JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST -- The 787th Civil Engineer Squadron is scheduled to conduct their annual Environmental Compliance Assessment and Management Program across Joint Base MDL, N.J., from Sept. 26 to Oct. 21.
The ECAMP is a three week event meant to assure that full compliance with local, state and federal environmental laws and regulations is being achieved throughout the joint base. During the base wide evaluation, a team of personnel from the 787th CES visit organizations from around MDL to evaluate environmental compliance.
The program helps certify waste is being disposed of appropriately and ensures servicemembers live in a healthy environment.
“If we didn’t follow these rules there would be higher levels of contamination in our air and water,” said Henry Klimkowski, 787th Civil Engineer Squadron environmental engineer. “People could get sick.”
Before environmental laws, significant mistakes were made that, in some cases, are still being corrected, Klimkowski said.
For example, the 1960 Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (BOMARC) nuclear missile accident site at then McGuire Air Force Base, was only officially deemed safe in recent years, thanks to improved environmental care, explained Klimkowski.
It is the hope of the 787th CES that the MDL community be open and honest regarding practices in their workplace to allow the identification and correction of non-compliant situations and help recognize top performers.
‘It’s our way to assess how well we are measuring environmental compliance across the joint base,” said Klimkowski. “We want to make sure we are being good stewards of the environment.”