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Sergio Sergi, an environmental specialist at Fort A. P. Hill in Caroline County, takes a noise-level reading in an area on the
A pine splinters as several trees are felled to make room
Larry Capelle, a forester at Fort A. P. Hill, drives a severe-duty shredder through woods overgrown |
Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County is one of the Army's premier training venues.
With its vast expanse of woodland, fields, ponds, streams and marshes, it is also home to abundant wildlife and some endangered and threatened species.
Balancing the needs of the Army with environmental protection may seem impossible, but the post has an innovative approach, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Fort A.P. Hill, occupying 76,000 acres north of Bowling Green, recently received the bay program's outstanding achievement award for environmental stewardship among federal facilities.
The work starts even before an Army unit arrives at the fort for training.
"A lot of environmental programs focus on what people should not be doing," said Terry Banks, a civilian employee who heads up the A.P. Hill's 20-member environment and natural resources division. "We tell them what to do" to protect land and water "and how to do it."
"We brief commanders on what our requirements are, and we definitely bring out environmental concerns," Banks said. "We publish our environmental regulations and make sure everyone gets a copy of those." There's an incentive program to reward employees or Army units that go above and beyond their duties in protecting the environment.
Military training involves a lot of potentially hazardous materials, such as petroleum products, solvents and heavy metals.
"We go out to them in the field and help them [comply]," Banks said. For example, drums are provided for contaminated rags; dead batteries are picked up and recycled; any hazardous materials brought on the post are tracked, stored and disposed of. The hazardous-waste management program, launched several years ago, has reduced generation and disposal of toxic materials by 76 percent.
Encouragement and training lead to compliance, Banks said. "What we do is a gathering of ideas. The Army gives you guidance" on environmental requirements. "You take that and make it work for you."
The intent of the program is prevention, rather than cleanup after a stream or maneuver area has been polluted.
Mary Lynn Wilhere, coordinator of the bay organization's Businesses for the Bay program, said the military has made strides in dealing with pollution.
Military culture, coupled with a desire to save money, are big factors, she said.
"You've got a command structure where it comes down from the top and says, 'You will do this.'"
And, "The big idea behind pollution prevention is saving money. If they have someone really managing hazardous wastes, there are big reductions in costs," Wilhere said.
A.P. Hill was cited by the bay program, she said, because of its track record and results. "We like to see this measured reduction in hazardous wastes. Zero release is the ultimate goal."
Banks, who has worked at the fort for 15 years, says A.P. Hill's environmental program has evolved.
"When I got here, basic compliance issues were being met," she said. Much more is required now, "because the environmental regulations have increased dramatically. Our mission is to sustain and enhance the training lands. We've taken that focus and tried to go above and beyond what's required."
There are obvious challenges on military bases. For instance, how to manage a forest in the midst of firing ranges and terrain crawling with troops, artillery and tanks.
One component is the Army's Integrated Training Area Management Program, which assesses collateral damage to the environment. One such assessment was done at Range 34, used by soldiers to qualify on the M-16A2 rifle.
Vegetation along the firing lanes is peppered with errant ricochets and tracer rounds. The assessment determined the amounts and types of plants on the site, percentage of damaged trees, and the amount of damage per tree.
On other parts of the post used for maneuvers, foresters were called in to recommend where trees should be cut and thinned to create corridors for the troops and machinery.
A.P. Hill's ponds are managed for fishing, and much of the forested areas are open for hunting. Other parts of the post are protected, such as bald eagle nesting areas and habitat for the small-whorled pogonia, an endangered native orchid.
Some other initiatives:
Waste fuel, oil and other lubricants are recycled rather than put in a landfill. All spills must be reported and cleaned up.
A new weapons-parts cleaning machine uses less hazardous solvents that don't evaporate as readily as conventional ones.
In-house certified erosion and sedimentation control staff review all construction projects that might affect water quality.
Noise from firing ranges is monitored by real-time sensors, which allow a quicker response to complaints from residents outside the gates.
In addition to military training, A.P. Hill is the host site every four years of the national Boy Scout Jamboree. The next one is scheduled for the summer of 2005.
That brings with it its own host of environmental management issues, Banks said.
The Scouts handle their own trash, but Banks' office reviews recycling, solid-waste disposal and water-quality sampling plans. Any construction must meet environmental guidelines for water and air quality.
Fort A.P. Hill has representatives on the York and Rappahannock River tributary committees, the Pollution Prevention Partnership of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program.
Said Banks, "We have such wonderful natural resources. We want to protect all of those and meet our training needs."
To reach RUSTY DENNEN: 540/374-5431 rdennen@freelancestar.com
