|
News
Regulatory Links
Proposal Request
Community Involvement
Site Map
|
 |
|
The New York State
Department of Correctional Services (DOCs) operates over 70 facilities
that are subject to local, state and federal environmental and
health and safety regulations as well as DOCs policies. Many of
the facilities are similar to small cities since they
typically are isolated from centers of populations,
maintain thousands of living quarters, manufacturing
operations, wastewater and water treatment facilities,
farms, waste generation etc. |
 |
The
responsibility of managing the environmental requirements and
ensuring compliance on a continual basis rests with a
centralized staff located in Albany, New York and selected
personnel located at the facilities, whom are typically
responsible for other facility operations (boiler room, water
treatment, etc.)
Due to budget and time constrains, public image, and the
potential for missing regulatory deadlines, DOCs set a goal of
implementing an electronic Environmental Management System (EMS)
by 2006 to identify and manage environmental requirements
throughout it’s facilities and ensure compliance. Through a
rigorous review process, DOCs selected HRP Associates, Inc. to
develop and implement the system for the DOCs facilities.
Initially, HRP and DOCs met to review the EMS goals and visited
selected facilities to identify relevant operations and identify
regulatory programs and DOCs procedures that affected the
operations. Based on the review, it was agreed that the EMS
would include the following aspects within the EMS: waste
management (solid, medical, hazardous, solid, universal); water
(wastewater, stormwater, drinking); air; community
right-to-know; chemical and petroleum storage; emergency
planning; pesticides; and MSDSs. The system will be installed on
DOC’s intranet and accessed by users with varying security
rights located at facilities and includes the following
elements:
-
Help area,
including a summary of regulatory requirements and hotlinks
to relevant websites and information.
-
Establishment
of standard compliance activities and procedures.
-
Review of
existing documents and procedures at each facility to
identify existing or potential compliance gaps due to
management procedures.
-
Inserting
compliance tasks/procedures for each facility and developing
a compliance calendar including all relevant compliance
activities and an e-mail notification system.
-
Installation
of a Material Safety Data Sheet management system.
-
Insertion of
facility documents.
The system is being developed and installed in phases based
on a schedule agreed upon by the client and HRP. Initial
reaction by DOCs has been very positive.
|
|
