2008 HQ USFJ Installation Environmental Excellence Awards Ceremony

United States Forces, Japan, will announce the winners of the 2008 Headquarters USFJ Installation Environmental Excellence Awards on June 9.  Each year USFJ recognizes installations for their outstanding environmental management programs in Japan.

Environmental awards are given for five categories: pollution prevention, natural resources protection, USFJ and host nation coordination, spill response capability and remediation, and environmental compliance programs. 

 

Environmental standards are established in the Japan Environmental Governing Standards to ensure U.S. Department of Defense activities and installations in Japan protect human health and the natural environment through the promulgation of specific environmental compliance criteria. 

 

Brigadier General John A. Toolan Jr., Deputy Commander of USFJ will present the awards on behalf of USFJ Commander Lt. Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr., at The New Sanno Hotel.

 

Below are more details on the criteria for each award:

 

• The Pollution Prevention Award:  A program must exist at the installation level which aggressively promotes educational awareness on hazardous material/waste reduction, recycling, recovery and reuse programs.  An effective environmental program must exist for managing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), air emissions, drinking water, waste water, hazardous material and waste, solid waste, medical waste, pesticides, asbestos, and underground storage tanks.

 

• The Natural Resource Protection Award:  An effective installation level program must exist, which properly protects, enhances, and manages both US and Japanese historic and cultural resources, and threatened and/or endangered plants and animals set forth in the Japanese Environmental Governing Standards.

 

• The USFJ and Host Nation Coordination Award:  The installation must meet its commitment to serve as responsible environmental steward, and initiate positive efforts to live in harmony with our Japanese hosts.  The installation must also conduct a combined celebration of Earth Day/Green Day activities with local community.

 

• The Spill Response Capability and Remediation Award:  The installation must prevent, control, and report petroleum, oil and lubricants spills, and hazardous substance releases.  The installation must have a program that provides a prompt and well-coordinated response to contain and cleanup spills and/or releases that might occur.

 

• The Environmental Compliance Programs Award:  The installation must have taken corrective actions to eliminate an environmental shortfall noted during an audit report from either the Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment and Management Program, Environmental Compliance Assessment System, or Environmental Compliance Evaluation.

 

 

Media interested in the covering the awards presentation need to contact the Military Liaison Office to confirm attendance no later than noon Monday June 8 by calling at 03-3440-6010 or e-mail to minoru.toyoshima@usfj.mil. Media who attend the opportunity should bring valid Japanese driver's license or Passport.

 

Date & Time              :  Tuesday, June 9, 2009 12:45- 2:00 p.m.

Place                           :  The Empire Room of The New Sanno Hotel, Tokyo

Language                   :  English