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Colville
National Forest EMS Program
EMS Briefing
An EMS provides a systematic approach for continually improving environmental performance. An EMS identifies the major environmental aspects (activities, products or services) and associated impacts that occur on a National Forest. There are controls already in place to manage these impacts – such as NEPA analysis, best management practices (BMPs), and resource monitoring – the EMS simply documents and ensures that these controls are in place and working as intended.
EMS is not a short term project that will be completed on a specific date. It is an ongoing process that formalizes the Forest Service’s commitment to adaptive management and continual improvement of the environment.
The EMS is based on the plan-do-check-act cycle to establish goals, implement plans to meet the goals, determine progress, and make improvements. The EMS uses the ISO 14001 international standard - the most widely used and respected standard. The EMS will account for performance through monitoring, required audits and management reviews. Management will take corrective and preventive actions to address the findings and suggested improvements.
EMS involves the whole organization—every employee and persons working on behalf of the Forest Service (e.g. contractors, permittees) as they contribute to improving the Forest’s environmental performance and implementing the Forest’s environmental policy.
Benefits of Improved Performance
Benefits from implementing the EMS include enhancing our Mission focus, more effective and efficient operations, easier to transition to new employees, and an assurance that this Forest is following agency direction.
Environmental Policy for the Colville National Forest
As set forth in law, the mission of the Forest Service is to achieve quality land management under the sustainable multiple-use management concept to meet the diverse needs of people (FSM 1020.21).
To carry out this mission, the Colville National Forest is committed to:
- continual improvement in the Forest’s environmental performance and the prevention of pollution and resource degradation through monitoring, compliance checks, evaluation and adaptive management,
- complying with all laws, regulations, policies and executive orders applicable to the Forest’s environmental aspects, and
- implementing and maintaining a framework that guides and documents compliance and accomplishments.
Environmental Objectives/Targets
Make progress in achieving the Forest’s environmental goals.
- Increase high priority hazardous fuels treatment in Non-Wildland/Urban
Interface (non-WUI) and Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI)
- Target: Increase net annual acreage of treatment to reduce the fuel condition class from 4,000 acres in FY 2006 to 6,000 acres in FY 2008.
- Develop and implement a motor vehicle use map.
- Target: Develop and implement motor vehicle use map for Colville National Forest by 12/31/09.
Environmental Aspects
Focus continual improvement on activities/programs with the greatest potential for environmental impacts.
A Forest Team along with the Forest Supervisor identified the following significant environmental aspects for EMS focus. These aspects and associated impacts were selected considering the frequency of the activity, the severity of the potential impacts, and level of public concern.
- Grazing use - Activities associated with livestock moving across the landscape unassisted and the impacts to soil and water temperature, Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive plants and animals, and impacts from noxious weeds.
- Motorized use of open roads – motor vehicle use and the impacts of the spread of noxious weeds.
- Mechanical vegetation treatments - where machinery operating on the ground is used to move live or dead vegetation within a stand of trees and the impacts to soil and water quality, Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive plants and animals, impacts from noxious weeds, and impacts to visual and heritage resources.
Operational Controls
For those same aspects, implement/maintain a system to minimize environmental impacts.
Operational controls have been established for each of three significant environmental aspects. Operational controls and monitoring activities have been combined and are based on existing project activity controls, direction, and guidance found in the Land and Resource Management Plans, and Forest Service Manuals.
The six operational controls that guide the implementation of these three aspects are:
- Grazing use - Impacts to water temperature, soils, noxious weeds, TE&S plants and animals
- Motorized vehicle use of management level 2-5 roads - Impacts to noxious weeds
- Mechanical vegetation treatments - Impacts to water temperature,
soils, TE&S plants and animals, heritage resources and visual resources
- Mechanical vegetation treatments: force account work
- Mechanical vegetation treatments: timber sale contracts
- Mechanical vegetation treatments: stewardship contracts
- Mechanical vegetation treatments: service contracts
Non-conformity
All contractors, permittees, and cooperators have the authority and responsibility to bring suspected environmental nonconformities to the attention of their supervisor or agency contact. Notes or documented calls may result in a non-conformance report. Reporting non-conformities will help managers find ways to improve management.
Emergency Response
Several emergency situations that could have large scale, undesirable environmental impacts were identified. Hazardous material spills/discoveries and wildland fires were selected for inclusion in the EMS Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan. The plan addresses preparedness, training, testing, incident response, mitigative actions, reporting, and follow-up investigation to potentially identify operational changes.
The Colville National Forest uses the Incident Command System (ICS) for response to emergency situations. ICS is a standardized emergency management control system
The Forest Safety Officer is responsible for annual review of the Emergency Screen and the Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan. Recommended additions to the list of emergencies and revisions to the plan are presented to the EMS Implementation and Maintenance Team.
For further information see http://www.fs.fed.us/emc/nepa/ems/