Environmental Management Division - Compliance Branch
Overview
The Compliance Program is one of the four pillars that support the Army’s Environmental Stewardship mission. Simply stated, the Compliance Program ensures that operations and activities conducted on and by Fort Lee and the Army in general meet the requirements of federal, state, and local environmental regulations are obeyed, and strives to exceed those requirements whenever possible. The Compliance Program must deal with a diverse spectrum of regulations that cover all facets of the environment (air, water, soil), and to that end the Program is divided into Branches with individual program managers and their teams, focused on areas that have the highest risk of impact to natural resources and regulatory oversight.
Program Areas
Stormwater
The EMD storm-water program is used to maintain a General Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) storm-water permit for construction activities permit issued by Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) before the permit’s transfer to Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Therefore, each construction/renovation project is mandated by DCR to obtain its own Virginia Storm-water Management Program general permit for their specific construction project undertaken.
The interface between storm water and operations on Fort Lee are governed by three permits. VPDES Permit #VA0059161 addresses water purification training discharges as well as discharges from containment ponds that serve as a spill/pollution prevention measure at the Petroleum Training Facility (PTF) and the Military in the Field (MIF) training area. VPDES Permit #VAR050594 requires visual monitoring of the storm water discharges from various industrial sites on Fort Lee, such as motor pools and service areas. The MS4 Permit # VAR040007 covers general storm water discharges across the post, such as illicit discharges, housekeeping, monitoring of active construction sites, and maintenance of storm water management structures like ponds and biofilters.
Stormwater runoff is rainwater and melted snow that runs off streets, lawns, and other sites. When stormwater is absorbed into the ground, it is filtered and ultimately replenishes aquifers or flows into streams and rivers. In developed areas, however, impervious surfaces such as pavement and roofs prevent precipitation from naturally soaking into the ground. Instead, the water runs rapidly into storm drains, sewer systems, and drainage ditches and can cause:
- Downstream flooding
- Stream bank erosion
- Increased turbidity (muddiness created by stirred up sediment) from erosion
- Habitat destruction
- Changes in the stream flow hydrograph (a graph that displays the flow rate of a stream over a period of time)
- Combined sewer overflows
- Infrastructure damage
- Contaminated streams, rivers, and coastal water
What is an Illicit Discharge?
An illicit discharge is any discharge into a municipal storm sewer system (storm drain) that is not made up entirely of storm water. These discharges are considered illicit because the storm sewer system is not designed to accept, treat, or discharge such non-storm water waste.
Examples of illicit discharges include:
- sewage
- septic tank effluent
- car wash wastewater
- motor oil and antifreeze
- hazardous materials such as paints, solvents, pesticides, and herbicides
- laundry wastewater
- pet and animal waste
When these items enter the storm sewer they are carried directly to streams, rivers and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay with no treatment. This can have serious effects on the ecosystem, wildlife, and ultimately human beings, as most of us get our drinking water from rivers, streams, and other surface waters fed by storm water.
If you observe what you believe to be an illicit discharge, please contact the Compliance Team Leader at 804-734-3772.
Air Quality
Fort Lee's Air Quality Program ensures that USAG-Fort Lee complies with all applicable Army regulations, other federal, state, and local air regulations. Through its integrated permitting, compliance, technical support, and outreach functions, the Air Quality Program supports Fort Lee's Mission in a responsive, practical manner that safeguards the Garrison Commander's compliance status. The Air Quality Program ensures that environmental stewardship, sustainability, and technical aspects of current and future operations are sufficient to meet the intent of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Fort Lee's sustainability, efficiency goals and strategies.
Fort Lee is regulated by regulations set forth under the CAA and CAA Amendments as implemented by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and through the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) air pollution control program. The CAA standards are also implemented into Army Regulation 200-1. Fort Lee falls under the jurisdiction of the air programs administered by Region 3 (Philadelphia) and the VADEQ Piedmont Regional Office.
To best ensure compliance and programmatic performance, the Air Quality Program is organized into 6 Areas of Responsibility:
- Compliance Assurance & Inspections
- Asbestos / Lead-Based Paint / Mold
- Technical Support / Outreach
- Ozone Depleting Chemicals / Hazardous Air Pollutants
- Permitting
- Greenhouse Gases
Fort Lee is located in the Richmond-Petersburg 8-hour ozone attainment area. Pending the new USEPA ozone standard, the Richmond-Petersburg area will be re-designated from attainment to non-attainment. POC for this program is the Air Program Manager-734-5061.
Hazardous Waste Management
The Fort Lee Hazardous Waste Management Program (HWMP) ensures compliance with Federal, State, and local hazardous waste laws and regulations. This includes but may not be limited to: the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) , the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Virginia Hazardous Waste Management Regulation (VAHWMR). This is facilitated through the Fort Lee Hazardous Waste SOP. The HWMP also manages the statutory accumulation facility which holds hazardous waste for disposal. The HWMP also accepts, tracks, and manages Universal Waste in addition to coordinating the recycling of oil, fuel, antifreeze, and semi-precious metals on Fort Lee.
Point of contact for hazardous waste management issues or household hazardous material program is Hazardous Waste Mgr 734-3811 or Compliance Chief 734-3772. Call for appointment.
Emergency phone number for all spills:
- For life threatening emergencies please call 911. Explain that you are on Fort Lee Installation so the dispatcher can route the call to Fort Lee.
- All other spills call MPR. 804-734-7400
Location
Hazardous Waste Statutory Accumulation Facility
Corner of 18th St & Quartermaster Rd
Building 7123
Fort Lee, VA 23801
Contact Information
| Business Office Phone | 804-734-3811 / 3113 |
| Fax | 804-734-3762 |
Installation Restoration
Location
Installation Restoration
HAZMAT Control Center
Building 6212
Fort Lee, VA 23801
Contact Information
| Installation Restoration | 804-734-5068 |
| HAZMAT Control Center | 804-734-5243 / 5244 / 3448 |
