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Presented in partnership with BASF
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The systematic approach
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Editor’s note: Inside Your Environment periodically will present information being featured or archived on the Environmental Institute for Golf Web site. For more, visit www.eifg.org.
Golf course superintendents everywhere practice environmental stewardship in some form every day. Many of you are already managing programs — integrated pest management, water conservation, composting and many others — that involve an ongoing process of updating procedures, informing management, providing external communications and completing reports.
Why not consider taking your environmental efforts to the next level by folding all your projects into a thoughtful plan? A recent Green Links feature on the Environmental Institute for Golf’s Web site hosted a case study from city-owned Meadowcreek Golf Course at Pen Park in Charlottesville, Va., where an environmental management system (EMS) has been put in place. In four phases implemented over the past four years, Meadowcreek has realized numerous environmental and worker health and safety improvements as a result of the EMS process in such areas as chemical management, water management, equipment washing, and safety training and education. In addition, the course’s fleet of gas-powered golf cars were replaced with electric-powered cars, and landscaped areas have been improved with an emphasis on native and drought-tolerant species.
The EPA defines an EMS as “a set of processes and practices that enable an organization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency.” For superintendents, an EMS is a proactive approach to environmental stewardship that requires the establishment of policy and a long-term commitment to environmental stewardship. It goes beyond identifying single issues and planning their resolution by committing the facility to a systematic process to address environmental issues using a “plan, do, check, act” scenario.
Simply having an EMS in place will not guarantee that you are in 100 percent compliance with regulatory requirements, but it will identify and address root causes of potential compliance problem areas and can help build greater confidence with local stakeholders and regulatory agencies.
Other industries are using EMSs to help manage the various environmental aspects of their operations with great success. Many states have developed programs, like Virginia’s Environmental Excellence Program, for businesses that adopt an EMS. The EPA offers recognition for businesses that implement an EMS with its Performance Track system, which is how seven-year GCSAA member Pat Blum, superintendent at Colonial Acres in Glenmont, N.Y., received recognition for his environmental work. Others, like Joe Stein, Class A superintendent at Tan-Tara Golf Club in North Tonawanda, N.Y., a six-year GCSAA member, have begun implementing an EMS to help provide a systematic approach for risk management and due diligence on their courses. Many superintendents already have done the work and can simply take the next step by implementing an EMS.
“As the experiences from the city of Charlottesville make clear, an environmental management system is not some esoteric, ‘pie in the sky’ approach, but rather a very practical tool that can … give the organization a flexible, proven framework to address day-to-day management issues and set goals for the future,” says Jim Horne of the EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management. “Using an EMS is also a great way to engage staff throughout the organization and build support for long-term environmental stewardship
efforts.”
The United States was authorized to proceed with 91 percent of its requests for critical use allocations of methyl bromide in 2008 at the recent 18th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in New Delhi, India, last fall. As inventories of the ozone-depleting soil fumigant continue to decline, critical use exemptions help growers transition to a safe alternative. The amount authorized equals 21 percent of the nation’s 1991 baseline consumption, the EPA says. The agency allowed critical use exemptions in 2005 when it called for the phasing out of production and import of the substance. The EPA has published its final rule establishing national standards for pesticide containers and containment. The final rule, which applies to refillable and non-refillable containers, says pesticide labels must provide instructions on how to properly clean the containers before disposing or recycling and identify whether it’s refillable or non-refillable. Pesticide users are required to comply with instructions. By Aug. 16, 2009, all pesticide products distributed or sold must have labels that comply with the new requirements. The rule also establishes standards for secondary containment structures and pads at certain agricultural storage sites. Visit www.epa.gov/pesticides for more information. |
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