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NASA Procedures and Guidelines

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NPR 8553.1B
Eff. Date: September 22, 2009
Cancellation Date:

NASA Environmental Management System (Revalidated 8/28/2014)

| TOC | Preface | ChangeLog | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | Chapter4 | Chapter5 | Chapter6 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | AppendixD | AppendixE | AppendixF | ALL |


Chapter 4. Implementation and Operation

4.1 Resources, Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities

4.1.1 Purpose. To identify roles, responsibilities, and authorities that provides an organizational structure for implementing and maintaining the EMS.

a. The Center Director shall:

(1) Allocate resources for the effective operation and maintenance of the EMS.

(2) Define, document, and communicate the roles, responsibilities, and authorities to facilitate an effective EMS.

(3) Appoint an EMS Representative with appropriate authority and background and training.

b. The EMS representative shall:

(1) Exercise the authority necessary to implement and maintain the Center EMS.

(2) Document and communicate roles, responsibilities, and authorities to facilitate effective implementation of the Center EMS.

(3) Request resources for the effective operation and maintenance of the Center EMS.

(4) Establish a Center EMS cross-functional team of organizations that affect environmental aspects or have support roles including mission organizations and mission support organizations, such as facilities, energy management, vehicle management, logistics, procurement, legal, safety, health, and emergency response, or other means to accomplish an equivalent function, with assigned roles and responsibilities.

(5) Coordinate high- and medium-priority aspects and associated environmental management plans with the cognizant programs and projects at their Centers.

(6) Periodically assess, review, and report to top Center management on the performance of the Center EMS.

(7) Make recommendations to top Center management for improvement of the EMS.

4.2 Competence, Training, and Awareness

4.2.1 Purpose. To identify training requirements needed to ensure and maintain awareness and competence for the EMS.

a. Employees engaged in activities associated with EMS environmental aspects or compliance activities shall receive appropriate training, as determined by the Center.

b. Center management shall identify environmental training requirements associated with its environmental aspects and the EMS to include:

(1) Programs mandated by environmental laws and regulations.

(2) Those who need to be trained and those who will do the training.

(3) A description of how the environmental training will be accomplished and how often and which EMS element, high-priority aspect, or legal or other requirement is driving the training.

c. Employees and persons working for or on behalf of the organization shall be aware of the following areas, based on activities in which they are engaged:

(1) Adverse and beneficial environmental impacts associated with the high-priority environmental aspects of their work that they may affect, and the benefits of improved environmental performance.

(2) Requirements of the EMS applicable to their work, to include the environmental policy and associated processes, and the consequences associated with their deviation from these requirements.

(3) Their roles and responsibilities in achieving conformity with the requirements of the EMS.

d. If it is appropriate for contractor employees to have EMS training, Center management shall ensure that the procurement statement of work specifies training requirements and which employees require training. It will also specify how contractor employees can obtain training, particularly those contractors whose work is associated with the high-priority aspects.

e. Training records shall be maintained in accordance with Chapter 5.4.

4.3 Communication

4.3.1 Purpose. To establish procedures for internal and external communication related to environmental aspects and the EMS.

a. The Center management shall establish, implement, and maintain a procedure regarding the communication of its environmental aspects and the EMS, to include the following:

(1) Internal communication to various organizational levels.

(2) Receiving, recording, and responding to relevant communications from external parties.

b. The Center management shall follow existing communications procedures (or create new procedures as necessary) in communicating with internal and external parties.

c. Unless an authorized individual at the Center determines that disclosure of information regarding high-priority environmental aspects would harm an interest protected by one of the Freedom of Information Act exemptions, or disclosure is prohibited by law, Centers shall provide documents to the public if so requested.

d. EMS requirements shall be documented within contracts no later than the time of the next contract competition.

e. The Center managers shall also communicate applicable EMS requirements to tenants, subject to the limitations of tenancy agreements.

4.4 Documentation

4.4.1 Purpose. To identify EMS documentation.

a. Center Directors shall ensure that EMS documentation includes, as a minimum:

(1) Environmental policy that sets the overall goals for the EMS.

(2) The scope that establishes the boundaries for the EMS.

(3) The objectives and targets established for continual improvement of environmental performance.

(4) The EMS manual, or other documents, which provides a description of the EMS elements and their interaction as developed, implemented, and maintained by the Center.

(5) Policies that provide overall direction for the Center's processes.

(6) This NPR and other procedures that support and provide details of the Center's processes, particularly those related to the high-priority aspects (operational controls).

(7) Records that document the results of EMS activities and documents and records required by this NPR.

b. This NPR establishes additional requirements for EMS documents and documented procedures (see Appendix C).

c. Each Center may establish additional documentation associated with its EMS.

4.5 Control of Documents

4.5.1 Purpose. To establish and maintain procedures for EMS document control and maintenance.

a. Center management shall establish document control procedures to ensure that the following occurs:

(1) Periodic review and update of EMS documents as necessary.

(2) Removal of obsolete EMS documents.

b. Obsolete EMS documents that are retained for legal and historical reasons shall be identified with the reason for retention and archived per Section 5.4 of this NPR.

c. EMS documents and documented procedures shall be written to be:

(1) Legible.

(2) Dated (with dates of revision and a summary of changes).

(3) Readily available in locations where essential operations occur.

(4) Identifiable.

(5) Maintained in an orderly manner.

(6) Approved by appropriate Center Management prior to issue.

d. The Center EMS representative shall ensure that electronic or hardcopy versions of EMS documents under the EMS Representative's control meet the requirements of Step 4.5.c.

e. Documents of external origin that are determined by the Center to be a necessary component of the EMS, such as compliance documents, shall be identified as such and their distribution controlled.

4.6 Operational Control

4.6.1 Purpose. To develop, implement, and maintain operational controls and operational control procedures for activities associated with high-priority environmental aspects, to manage all other environmental aspects to keep them from becoming high-priority as needed, and to manage NASA environmental policy and compliance activities.

a. Center management shall ensure that operational controls and operational control procedures associated with high-priority environmental aspects:

(1) Stipulate specific operating and maintenance criteria.

(2) Be communicated to suppliers, contractors, and tenants as appropriate.

b. Center managers shall document applicable procedures within contracts no later than by the time of the next contract competition.

c. The Center management shall ensure that operational controls are in place to mitigate adverse environmental impacts or secure existing benefits associated with non-high-priority environmental aspects, prevent those environmental aspects from becoming high-priority, manage NASA environmental policy and compliance activities, and remain in place unless it is determined that they are no longer required.

d. If a contractor or tenant operates a Government facility or vehicles, or affects high-priority aspects, the contract and tenant agreements shall include the requirements and operational controls to support the EMS and to move toward achieving the goals established by EO 13423 and EO 13514.

4.7 Emergency Preparedness and Response

4.7.1 Purpose. NASA Center managers shall ensure that the Centers emergency preparedness and response procedures/plans address potential incidents and their attendant adverse environmental impacts.

a. Based on the activities in which they are engaged, employees shall be provided with appropriate training on emergency preparedness and response requirements:

(1) Associated with environmental aspects and impacts identified in Chapter 3.1.

(2) As externally required under legal and other requirements.

(3) Associated with other potential emergency situations such as fire or natural disasters.

b. Procedures to meet emergency preparedness training, planning, procedures, and requirements may be contained within Center Emergency Preparedness Program Plans; Integrated Contingency Plans; Center Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plans; and/or Pollution Prevention Plans.

c. The Center management shall periodically test the emergency plans with respect to its environmental aspects, where practical.

d. The Center management shall periodically review its emergency plans with respect to its environmental aspects, especially after an emergency situation, or test and, where necessary, revise the plans.



| TOC | Preface | ChangeLog | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | Chapter4 | Chapter5 | Chapter6 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | AppendixD | AppendixE | AppendixF | ALL |
 
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This Document is Obsolete and Is No Longer Used.
Check the NODIS Library to access the current version:
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