 |
|
A road less traveled
Bringing more superintendents into the fold could be the biggest benefit of cafeteria-style Environmental Management Systems.
 |
Doing the right thing might be becoming a little easier to do.
The slow but apparently sure emergence of Environmental Management Systems for golf courses is on the horizon and looms as the most systematic, superintendent-friendly framework for an industry-wide program of its kind to come along to date.
The EMS concept as a proactive approach to environmental stewardship has been around for more than a couple of decades, mostly on an international scale and favored by business and the manufacturing industry. In the last 10 years or so, following the development of an international standard — ISO 14001 for environmental management — many industries in this country and abroad will trade only with those companies who are so certified.
As far back as 1996, the ISO 14001 EMS piqued the interest of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which saw a need for the idea in the public sector. The agency has since adopted a modified model that includes a continual cycle with four key components, Plan-Do-Check-Act:
• Planning, including identifying environmental aspects and establishing goals
• Implementing, including training and operational controls
• Checking, including monitoring and corrective action
• Reviewing, including progress reviews and acting to make needed changes to an EMS
An EPA EMS rolls out further into 17 elements or steps related to the development and implementation of the program. The steps, daunting to some, are outlined on the agency’s Web site, www.epa.gov/ems/info/elements.htm (see the sidebar “An EMS snapshot”), and range from setting environmental policy and objectives to documentation, monitoring and management reviews.
 |
Tan-Tara GC along the Erie Canal near Buffalo, N.Y., is one of the few courses in the U.S. to utilize the e-par program. Superintendent Joe Stein says the EMS complements his previous work that earned Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certification. Photo courtesy of Tan-Tara GC |
Formidable support
Jim Horne, program analyst with the Office of Wastewater Management and the EPA’s chief authority on EMS, points to the agency’s current position on EMS, which states its support for the development of the idea to help organizations achieve environmental obligations and broaden their environmental performance goals. More telling, the EPA doesn’t specifically favor ISO 14001 over other EMS models or approaches. Two years ago, the agency reaffirmed its stand on the viability of EMS and also has demonstrated a relaxed attitude about the program in this day and age of governmental scrutiny couched in rules and regulations.
“I don’t think there is a question anymore in anyone’s mind of the value of an EMS,” Horne says. “It’s not mandatory and it’s never been EPA’s policy, and I don’t think it ever will be, that we should impose a regulation for EMS. Its strengths are its flexibility and its voluntary nature.”
 |
Superintendent Kevin Hutchins, who won the 2001 national public Environmental Leaders in Golf Award at the Presidio in San Francisco, has plans to “do the right thing” again at Mission Viejo CC in Southern California. |
Also, the EPA, in collaboration with the Global Environmental & Technology Foundation, has developed the Public Entity EMS Resource Center (PEER) to provide information and the tools to help public organizations understand and adopt an EMS for their operations. Included are a number of PEER EMS Local Resource Centers around the country available to assist local governments in developing an EMS (See www.peercenter.net).
The EPA’s increasing efforts to bring an EMS culture to America’s public sector brings the concept to golf’s doorstep as well. The golf course industry, while not deficient by any means in available environmental programs, would seem to be open to one so close to being all things to all people.
“While an EMS has to sell itself on its own merits, it appears to be a good fit for golf,” Horne says. “It follows the whole quality cycle of Plan-Do-Check-Act and can be tailored to a facility’s staff make-up and size and resources.”
Management mentors
Covering the entire scope of an EMS is an unwieldy task for a magazine article, but interviews, references and case studies shed some light on the program’s premise — and promise.
One of the most extensive studies on EMS for golf courses was co-authored recently by Robert Carrow, Ph.D., of the University of Georgia crop and soil science department, and Kevin Fletcher, longtime director of programs and administration for Audubon International. Their work was published in two parts this year in the July/August and September/October issues of the USGA’s Green Section Record (http://turf.lib.msu.edu/gsr/).
 |
The stream shown here at left-center is a main point of contention for Hutchins at Mission Viejo CC, where he is considering developing an EMS, possibly using both the e-par Web-based program and Audubon guidelines. Photos courtesy of Mission Viejo CC |
Boiled down, the work reviews the history of EMS, its policy guidelines, its nurturing of a long-term commitment to systematic environmental management and stewardship and a multi-faceted action plan. The authors offer personal preference in an EMS approach and also a bit of devil’s advocacy. Typical is Carrow’s caveat that while an EMS of some sort is essential for the future well-being of the golf course industry, the concept itself may yet be ahead of its time.
“Not necessarily,” Carrow replies after a moment of thought to a question whether EMS is good for golf at this time. “Certainly we ought to manage the environment as best we can. If EMS helps, fine. Kevin and I wrote the articles as educational articles to start people thinking about this, because it is going to come. EMS programs have good things in them and they are a start to bringing common sense to dealing with individual problems and multiple problems.”
The BMP theory
A veteran of the exacting turf science protocol and a staunch proponent of Best Management Practices since their inception as the heart of the EPA’s Clean Water Act in 1977, Carrow favors adding the BMP philosophy to an EMS because the approach and its terminology have already passed muster on the governmental front.
“Most EMS programs out there are really a series of BMPs, which have been applied to a lot of issues in recent years,” Carrow says. “What the turf industry needs to be doing is to be able to take forward a cohesive, understandable approach. The regulatory people understand the BMP terminology and that it’s the best means of dealing with environmental issues. What’s important are not the strategies, but the characteristics. BMPs are holistic, they include all possible science-based strategies.”
By that token, Carrow adds that the 17 EMS elements take on a more benign presence for superintendents because only two of the elements — identifying environmental issues and developing specific action plans — are the core points of a golf course EMS.
“Once you know what the environmental issues are, then you can stack your BMPs together and that becomes your EMS,” he says. “The program can be good for golf because it can address multiple issues through the same systematic approach and the same terminology. It’s essentially the future way environmental problems are going to be dealt with.”
 |
The EMS brain trust at Newport News GC: (from left) Charlie Wheaton, superintendent; Neil Morgan, assistant city manager and senior EMS champion; Michael Neeler, parks administrator; and Louis Bott, environmental programs manager. Photo courtesy of city of Newport News |
Carrow and Fletcher, more than most, believe the time is ripe for some sort of comprehensive program that’s voluntary, far-reaching and leaves little room for debate.
“The point is, if we can’t bring forward a plan that’s reasonable and has a high potential for success, or has a track record for success, then we can’t complain if someone else comes with an approach whether we like it or not,” Carrow says.
Audubon compatibility
At first glance, one would think that an EMS would fly in the face of Audubon International’s long-standing environmental programs for golf courses that include end-game certification and ensuing publicity and public relations benefits. On the contrary; no less than the EPA’s Horne says the Audubon guidelines are a “great stepping stone to an EMS.”
Fletcher, of course, agrees. He’s shepherded Audubon’s programs for the better part of 15 years and, frankly, believes that there can never be enough environmental management muscle.
“In a nutshell, both the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program and the Signature program for new developments are really based on simple plans of check/act systems. In essence, they are environmental management systems already,” he says. “Audubon doesn’t draw a line around an entire facility, but rather concentrates on five categories. An EMS — or something on a national level looking at managing environmental issues in a systematic way — we certainly think our programs could be part of that or dovetail in it.”
Not enough green hearts
Indeed, Fletcher’s concerns go far beyond any perceived organizational provincialism. He sees an industry-wide effort in need of a boost. To wit:
• Throughout much of its 15 years of operation, Audubon’s Cooperative Sanctuary program has basically treaded water, with about 15 percent of all U.S. golf courses participating in the program. Along the way, just 2 to 3 percent — about 600 courses to date — have achieved
certification.
• Other leading golf course environmental programs, including the GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards, have experienced similar lagging participation. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t superintendents and golf courses out there doing good things,” Fletcher says. “I think we all know there are. They just aren’t in a program and being recognized.”
• Fletcher has done some research that is even more disconcerting. He notes, for instance, that 95 percent of the participants in the ELGA program are also Audubon participants. Other programs reflect a similar repetition. “It’s all the same people, for the most part,” he says. “They’re all already green-hearted and invested in it.” Further, marketing surveys show that 10 to 15 percent of Americans demonstrate environmental awareness. (See the first bullet point.)
The next question is, would an EMS, with its simple, systematic, “cafeteria-style” approach that the experts say would be compatible to almost any golf course operation, effectively lure more into the environmental stewardship limelight? Fletcher isn’t holding his breath.
“Would a more comprehensive system such as an EMS get the other 85 percent of U.S. courses involved? My answer is no,” he says. “I’m afraid an EMS program would just probably create a new place for the cream of the crop to go. The industry has to seek other elements to sway owners, club members and superintendents to participate.”
Flag-bearers
All that said, many, Fletcher included, are pushing the EMS concept, and versions thereof are slowly surfacing, notably from Florida to as far north as the Great Lakes. One particular hotbed is the state of Virginia. No doubt influenced at least in part by its proximity to the nation’s government, Virginia is far ahead of the curve regarding EMS in the public sector, guided and cheered on by the state’s Environmental Excellence Program and its Department of Environmental Quality.
The state is also home to the proactive Virginia EMS Association (www.cpe.vt.edu/va-ems), an alliance of public entities, private businesses, military and other federal facilities and colleges and universities. Case studies also abound, including those involving golf courses. A couple of watershed programs are in Charlottesville and Newport News.
All-out effort benefits golf
The program in Charlottesville, a city of more than 45,000 in the middle of the state, is a prototype for an EMS developed for a municipality with a golf course benefiting from a trickle-down effect. It began about five years ago when the city opted for the EMS approach to address and manage the environmental impacts of its operations, as well as provide a prudent way to assure regulatory compliance whenever issues arise. The city’s department of parks and recreation became ground zero for the initial effort because of its many activities such as landscaping and athletic field and golf course turf management.
Charlottesville modeled its process after the ISO 14001 standard, and Kristel Riddervold, the city’s environmental administrator charged with directing the development and implementation of the EMS, notes that while the project has broader implications city-wide, the municipal golf course, Meadowcreek, turned out to be an interesting part of the effort because of its unique aspects, objectives and targets that were right up the program’s alley.
“We tackled the fundamental compliance issues first and set the attitude to be more proactive,” Riddervold says, referring mainly to outdated fuel and chemical storage facilities at Meadowcreek. “The EMS is kind of a mechanical process of looking at all the different parts and pieces, and the things that need attention pop out.
“It’s also very flexible. For instance, we tend to fixate on things like chemical use and overlook things like water conservation. I think early on you have to show success and show why you’re doing it — you just can’t jump on the most glamorous environmental initiatives until there is a framework set. An EMS puts the issues in perspective.”
 |
The 16th hole at Meadowcreek GC is typical of the benefits from an EMS that was established at the facility a few years ago as part of a city-wide program for the Department of Parks and Recreation in Charlottesville, Va. Photo courtesy of Meadowcreek GC |
Meadowcreek superintendent Tom Morris and his staff developed new and improved fuel storage and chemical management programs, along with improved water management (the course consumes 71 percent of the water used by the department) and a new vehicle and equipment washing program that features a new wash pad.
Meadowcreek also replaced its gasoline-powered golf car fleet with electric cars and has been introducing organic products into its turf-care practices.
Costs and benefits
Riddervold says that the costs related to an EMS include internal and technical resources, personnel training and time, most of which she feels is offset by such benefits as staff education, awareness and improved communications and energy savings from more efficient overall operation.
“The paperwork and documentation can be intimidating,” she says, adding that though it’s not required, the program is reviewed periodically by consulting firms and peer teams from outside the department. Part of the ongoing EMS process includes setting new objectives. “We also look to them (the reviewers) to approve the objectives and targets each time so that it’s clear up front whether there is going to be a cost implication.”
The Charlottesville operation also is testament to the potential scope of an EMS.
“It’s been a bigger process than anyone ever imagined, but there has never been a waning of support for the project,” Riddervold says. “It’s been an effective way to keep on top of new initiatives and has provided a lot of justification for doing some projects that needed to be done.”
Golf in the driver’s seat
A different scenario rolled out down in Newport News in Virginia’s Chesapeake region, where a 36-hole facility, Newport News Golf Club, was used as a pilot program for a municipal-wide EMS, making longtime golf course management professional Charlie Wheaton one of the first superintendents in the country to implement the program.
When the city of Newport News decided to develop a far-ranging EMS more than five years ago, it left few preparatory stones unturned, assembling a multi-disciplinary team comprising several sources of technical and management expertise from various city facilities, including Wheaton, a six-year GCSAA member, who has been at Newport News GC for 25 years. The city also partnered with the Center for Organizational & Technical Advancement at Virginia Tech and launched a two-year phase for training and development.
According to Louis Bott, who was hired about nine months ago as city EMS program manager, it was during that period when the golf facility was seen as the ideal place to start. The 400-acre Newport News GC is at the heart of Newport News Park, the largest municipal park east of the Mississippi River.
“When they were going through the development phase, they saw opportunities they had never considered before from the golf course,” he says. “There were so many considerations in the operation of the courses beyond fundamental environmental and conservation resources.”
Once implementation began, Botts says the EMS focused on the maintenance operations at the venue’s Cardinal and Deer Run courses, then was extended to the pro shop and clubhouse and such activities as grass waste use, recycling and golf car maintenance. Standard operating procedures were developed in such key operations as fuel storage and transfers, waste management, storage and handling of turf-care products, management of recyclable waste and wash rack rinse water waste, and energy conservation.
“The one thing about an EMS is that it helps you look at your day-to-day operations that you’ve been doing for however many years with a different eye. It can be very useful,” Botts says.
Raising the bar
For Wheaton and the golf course staff, the EMS was also a verification of the clean operation he had been running since he was named head superintendent in 2000. In recent years Wheaton helped build a new maintenance facility, acquired new equipment and developed ramped-up templates throughout the operation.
“Maybe we had been taken for granted, but in many ways, once we got started on the EMS it was like, ‘Wow!’ We already do this ... been there, done that, we do it. All we had to do was put it down on paper.”
What has been really helpful for the superintendent has been the development of a manual and computer model to document the process — the targets, management procedures, record-keeping, etc. Also, a big proponent of Integrated Pest Management, Wheaton found that to be a major plus in the EMS process.
“It’s really neat; it really is,” Wheaton says of the program. “It’s not what a lot of superintendents think it is. It’s actually superintendent-friendly and a lot of it is what others have been doing anyway.”
Botts, whose main task is to oversee the expansion of the EMS throughout the city parks, recreation and tourism department and ultimately city-wide in five years, notes that as many as eight programs are in place in the various departments now and in no small thanks to Wheaton and his staff, who have helped train personnel in other city facilities to get EMS programs up and running.
The Newport News project today looms as a national model for EMS. There is talk of achieving ISO 14001 certification, and the golf course EMS has attained the state Department of Environmental Quality’s Exemplary Environmental Enterprise designation, is under consideration for the next step, Extraordinary Environmental Enterprise, and is likely to enroll in the EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track.
Wheaton is proud of the achievement and what it all means to his profession. He also notes that his familiarity with the golf courses over more than two decades has been a major advantage.
“I’ve been blessed,” he says. “I’ve been under four other superintendents here before I took over. Each one of them was very self-conscious about their practices and all they did. I think I inherited a lot of that. I call it old-school.”
A real gem
The long arm of the ISO 14001 standard for Environmental Management Systems has reached some places sooner than others. The U.S. Air Force has had for some time a variation of an EMS at many of its base golf courses around the country as part of an overall environmental scheme.
Those federally owned military venues rely on an ecosystem-based program called Golf Course Environmental Management (GEM), which was developed by a civil servant, William Bushman, who, besides being the technical director of GEM, also is a program manager for water resource management at the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence in San Antonio.
GEM revolves around five basic steps — analysis, documentation, implementation, evaluation and revision — while following the continual improvement process put forth in the ISO 14001 EMS, which is mandatory at U.S. military
installations.
“The process is the key — how you get the right answers and how you manage them,” says Bushman, who came up with the idea of GEM in 1995 and has been refining it ever since.
The Air Force required its courses to adopt Bushman’s program in 2004. That includes 80 layouts — four of which are certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries — comprising 16,000 acres. Thus far, Bushman has introduced GEM to almost 50 of the courses.
Recently, Bushman has taken his program to the public sector and even started at the top by helping implement GEM at St. Andrews in Scotland. He’s considering a regional approach to his efforts in this country. Initially, he has his eye on more than 60 courses in a 12-county area around San Antonio.
“A lot of the time people miss the big picture — the total environment,” Bushman says of his longtime modus operandi. “I think all of this is out in front of what most golf course managers or superintendents even think about on a daily basis. The environment seems to be a difficult thing to embrace. It’s a real challenge for the industry.”
For more information and details on GEM, go to www.afcee.brooks.af.mil/ec/golf. Bushman can be contacted at 210-536-3719 or at bill.bushman@brooks.af.mil.
Overlooked oversight?
If there has been a stick-out criticism of EMS, it’s that the process, for all its wide-open, systematic means, includes no performance criteria and no required independent review. It’s an understandable point of contention since the ISO 14001 standard, Audubon and ELGA all depend on some variation of oversight.
However, having no one looking over your shoulder is attractive to a great many superintendents who might be pondering an EMS. There is also the matter of cost — independent audits can be expensive.
“It makes sense to look at your environmental issues systematically and have a process in place for the best management practices to deal with the issues and to also have a performance side,” says Audubon’s Fletcher.
Carrow, who embraces the freedom and simplicity projected in the development and implementation of an EMS, nevertheless expects scrutiny to increase as the program grows nationwide.
“I think what we should work for as an industry is noting that this (EMS) is a voluntary, common-sense method and we’re being proactive, science-based and realistic,” he says. “We don’t mind normal monitoring if it would be applied to all industries equally. The regulatory people must not carry this to the extent that it ties the hands of everyone. The common sense has to include the monitoring.”
Horne is more pragmatic in viewing what he says has been a nagging issue for 15 years and cautions those working on an EMS to not get hung up on oversight too early in the process.
“A review is a separate business decision regarding this program,” he says. “You can develop and implement a high-performing EMS without an independent third-party. But, I will say that most people who have been through some sort of independent review or audit have said it strengthened their system because they had another pair of eyes. It’s an important issue, but in my opinion it shouldn’t deter someone from developing an EMS.”
GCSAA’s role
The inherent values of an Environmental Management System have made the idea an attractive one to GCSAA, which has been looking at the process as one the association might possibly hang its hat on. GCSAA staff have been researching the EMS protocol for some time and have been actively involved in promoting its development.
Mark Johnson, GCSAA’s senior manager of environmental programs, says the association could well serve as a catalyst for an overall EMS program. “It’s part of promoting the industry,” he says.
GCSAA’s director of environmental programs, Greg Lyman, notes that the attractiveness of an EMS is in its low-key, flexible, superintendent-friendly approach.
“I think this system strikes right to the heart of the way many of our superintendents work. It’s very systematic, it’s a process, it can be a button-down system that would agree with them,” he says, pointing out that the real strength of an EMS is its adaptability to accommodate a specific operation.
“GCSAA’s interest is, we want to support programs that work,” Lyman adds. “EMS has caught the fancy of the EPA and other environmental groups. We think this package, while not for everyone, can be a real winner for many golf courses and many systems.”
Substance vs. intent
In their published examination of the EMS concept, Carrow and Fletcher conclude that as viable and workable as an EMS may be, it will only be as good as the end result.
“In the end, whether individual golf courses adopt an EMS structure ad hoc or the industry at-large develops a common, accepted template for EMS delivery and verification of practices, one thing remains true: the devil is in the details,” they write. “Systematically recognizing environmental issues for the facility to manage is important, but how they are managed is where substance parts with intent. It is our contention that any sustained effort at improving the environmental practices of golf course operations industry-wide must include some type of voluntary, verifiable EMS-like program and must be intentional, measurable and real.”
e-par for the course
A computer software program developed in Australia is considered by some in the golf course industry in this country to be the most advanced tool for applying the Environmental Management Systems concept to golf course management.
The Web-based program, called e-par, was created by Terry Muir, the principal scientist for Environmental Business Solutions Ltd., to help superintendents develop a series of environmental management procedures and to introduce operational control measures.
Muir came up with the technology basically to assist an Australian golf course industry struggling to find itself in the environmental arena. The EMS initiative involved both the Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association and Golf Australia positioning the industry to shift from ad-hoc environmental management to a uniform systems-based approach with reporting and monitoring capabilities.
“We wanted superintendents to drive industry cultural reform, but to achieve that we had to provide them with a tool to move to the world’s best practice, EMS,” says Muir. “It needed to be a simple, easy-to-understand tool that was fun and user-friendly. So, I built e-par.”
Early on, Muir and his team conducted a survey of environmental performance trends and concerns to assess the EMS status and commitment of superintendents. Many of the findings were eye-opening. High performance areas included the high-profile items such as chemical, turf-care and water management, while areas showing the need for considerable improvement included environmental policy development in risk assessment, training, accountability, structure, SOPs, communications and change management.
In all, superintendents were found to be managing from a compliance perspective rather than dealing with, and managing, issues.
“Superintendents need to be safe in the knowledge that they are abiding by an industry-wide environmental standard that has been specifically developed to support and guide them through the complexity and challenges of their day-to-day work,” Muir says.
E-par is an outline or blueprint for an EMS, and according to Muir, the program exceeds the ISO 14001 standard. “E-par gives the superintendent the ‘what to do,’ the ‘how to do it,’ the ‘why’ and the ‘who should do it,’” he says. “It provides examples for the superintendent to check whether he has completed a task correctly, plus it provides online capability for the documentation to be assessed.”
The program also includes an environmental library, a chat room for feedback, a newsroom for alerts and a training room for superintendents and staff. The cost is $1,250 in U.S. dollars, plus an annual membership fee of $750 to ensure continuing hosting on the e-par server. Currently, 12.5 percent of e-par sales go toward an Australian GCSA environmental foundation.
E-par has gone over with a bang in Australia — one client, Kooindah Waters, recently scored a 94 on its environmental audit, the highest-ever in the country. Muir now is working to gain a foothold in the U.S. Earlier this fall, Muir and members of the Australian superintendents association met with GCSAA leaders and staff concerning the formation of an environmental alliance to exchange ideas, strategies and to share the e-par technology with golf course management in this country.
Cases in point
Muir has made some inroads on the U.S. golf course landscape by offering e-par for superintendents to use in pilot programs to help launch an EMS.
One of the more significant case studies occurred at Tan-Tara Golf Club in North Tonawanda, N.Y., on the banks of the Erie Canal just north of Buffalo. There, superintendent Joe Stein welcomed the chance to try out the technology at his limited-resource facility, which has been a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for several years.
“I was looking for something different in addition to the Audubon program ... the next step,” says Stein, who implemented the e-par EMS in the spring of 2006. “Projects like that are what keeps me excited about the business.”
The e-par outline includes the ISO 14001 standard’s 17 elements plus one Muir added to represent 18 golf holes. Each hole represents a task to be completed. The idea is that the superintendent plays the holes, so to speak, to build an EMS.
Stein, who has been at Tan-Tara since 1989, says he was able to stop and take a close look at his management practices and decide on how to address the issues within his means. The small club is run by a management firm, Century Golf, and the budget is lean.
“The first year we came up with a lot of little things that didn’t cost much,” Stein says. “This year has been different and difficult because we’re looking at the expense of such things as containment bins for fuel tanks and a wash-water recycling system.”
Stein likes the e-par EMS brand of flexibility and the freedom to use the program according to his needs. He also has scheduled reviews to evaluate progress and to determine what needs to be done in the future.
“I like it,” he says. “It makes you take a good look at your operation, find the spots where you’re vulnerable and take steps to fix it. It’s simple and you can address a lot of problems without spending too much money. Basically, it allows the superintendent to drive the program in any direction he sees fit.”
GCSAA Class A superintendent Kevin Hutchins is used to the high-profile environmental pressures California presents to superintendents who must answer prying eyes and minds with proactive work.
Back in 2001, Hutchins won the national Environmental Leaders in Golf Award for public courses to cap a four-year stint at the federally owned Presidio in San Francisco. For the past six years, the 13-year GCSAA member has been at Mission Viejo Country Club in the southern environs of Los Angeles, where he is looking at developing a master plan that includes a new irrigation system and improving the facility’s flagging water quality.
Hutchins also has an even more pressing water issue. A stream that runs through the Mission Viejo CC layout is a designated pollution source because of stormwater and wastewater runoff from off the golf course property.
Hutchins and Mike Blankinship, an environmental scientist and a friend who helped Hutchins develop a chemical application plan at the Presidio, have rejoined forces and are giving strong consideration to an e-par EMS for starters.
Blankinship runs his own firm, Blankinship & Associates Inc. in Davis, Calif., which develops integrated golf course management programs that include much of what makes up an EMS. He says he and Hutchins have had discussions with Muir about possibly using MVCC as a platform to help entrench e-par in the U.S.
“The e-par thing is pretty exciting,” Blankinship says. “I’m not sure if it’s for everyone right now ... it’s a little ahead of its time in some respects. But, for some courses and some superintendents it might be a good fit. I do think that an EMS can be a valuable proactive answer to the regulatory and environmental watchdogs in this state.”
Hutchins and Mission Viejo are a good fit, of course. The strategy is to develop an e-par EMS and in the meantime explore the possibility of reaping grant monies to address the stream pollution. For Hutchins, the time is right for all of that.
“I’m trying to figure out how I can tap into those resources and get an e-par rocking and rolling and implement an EMS,” he says. “I would much rather show someone what we’re going to mitigate than eventually have someone looking over my shoulder telling me what to do.”
Whether Hutchins gets e-par at a discount or as a pilot program, he sees funding and support for something like an EMS as a challenge in a country club setting.
“The complexity is really interesting at a private equity club,” he says. “You have to find ways to show the value to the membership. They hire a superintendent to do the right thing, and every once in a while you’ve got to step into the firing line and say this is the right thing to do.”
Hutchins, who also is thinking of getting into the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program and tying it into an EMS, plans on taking the high road a little farther as well.
“I think where an EMS will help us is with the city of Mission Viejo,” he says. “They’re under pressure to do the right thing, too. Once we’re far enough along with an EMS program, then we’ll share the experience with the city. I think they’ll be happy to say, ‘Our golf course in our city is doing this and it fits in with (how) we’re a great city.’ It all rolls back to public relations.”
For more information about an e-par EMS, visit www.epar.com.au.
– T.O.
An EMS snapshot
Here’s a short description of the 17 EMS elements that are common to most EMS models. These elements are included on EPA’s Web site at www.epa.gov/ems/info/elements.htm. Only two of the elements — identifying environmental issues and developing specific action plans — are at the core of a golf course EMS.
1. Environmental Policy — Develop a statement of your organization’s commitment to the environment. Use this policy as a framework for planning and action.
2. Environmental Aspects — Identify environmental attributes of your products, activities and services. Determine those that could have significant impacts on the environment.
3. Legal and Other Requirements — Identify and ensure access to relevant laws and regulations, as well as other requirements to which your organization adheres.
4. Objectives and Targets — Establish environmental goals for your organization, in line with your policy, environmental impacts, the views of interested parties and other factors.
5. Environmental Management Program — Plan actions necessary to achieve your objectives and targets.
6. Structure and Responsibility — Establish roles and responsibilities for environmental management and provide appropriate resources.
7. Training, Awareness and Competence — Ensure that your employees are trained and capable of carrying out their environmental responsibilities.
8. Communication — Establish processes for internal and external communications on environmental management issues.
9. EMS Documentation — Maintain information on your EMS and related documents.
10. Document Control — Ensure effective management of procedures and other system documents.
11. Operational Control — Identify, plan and manage your operations and activities in line with your policy, objectives and targets.
12. Emergency Preparedness and Response — Identify potential emergencies and develop procedures for preventing and responding to them.
13. Monitoring and Measurement — Monitor key activities and track performance. Conduct periodic assessments of compliance with legal requirements.
14. Nonconformance and Corrective and Preventive Action — Identify and correct problems and prevent their recurrence.
15. Records — Maintain and manage records of EMS performance.
16. EMS Audit — Periodically verify that your EMS is operating as intended.
17. Management Review — Periodically review your EMS with an eye to continual improvement.
RECENT issues
 |
 |
October |
September |