TESTIMONY

(Environment, Safety and Occupational Health)

 Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I have been looking forward to this opportunity to update you on the progress we are making toward meeting the Air Force challenges of today and to discuss the challenges we face in the next century. Last year, I left you with the assurance that as the Air Force protects American interests around the world, we also protect the health and safety of our workers and our communities. I told you that by incorporating our Environment, Safety and Occupational Health (ESOH) concepts into every element of Air Force mission accomplishment, we are building a stronger, more flexible Air Force. Today, I am ready to tell you that, with your continuing support, our strategy is working!

Using innovation and sound business practices, the Air Force can meet all ESOH legal obligations and provide excellent stewardship of our natural resources while supporting the warfighter.

As I reported last year, the Air Force environmental programs continue to support combat readiness and responsible stewardship of our human, fiscal and natural resources by:

1. maintaining access to training ranges and airspace through biodiversity and sound ecosystem management;

2. getting remedies in place to clean up contaminated sites;

3. fully complying with all environmental regulations;

4. establishing pollution prevention as the most cost-effective way to assure compliance.

5. relying on our risk-based decisions to reduce costs and make our appropriated dollars go farther.

As we move forward on these fronts, the Air Force is joining the business revolution by incorporating ESOH elements that improve performance and reduce costs throughout our organization. Our record in environmental compliance exemplifies the progress we are making. We started transforming our compliance program in 1994. The before and after figures from 1993 and 1998, respectively, vividly demonstrate that we are improving performance while simultaneously reducing the costs. Our Notices of Violation have plunged from 236 in the first quarter of FY 93 to just 11 at the end of the first quarter of FY 98.

As we move forward, improving our performance and reducing our costs, we want to make sure the decisions we make are the right ones. We cannot cut corners or make decisions that harm our readiness or expose our commanders to personal liability. We cannot violate the trust we have with our neighboring communities. That is why our decisions are made in the context of the guiding principles for the Air Force ESOH program set by the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff in March of 1995 – Sustaining Readiness, Leveraging Resources, and Being a Good Neighbor.

Biodiversity: One mainstay of the Air Force’s ability to maintain its combat edge is intensive and realistic training. We have learned from experience that we provide the most realistic training on ranges with healthy natural resources which provide the realism necessary to replicate the battlefield. Our challenge is to maintain natural areas as integral parts of our operations to protect the limited land, air and water available for training in the future.

Currently, there are 21 endangered animals and 53 endangered plant species that thrive on our ranges. We mitigate potential environmental impacts by working with other agencies, tribal leaders and communities. We modified air routes and flight altitude in Alaska to protect the Peregrine Falcon. We fenced areas of the Nellis Range to protect the Desert Tortoise. We adjusted lights at the launch pad at Cape Canaveral to avoid disturbing the Sea Turtle and newly hatched young. And we position our targets to avoid disturbing the Red-Cockaded woodpeckers at four ranges in the southeast. By protecting the habitats and encouraging biodiversity on our ranges, we sustain our natural resources to provide realistic training areas.

Land Withdrawal: The training ranges at Nellis and Goldwater are the premier combat readiness facilities in the Air Force. They comprise six million acres -- two-thirds of all Air Force lands. The current 15-year withdrawal of these lands expires in November 2001. The Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) being prepared for this land withdrawal will allow the Air Force to enhance readiness by preserving the long-term environmental vitality of our training ranges and installations, making them available for training our future pilots and warfighters. We must protect these ranges or face the loss of mission essential training.

Working Together: In order to draw on outside technical expertise and gain invaluable assistance in protecting and sustaining our ability to train, the Air Force is working closely with federal, state and local agencies and non-governmental interest groups to improve management of our extensive range lands.

Among these partnerships is the Sonoran Desert Ecoregional project. This partnership brings together resources and expertise from a variety of governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations and community members to protect important natural and cultural resources of the desert. By participating, the Air Force is fulfilling its responsibility to do its fair share to protect the natural resources of the region, and we make smarter and more budget-conscious decisions that allow us to train on the Goldwater Range.

Other partnerships include:

• The Mojave Desert Ecosystem Initiative, which includes Edwards AFB in California, combines the resources of DOD, Department of Interior, state and academic institution activities to improve our stewardship of this sensitive ecosystem while satisfying mission requirements.

• Bolling AFB’s participation in the Chesapeake Bay Program contributes to shoreline restoration and runoff control projects.

• Air Force partnership with The Nature Conservancy incorporates biodiversity into land management at Arnold AFS, Tennessee, and Eglin AFB, Florida, as well as ecosystem restoration at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

Sikes Act Compliance: To comply with the Sikes Act and its 1997 amendments, the Air Force has completed integrated natural resource management plans at over 87% of eligible installations with a goal of 100% by FY2000. These plans are completed in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and cognizant state agencies.

Budget: In FY 99, we are asking $29.5 million to maintain our ability to train through sound ecosystem management and protection of important natural and cultural resources.

Operational Risk Management (ORM): ORM is key to maintaining readiness in peacetime and dominance in combat. It is a decision-making tool to systematically identify risks and benefits, and determine the best course of action for any given situation. ORM is designed to enhance mission effectiveness by minimizing risks in order to reduce mishaps, preserve assets, and safeguard the health and welfare of our people. The Air Force is emphasizing ORM in multiple safety and educational programs to lower mishap rates. In 1997, we initiated formal education and computer-based training to instruct our people in the use of ORM. All Air Force personnel will receive this training by the beginning of FY 99.

Force Protection: Central to the Air Force’s ability to defend the nation and to protect American interests around the world is our ability to protect the health and safety of our personnel. We believe that the human is the most important element to readiness and mission accomplishment in the cockpit, on the flight line, or in the maintenance shop.

The occupational environment of our personnel extends from the traditional work environments of our offices and industrial shops to the cockpits of our C-17s, F-117s and B-2s and to our deployment locations around the world. Our initiatives in these areas directly contribute to the Air Force’s thrust to "Ensure the Forces are Protected."

As we continue to develop our lean, agile combat support force and transition to the Air Expeditionary Force concept, each person counts more. The Air Force must better protect our personnel against indigenous health and safety threats, as well as any biological and chemical threats posed by our adversaries. I am proud to say, the Air Force is taking definitive steps to do this better than we ever have before.

For example, in USAFE, Secure Launch Threat Headquarters Working Groups, which analyze threats and develop countermeasures for deployments, are now including assessment of all risks contributing to disease and non-battle injury. The Air Force initiative to train personnel in operational risk management, along with the deployment of field medical surveillance systems, provide an added measure to protect our force.

The Air Force Surgeon General is standing up an Institute of ESOH Risk Analysis within our Human System Center at Brooks AFB. We are creating the Center without increased people or funding by re-engineering our existing human systems support center. The new organization, with a focus on protecting the human as vigorously as we protect our other weapons, comes complete with a deployment capability. It will allow us to ensure enhanced readiness in a cost-effective manner.

The Air Force has implemented a medical theater surveillance system called "Desert Care" in Southwest Asia. The system tracks every medical encounter at our clinics and AID stations. This information is used to determine adverse trends and identify any additional protective measures on a real-time basis.

We, along with other military service counterparts, are conducting extensive environmental sampling of our deployment locations to assure our personnel are not being exposed to environmental toxins in the air, water, or soil. The Air Force Research Lab has joined in a tri-service "Deployment Toxicology" effort to identify the Service requirements for tools to rapidly identify and assess environmental toxins in the field. The results of this effort will directly translate into increased protection of our personnel from chemical and biological threats.

We are also developing a molecular epidemiology capability that uses sophisticated DNA "fingerprinting" techniques to rapidly identify biological agents. With this technology, we will be able to proactively detect either indigenous biological agents or those associated with biological warfare more quickly and accurately than ever before.

We are putting the final touches on our anthrax immunization plan which will assure adequate protection for our force against this deadly agent – one of the most available biological warfare agents.

Within the area of occupational health and safety, the Air Force is implementing a comprehensive ergonomics program to address our number one cause of occupational injury and illness. Ergonomic disorders, including back injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome, cost the Air Force upwards of $200 million annually in direct and indirect costs. Our goal is to reduce the incidence and lost time due to occupational illnesses and injuries by 30% by 2005.

In order to remain the world’s best air and space force, the Air Force is incorporating ESOH tools into our core business practices. We are expanding our use of pollution prevention, industrial hygiene, and operational risk management methods to reduce costs. Simultaneously, we protect the environment and the health of our people. Air Force Material Command is taking the lead in finding new methods to reduce the cost of our operations, and we in the ESOH community are in the forefront of that effort. As I mentioned in my introduction, our environmental compliance program proves that we are leveraging fewer taxpayer dollars and getting better results.

Compliance: I am pleased to report that Air Force compliance is the strongest its ever been. Our open enforcement actions have dropped for the fifth straight year. We closed out the first quarter of FY 98 with only 11 open enforcement actions, down from 263 in 1992 (Fig.1). Disposal of hazardous waste has been reduced 49% from 1992 through 1996 (Fig. 2).

Fig. 1 - Open Enforcement Actions

Fig. 2 - Hazardous Waste Disposal Metric

The Air Force compliance program continues to evolve toward pollution prevention as the most cost effective means of meeting regulatory requirements, as well as protecting the health and safety of our workers and our neighbors. Through aggressive pollution prevention efforts, partnering with regulators, and a rigorous Environmental Compliance Audit and Management Program (ECAMP), we have made steady progress towards eliminating hazardous materials and wastes from our operations. The bottom line: we returned $300 million to the Air Force in 1998 by virtue of the compliance costs we no longer have to pay. This proves that good environmental practices save money.

In May, the Air Force received four of 14 White House "Closing the Circle Awards" for 1997, recognizing people and groups for leadership in pollution prevention. Among the Air Force winners were our Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles for improved launch rocket systems, the 375^th Civil Engineering Squadron at Scott AFB for its recycling program, Hill AFB, Utah for waste prevention, and Langley AFB, Virginia for its global environmental outreach program. Additionally, the Secretary of Interior visited Eglin AFB in Florida and said it was the best protected, best managed property he has seen anywhere in the world. These examples demonstrate how the Air Force is protecting America’s natural resources as we execute our contemporary military missions.

Compliance challenges will continue to require funding. More stringent regulations for such emissions as ozone and particulates, PCBs, volatile compounds associated with aircraft maintenance, and others will require innovative and cost-effective technologies. The aging utility systems, including water treatment plants, on many of our installations, require capital investment to ensure continuing compliance. With the strong support of you and the Congress, Mr. Chairman, the Air Force compliance program can meet these challenges and continue our record as environmental leaders.

Budget: In FY 99, we will reduce the amount we seek for compliance by another $50 million from the FY 98 level. We are asking $401 million to continue meeting all non-cleanup environmental regulatory requirements, and to invest in the infrastructure needed to maintain full compliance.

Cleanup: Last year, I told you we were on the Superhighway to completing our environmental restoration program. I am here to report that we are glad you raised the speed limit on that highway! Because of the strong support you have given us in maintaining sufficient and stable funding of the Environmental Restoration Account at our active installations, we have put remedies in place, or require no further action at 2,158 of our 4,269 sites. In 1997, the Air Force Academy became the first Air Force installation to achieve response completion at all of its sites, and we are on schedule to have remedies in place at all but two of our active installations by the year 2007. "Operation Clean Sweep," an Air Force initiative to clean up contamination at 31 remote sites in Alaska, is well on its way.

Figure 3 shows the relative stability of the cleanup program through the 1990s, along with out-year projections. Approximately 75% of program dollars are invested in cleanup actions rather than studies and oversight, a great improvement since 1993, when only 30% of funding went directly to cleanup actions.

Fig. 3 - Final Cleanup Systems in Place (Active Bases)

Budget: In FY 99, we are asking for $379 million, the stable funding figure that will allow us to continue our progress toward completing our cleanup program at active installations and eventually allocate more appropriated dollars toward readiness and modernization. This figure is $152 million below the funding we received in FY 93, before stable funding was in place.

BRAC: The Air Force continues to work with communities impacted by our base closure/realignment to clean up environmental contamination and put property and facilities into economic reuse. On our current schedule, we plan to have remedies in place at all but McClellan AFB in California by the year 2002. At McClellan, we have moved our schedule to have all remedies in place by 2015 -- one year earlier than we projected last year. Using peer reviews, innovative technologies, partnering, and approaches to optimize long-term operation and maintenance, we were able to avoid $178.1M in environmental costs from 1994 through May of 1997. We plan to continue using these methods to avoid additional costs throughout the life of the BRAC program. Figure 4 provides a snapshot of our BRAC cleanup program.

Fig. 4 - BRAC Cleanup

Once remedies are in place, the work doesn’t end – in fact the real work of environmental cleanup begins. The Air Force has taken the lead in working with our stakeholders to develop a five-step strategy for reaching environmental site closeout. We are interested in briefing you in the near future on the lessons we’re learning about costs associated with Long-term Operation and Maintenance (LTO/LTM) required to turn off the pumps and ensure our remedies have worked to clean up contamination and protect human health and the environment.

Budget: In FY 99, we are requesting $152 million to maintain our compliance and cleanups at closing bases and transferring properties to our communities. This figure is $111.5 million less than we requested in FY 98, reflecting savings incurred as we complete our cleanups.

Pollution Prevention: Through our aggressive pollution prevention programs, we are finding ways to reduce environmental costs, thereby freeing up dollars that can be used for readiness and modernization. By investing in pollution prevention, we reduce the impact on the public health and environment, reduce liability by reducing or eliminating fines for non-compliance, reduce operating costs through more efficient use of materials, and reduce overall waste treatment and disposal costs.

At Vandenberg AFB in California, we’ve signed a landmark agreement with EPA and local regulators that proves compliance can be achieved through pollution prevention. Through the ENVironmental inVESTment (ENNVEST) initiative, the installation is spending funds initially programmed for permitting costs, implementing a series of pollution prevention projects to reduce boiler emissions. The pollution prevention projects will result in 10 tons/year less pollution. In return, the Air Force receives permanent relief from having to obtain costly permits. These and other innovative pollution prevention solutions are part of an Air Force focus on compliance through pollution prevention.

Pollution Prevention Awareness: The first objective of our strategy is making every employee aware of a pollution prevention ethic through comprehensive education and training. Educated workers are taking responsibility for the processes where they work and are bringing about change.

Let me give you an example. Last year, in the dental clinic at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, one of the dentists, Lt. Col. Stanczyk, had a good idea to reduce pollution. He got together with Maj. Chris Sherman, the Base Bioenvironmental Engineer. They identified a new technology called "digital radiology" that made it faster and easier to take dental x-rays. This technology eliminates all the wet processing and waste, chemicals, and time associated with film development. The patient is exposed to 65% less radiation, and the Air Force saved approximately $84,000 in sampling and disposal costs, and more than 600 labor hours per year using this process.

We have incorporated this idea into our data base of model practices in San Antonio and provided this example to EPA’s pollution prevention office. We are considering wider implementation of digital radiology throughout the Air Force.

Weapon System Pollution Prevention: The Air Force is striving to make pollution prevention a regular part of every step in the weapon system life cycle ("Life cycle" means concept, design, development testing, production, deployment, training, maintenance, supply management, distribution, and disposal or demilitarization). We are encouraging every weapon system program manager to incorporate the cost of pollution as part of his/her normal decision making. We are enhancing the linkage between operational commands whose workers can be affected by occupational illness and injury (and the costs associated with ESOH compliance), and the system program offices which design the production and maintenance processes that can decrease the incidence of costly injuries and illnesses.

One of our most significant improvements, is the development of the Hazardous Materials Reduction Prioritization Process (HMRPP) linking the installation user, who must pay for compliance requirements and waste disposal, to the system manager who has the authority to make system changes.

The C-17 Globemaster III is a compelling story of how pollution prevention was used to reduce cost and improve performance. Each C-17 uses over 730,000 rivets and 590,000 titanium pins. In the past, before installation of each rivet and pin, the mechanic coated the rivet with a sealant. The sealant had to be refrigerated 5 - 30 minutes before use. Each sealant tube cost about $5 to buy and $10 to dispose of as hazardous waste. The mechanics met with the suppliers and developed a dry pre-coated sealant. The new pre-sealed fasteners filled the hole tighter, ensured corrosion protection, simplified the installation process, and eliminated hazardous waste. This improvement avoids $2.2 million in costs and 2.3 million labor hours for each new Globemaster.

The system program offices for new weapon systems are considering ESOH in the development and sustainment of weapon systems, and the Air Force is partnering with other services both to benchmark and to share lessons learned (e.g., the Joint Group on Acquisition Pollution Prevention (JG-APP) and the Technology Needs Survey (TNS)).

Using Technology: The final objective of the Pollution Prevention Strategy is to develop and transition new technology for use in new and existing systems to reduce pollution and improve performance. We are improving our processes and working with other agencies to get their technology advances to the field where they can be used. We are working with other federal agencies to compile a directory of technology requirements as well as a directory of available technologies. We believe this will help create the markets necessary for industry to invest in these pollution prevention areas. In addition, we have world class toxicologists who are evaluating Air Force unique chemicals to identify less toxic and hazardous chemicals that will do the job and protect our neighbors and our workforce.

Management Systems: The key to leveraging resources is to make spending choices that avoid pollution and eliminate health hazards, while reducing costs and improving performance. Clearly, to develop a smart investment strategy, we need to link the weapon system and the operational communities in the effort to design out ESOH hazards as well as to develop supporting cost accounting data and tools to analyze costs.

Cost accounting systems and analysis tools, however, are not enough. We are looking at our overall ESOH management system to ensure it incorporates a cycle of plan-implement-check-review.

Two important aspects of this program are the Hazardous Material Management Program and the Modernization Planning Process.

Hazardous Material Management Program: The Air Force recently developed instructions for managing hazardous material. Hazardous material will be controlled at all installations like drugs are controlled through a medical pharmacy. Every use must be authorized, the quantity of issue controlled, and the worker know how to use the substance correctly.

Technical Planning: From 1995 to 1997 the Air Force re-engineered the Technical Planning for ESOH that supports Air Force Modernization Planning Process. The Technical Planning Integrated Product Team (TPIPT) identifies and validates near- and long-term needs, finds and assesses solution options, and offers integrated solutions to customers for use in AF planning. These solutions are now an integral part of planning and programming strategies in all operational areas of the Air Force.

Budget: In 1999, we are requesting $58 million to continue these important initiatives that protect public health and the environment, and help us avoid costs while improving performance.

The third principle of our ESOH program is that we are a good neighbor in every American community we call home, and which is home to us. Good ESOH programs offer us a unique opportunity to show our communities that we care and that we respect them as legitimate partners in reaching community-based solutions to ESOH issues that affect them. Open communication and collaborative problem-solving is at the heart of being a good neighbor.

Our Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs) are an integral part of planning and prioritizing our environmental cleanups. Their advice is proving invaluable as we move forward putting remedies in place at all of our installations by the beginning of the Century.

The RAB at Galena Airport, Campion Air Station has evolved from a small group, which met irregularly to voice complaints, to a cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership between the community and the Air Force. RAB members helped locate thousands of drums and additional contamination which the Air Force had not known about. The Air Force helped community residents receive necessary training to participate in the cleanup work.

The RAB at Eielson AFB helped establish project priorities. They were instrumental in resolving fishing, water quality, monitoring well criteria and sampling, and environmental justice issues with the community. The RAB Community Co-chair at Eielson says, "The base is a valuable link to our community, and striving for a safe and clean environment for our children to grow up in is mutually beneficial to the base, and the community."

Our dialogue with Native American tribes is key to successfully balancing our training needs with our trustee responsibilities to protect the cultural heritage of those affected by our activities. The Environmental Impact Statement for the Enhanced Training in Idaho Initiative has been successfully completed, in significant part, because of the relationships established through intense dialogue with the Shoshone-Paiute Nation and our ability to reach mutually acceptable solutions there.

New and innovative relationships with regulatory and public stakeholders are a critical part of the ESOH vision. We are working closely with EPA and state partners to seek common-sense ways to achieve common goals.

Previously, I told you how our ENVVEST initiative at Vandenberg AFB, California, saved money for the Air Force while improving environmental protection. What I didn’t tell you then is that we built that agreement in full partnership with our neighboring communities. They advised us and they supported the agreement. Without their support, we could not have achieved the benefits of this innovative program. By including our communities in building the ENVVEST program, we have reversed the Not-In-My-Back-Yard (NIMBY) syndrome. This is "YES" in my back yard!

ENVVEST agreements are an important cooperative step toward sustaining both the community and the Air Force operations. Other ENVVEST agreements are in the works at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska and AF Plant 4 in Texas. We anticipate that these agreements will result in similar paybacks. ENVVEST is a prime example of results-oriented environmental protection that reduces compliance costs.

Air Force ESOH programs enhance Air Force readiness. That is clear from the successes of the past years. The challenges we face into the next century require vigorous ESOH solutions based on comprehensive risk-based management, good business practices, and informed by open dialogue with the American people. The partnership we have with you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee is essential. Together, we can meet those challenges head-on and march into the 21^st century with an Air Force that is lean, flexible, ready and stronger than ever.