is critical to effectively implement and carry out all the various elements of the EMS, it is also important to be able to demonstrate that we have done so. This is done through the creation and management of records of various implementation activities and other EMS results from training, audits and management reviews. These records must be managed so that they can be easily accessed and retrieved. Additionally, they must be assigned retention dates that specify how long they need to be kept by the organization. For additional information and a description of the approach taken to provide records, see Section 4 0.

The Center will conduct internal EMS audit to test whether the system has been implemented and maintained as designed. These audits are not compliance audits. The reason to look at compliance data during an EMS audit, for example, is not to test the organization's regulatory posture, but rather to test whether the programs that have been implemented are actually working as they were intended to work to achieve and maintain compliance. We will use our EMS internal audits to gauge the status on regulatory compliance. For additional information and a description of the approach taken to provide for EMS internal audits see Section 4Q.

Our EMS reserves a special role for senior management, as well it should. Our Management must not only formulate and articulate the environmental commitments of our organization in the environmental policy, but must also render judgment on whether the EMS continues to be suitable, adequate and effective. This is accomplished through the periodic management review that affords our management the opportunity to judge the EMS and its results. On that basis, management is expected to make decisions relative to the EMS so that it continues to perform and deliver as expected. For additional information and a description of the approach taken to provide for management review see Section 4R.

Revision History

Originally written: December 2005

Author: EMS Coordinator    Reviewed and Approved: Senior Management