NASA Procedures and Guidelines

NPD 8500.1, NASA Environmental Management, applies to all Centers, employees, and activities performed on site. Environmental Excellence for the Twenty-First Century articulates the vision/strategy associated with the policy and includes four primary focus areas: prevention, compliance, restoration, and conservation. These four primary focus areas in turn lead to NASA-wide environmental goals and metrics.

1.2 Roles and Responsibilities

The role of the NASA Headquarters Environmental Management Division (HQ EMD) is to lead Agencywide issues and initiatives.

NASA HQ EMD is responsible for--

a. Establishing and maintaining NASA Environmental Policy and Guidelines.

b. Defining and maintaining NPR 8553, NASA Environmental Management System.

Each Center is responsible for--

a. Implementing NASA Environmental Policy and Guidelines.

b. Reporting to NASA HQ EMD on meeting EMS progress and metrics as requested.

c. Identifying planned contractor operations affected by this EMS and assuring specifications, statements of work, surveillance plans, deliverable data requirements, and other procurement terms and conditions are properly developed during acquisition planning.

1.3 EMS Definitions

1.3.1 The Code of Environmental Management Principles (CEMP) - an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) document comprised of five principles:

a. Management commitment.

b. Compliance assurance and pollution prevention.

c. Enabling systems.

d. Performance and accountability.

e. Measurement and improvement.

1.3.2 Competence - a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills (training, education, and experience) defined by the organization as appropriate for all personnel whose work may create a priority environmental impact.

1.3.3 Consequence - the resulting potential (adverse or beneficial) effect associated with an environmental impact on, or resulting change to--

a. A natural or cultural resource,

b. A cost to NASA,

c. The NASA mission,

d. Reputation or stakeholder relationship,

e. Safety and health, or

f. An environmental legal/regulatory implication.

Consequences may occur as a component of normal operations where they are expected as a result of regularly planned operations. An abnormal consequence is associated with an unplanned or unexpected effect or change. An emergency consequence is associated with an emergency as defined by a Center in accordance with NPR 8715.2.

1.3.4 Continual Improvement - the process of enhancing the environmental management system to achieve improvements in overall environmental performance in line with NASA's environmental policy and mission.

1.3.5 Controlled EMS Documents - EMS documents specified in this manual (Appendix C).

1.3.6 Document - a written procedure or guideline that requires regular review or maintenance.

1.3.7 Environmental Management System (EMS) - a system that incorporates people, procedures, resources, responsibilities, and work practices in a formal structure to address the development, implementation, achievement, and review of the environmental policy.

1.3.8 EMS Audit - a systematic and documented verification process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine whether an organization is conforming to its environmental management system and for communicating the results of this process to management.

1.3.9 EMS Representative - the NASA individual who manages the EMS and is responsible for reporting to Senior Management and NASA HQ EMD on the following:

a. EMS Performance.

b. Results of functional assessments, audits, and management reviews.

1.3.10 Environmental Aspects - elements of NASA's activities, products, or services that can interact with the environment. NASA has determined that these elements fall into four major focus areas: Prevention, Compliance, Restoration, and Conservation.

1.3.11 Environmental Impact - any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from NASA's activities, products, or services. Impacts can be prioritized as follows:

a. Priority Environmental Impact - a NASA environmental impact that shall be managed to avoid or prevent a serious adverse environmental effect or create a substantial beneficial effect. ¹

b. High priority environmental impact - an environmental impact that shall be managed with an environmental management system objective and target, based on the most severe action priority level being high for all of its environmental consequence categories as determined by the Risk Ranking Matrix.

c. Medium priority environmental impact - an environmental impact that shall be managed to avoid becoming a high priority impact, based on the most severe action priority level being medium for all of its environmental consequence categories as determined by the Risk Ranking Matrix.

d. Low priority environmental impact - an environmental impact that shall be managed as appropriate, based on the most severe action priority level being no greater than low for all of its environmental consequence categories as determined by the Risk Ranking Matrix.

e. Very low priority environmental impact - an environmental impact that shall be managed as appropriate, based on the priority level being very low for all of its environmental consequence categories as determined by the Risk Ranking Matrix.

1.3.12 Environmental Objective - an overall environmental goal, arising from the environmental policy, that NASA sets for itself to achieve and which is quantified where practicable.



¹Within Federal Government agencies such as NASA, compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that if "major actions" might impose "significant environmental impacts," then measures for mitigating these adverse impacts shall be identified and evaluated. To avoid confusion, the NASA EMS will use the term "priority" instead of "significant" when describing environmental impacts.

1.3.13 Environmental Target - a detailed performance requirement, quantified where practicable, applicable to NASA, that arises from the environmental objectives and that needs to be set and met in order to achieve those objectives.

1.3.14 Functional Assessment - a comprehensive, systematic, and documented verification, led by a Headquarters team, of a functional area whereby evidence is obtained and evaluated to determine whether specific environmental activities, events, conditions, management systems, or information about these matters conforms with criteria.

1.3.15 ISO 9000 - a series of international standards developed by quality experts from around the world for use by organizations that either want to implement their own in-house quality systems or to ensure that suppliers have appropriate quality systems in place. The standards were developed under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

1.3.16 ISO 14000 - a series of environmental management standards developed by the ISO, one of the world's principal voluntary standards development bodies. The ISO 14000 standards are designed to provide an internationally recognized framework for environmental management, measurement, evaluation, and auditing. The standards are designed to be flexible enough to be used by any organization of any size and in any field. They address the following subjects:

a. Environmental management systems,

b. Environmental auditing,

c. Environmental labels and declarations,

d. Environmental performance evaluation, and

e. Life-cycle assessment.

1.3.17 ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems - Specification with Guidance for Use - outlines the requirements for an EMS as developed by and agreed to the ISO.

1.3.18 Legal and Other Requirements - those requirements that the organization is regulated to or has committed to meeting. These include Federal, State and local laws, regulations or policies; Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars; Executive orders; and international obligations (legal). They also include internal standards, Agency agreements, Presidential initiatives, industry codes or practice, contractual obligations, and nonregulatory guidelines (other)

1.3.19 NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) - an Internet application used for creating NASA directives and for automating the coordination/clearance process. Approved NASA directives will be maintained in the NODIS, enabling users to retrieve, view, and print NASA directives electronically.

1.3.20 Noncompliance - a failure to meet legal or other requirements.

1.3.21 Nonconformance - a failure to meet an EMS-specified requirement.

1.3.22 Operational Controls - documented procedures that limit adverse impacts to the environment and are needed in order to manage NASA's environmental policy and compliance activities.

1.3.23 Record - a written or printed object that cannot be revised and provides evidence of what was done or has occurred.

1.3.24 EMS Record - a record that has been identified as pertaining to the EMS.

DISTRIBUTION:
NODIS