1997 Department of Defense
Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Conference and Exhibition
HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL IN OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR;
HUNGARY, CROAITA, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
W. Michael McDavit
Defense Reutilization and Marketing Region - Europe
Scott K. Fukumoto
Defense Logistics Agency - Europe
James Wickemeyer
Defense Reutilization and Marketing Region - Europe
January 27 -30, 1997
Portland Oregon
Table of Contents
Hazardous Waste Disposal in Operation Joint Endeavor
Dayton Peace Accords and Ooperation Joint Endeavor
Assignment of Disposal Mission
Determining Disposal Standards
Hazardous Waste Management Disposal Program: Implementation Issues
Current Status of Hazardous Waste Programs: ISB
Hazardous Waste Program Overview: Hungary
Hazardous Waste Management Services in Hungary
Hazardous Waste Disposal in Hungary
Current Status of Hazardous Waste Programs: Tactical Areas
Hazardous Waste Management Services in Croatia and B/H
Hazardous Waste Disposal in Croatia and B/H
Hazardous Waste Transit Issues
Conclusions
Considerations for Future Operations
Appendix 1 - Acknowledgements: Operation Joint Endeavor Hazardous Waste Program Team
Appendix 2 - Operation Joint Endeavor Waste Generations (as of 31 December 1996)
References
HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL IN OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR
This paper describes the hazardous waste disposal program implemented by DLA in Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (B/H) for Operation Joint Endeavor. It highlights how hazardous waste disposal standards, which in this case were designed to achieve environmentally sound management and disposal, shaped the overall performance of each program area. Given the experience gained from Operation Joint Endeavor, considerations for future contingency operations are discussed.
DAYTON PEACE ACCORDS AND OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR
In early December 1995, the Dayton Peace Accords provided a hope for peace in the war- plagued Balkans and put into motion the largest deployment of US Forces since Operation Desert Shield/Storm. Like any such major multi-national force deployment, Operation Joint Endeavor (OJE), as it was coined by NATO planners, would have to cope with numerous environmental and operational considerations related to troop welfare and consequential effects on the environment caused by the activities of the deploying force. The collective NATO and multi-national force was titled the Implementing Force or IFOR. The Accords called for dividing Bosnia-Herzegovina (B/H) into three zones of separation, where the United Kingdom, France and the United States would take the lead in one of each of the three sectors. The US sector, in the Northeast corner of B/H, is centered roughly around the town of Tuzla.
US Army's 1st Armored Division, stationed in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, and its corresponding support units from throughout the US Army, Europe (USAREUR) theater were tasked to provide a robust, well-armed US contingent of peace-keepers to ensure the success of the Dayton Accords. To support the operation in B/H, the US deployed approximately 20,000 troops.
ASSIGNMENT OF DISPOSAL MISSION
To help the US IFOR component fulfill its historic and important mission, various Department of Defense (DOD) agencies, including the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), were assigned support roles. As DOD's provider of choice for hazardous waste services at military installations world wide, DLA was tasked with arranging for the proper management and disposal of hazardous wastes1 resulting from US IFOR operations and activities. It was recognized by many that the sheer size and force type (armored) of the US contingent would likely generate sizable quantities of hazardous wastes, including large volumes of special wastes such as used oil and other
petroleum-contaminated materials.
The US European Command (USEUCOM) in Stuttgart, Germany, seasoned by a fourfold increase in peacekeeping contingency operations since the end of the Cold War, determined to resolve hazardous waste issues from the very beginning of OJE. Shortly after the operation commenced, USEUCOM tasked the Commander of Headquarters, U.S. Army, Europe, by message as the lead component on all environmental issues concerning OJE. Consistent with USEUCOM operations plan 4243 and its annexes, the mission of arranging for hazardous waste disposal was assigned to DLA.
DLA's responsible activity, the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Region -- Europe (DRMR-E), a forward, regional headquarters of the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, Battle Creek, Michigan, was specifically tasked with the disposal mission. Taking full advantage of its strategic location in Wiesbaden, Germany, DRMR-E coordinated with USEUCOM, USAREUR in Heidelberg, Germany, and various other US IFOR elements during the planning stages of OJE. DRMR-E deployed a small cadre of senior disposal specialists early in the deployment phase to Kaposvar, Hungary, the site of the Army's Intermediate Support Base (ISB). All deploying US ground
forces would pass through the ISB, then Croatia en route to the US sector in B/H. The deployed DRMR-E team, named Task Force Disposal Eagle (TFDE), coordinated regularly with IFOR command elements and the USAREUR (Forward) Engineer who was delegated the responsibility of establishing environmental standards and guidance for the operation. Within 60 days of deployment, TFDE set up a temporary Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO), at Kaposvar, Hungary, called DRMO Alpha, and negotiated two special hazardous waste management and disposal contracts.
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DETERMINING DISPOSAL STANDARDS
The planners for OJE were confronted from the outset with uncharted areas of US DOD policy on hazardous waste management and disposal for such an operation. In addition, their task was made even more challenging due to the geographical setting of the operation—the wintry Balkans, where the level of hostility was at first difficult to predict and where the basic infrastructure was seriously damaged by a prolonged and destructive war. It was not known whether there would be significant casualties or, in the case of disposal operations, whether there would be sufficient in-country facilities to handle the variety of expected waste streams. These challenges were met, however, by establishing defined roles amongst the principle US environmental players, by crafting expedient and prudent disposal standards for the theater of operation, and by "deploying" the technical capabilities of the US and European private sector to support US IFOR operations.
The task of determining what constituted proper disposal was in effect given to DLA by USEUCOM. As mentioned earlier, USEUCOM in a Jan 96 message directed DLA to
…[d]etermine the optimum hazardous waste disposal solutions for the AOR and ensure that any DLA disposal
contract achieves cost-effective disposal consistent with the standards established by the tactical commander
and DOD's emphasis on environmental leadership.
Working closely with the USAREUR (Forward) Engineer to ensure that tactical concerns were given full consideration, DRMR-E drew upon its many years of hazardous waste disposal experience in Europe and the Middle East, to develop a treatment-based approach for setting the recovery/disposal standards for each anticipated waste stream for the AOR. Such an approach was "consistent with DOD's emphasis on environmental leadership."2
DRMR-E has used a treatment-based approach for setting standards in hazardous waste disposal service contracts for many years in Europe, pre-dating DOD's 1992 Overseas Environmental Baseline Guidance Document by about one year. For that reason, the hazardous waste disposal standards of the OEBGD and the standards selected for OJE were nearly identical.3 Such standards, proven effective for base operations, would also have merit for such an important operation, particularly in light of USEUCOM's expectation that DLA maintain DOD's "commitment to environmental leadership."
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HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT DISPOSAL PROGRAM:
IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
The immediacy of establishing an operational hazardous waste management and disposal program was as important as the disposal standard question itself. Failing to provide a definitive hazardous waste program from the outset (i.e., a waste collection, segregation and disposal outlet) before significant quantities of waste were generated by US troops could have had adverse implications regarding their health, welfare and safety. Haphazard storage or hasty disposal of hazardous waste could have unnecessarily endangered soldiers, particularly in the austere, tactical environment of war-torn B/H. Furthermore, potential future environmental clean-up and political liabilities could be minimized if the program was synchronized smoothly with the deployment schedule.
There were initial concerns that setting defensible and responsible disposal standards would require that waste be back-hauled to Germany (or "Central Region") by the Army's Eagle Express supply and route system, i.e., US Army personnel and vehicles would be used to transport waste back to Germany. In fact, this was an accepted concept in the original pre- deployment plan. Anticipating that this option could possibly tax the Army's organic transportation assets, DRMR-E continued to explore other alternatives and decided, in consultation with the USAREUR (FOOD) Engineer, to contractually establish full-service capabilities in each operational location, and to support and
monitor such services by forward TFDE and DRMO Alpha personnel.
DRMR-E's plan was to carefully articulate the treatment-based disposal standards in one or more solicitations and to expeditiously compete the requirement on a restricted basis amongst those hazardous waste disposal contractors who had good performance records in Germany and Italy. Given the proximity of the Balkans and Hungary to the industrial base of Central Europe, we were confident that these reliable offerors would propose acceptable facilities and develop sound waste management and disposal plans in full compliance with the statement
of work. DRMR-E worked closely with TFDE and ultimately awarded in quick succession two separate service contracts, distinguishable from each other primarily on the basis of scope of work and on where compliant disposal would be achieved.4 The hazardous waste programs for each location and their challenges are discussed below.
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CURRENT STATUS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAMS: ISB
Hazardous Waste Program Overview: Hungary
Hazardous waste operations at the garrison-like setting of the ISB in Kaposvar, Hungary (and nearby areas) are highly comprehensive, yet relatively simple. The basic program, modeled after hazardous waste practices in Germany and the industry norms of many European countries, was intended to ease some of the burden on the deployed soldier. The program resembles a "Just In-Time" vendor supply system (in reverse) and was designed to keep waste accumulations to a minimum at each generation site.
The ISB at its peak sustained a US troop strength of about 3,200. DRMR-E used its available data on similarly sized support units in Europe to estimate the type and quantity of expected wastes, which turned out to be a fairly close approximation for total waste generations. A similar process was also used for Croatia and B/H.
The key features of the program at the ISB, however, were fundamentally driven by the disposal industry's choice of Hungary as the single country for disposal of wastes generated there. During the procurement process, DRMR-E learned that Hungary had existing waste facilities which met the disposal standards articulated in the contract. In the end, this factor made the entire disposal process in Hungary easier and resulted in a much faster, predictable service level. Although DRMR-E had some experience and knowledge of Hungarian environmental laws and industry prior to OJE, we were pleased to learn for the sake of the mission (as well as for the sake of Hungary) that since the end of the Cold War, the Hungarians had succeeded in establishing a much greater capability and capacity in the hazardous waste disposal sector. Post-award environmental visits by DRMR-E specialists confirmed that the contractor proposed facilities were suitable for managing and disposing DOD waste, and met the standards described in the terms of the contract.
Hazardous Waste Management Services in Hungary
DRMO Alpha coordinates closely with ISB units and requires the contractor, SMT, to monitor the dynamics of each accumulation site closely to ensure that removals from the accumulation points are made periodically. The waste accumulation rate and removal schedule are therefore interdependent on each another. The objective was to minimize the impact of waste accumulation on the soldier, under conditions where storage space was inadequate, and where the US Forces would have been otherwise obliged to seek formal permissions from Hungarian environmental officials to establish temporary hazardous waste storage areas.5
Within weeks of the deployment, DRMR-E also provided badly needed hazardous waste management supplies. Eight hundred (800) UN-approved drums were procured and shipped to units in Hungary, Croatia and B/H for compliant waste collection. This ad hoc logistical support helped to facilitate implementation of the "Just In-Time" removal service in Hungary and provided a short term fix to waste collection in B/H while base camps were being built and IFOR troops were deploying. Units were able to promptly begin collection and proper segregation of wastes generated early in the deployment phase. In addition, a decision by USAREUR (FOOD) to initially forego
storage of hazardous wastes at DRMO Alpha (for the same permit-related reasons) created a greater sense of urgency for setting up the accumulation point program at the ISB.
Although the ISB is much smaller today (end strength estimated to be 1,000) and has recently moved, at the height of the operation, forty (40) accumulations points were serviced by DRMR-E. Through the use of a specialized hazardous waste management service, a critical support gap for US support forces in Hungary was filled.
Hazardous Waste Disposal in Hungary
In addition to providing routine technical assistance to local units and overseeing the day-to- day management of the Army's accumulation sites at the ISB, TFDE and DRMO Alpha also arrange for the removal and release of hazardous wastes, used oils and contaminated fuels to various contractors. SMT handles the hazardous wastes and the Hungarian firm, Envirokon, handles used oils and contaminated fuels. In the latter case, firm Envirokon recycles the used oily waste materials at the Hungarian State-controlled oil company, Magyar Olaj, otherwise known as MOL.
SMT removes and transports hazardous wastes to various in-country disposal facilities. As mentioned previously, these facilities were found to meet the disposal standards of the contract. Although Hungary has hazardous waste legislation, they have not developed a uniform hazardous waste manifest for tracking wastes. In order to ensure that DRMR-E had a tracking mechanism, a modified shipping document was used to control each shipment in a manner that provided cradle-to-grave visibility for all shipments to Hungarian disposal facilities.
A substantial quantity of hazardous waste to date has been generated in Hungary over the life of the operation. Despite the substantially smaller troop strength of the ISB, approximately 40% of the total OJE waste generations have been produced in Hungary.
Not surprisingly, principle waste streams in Hungary are generated by vehicle and equipment maintenance activities on materiel assets deploying/re-deploying through the ISB.
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CURRENT STATUS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAMS: TACTICAL AREAS
Hazardous Waste Management Services in Croatia and B/H
The waste management program in Croatia and B/H differed substantially from the program in Hungary. DRMR-E was prepared to provide comprehensive waste management services to US base camps in these areas, similar to that which had been established in Hungary. The Army, however, opted to retain the use of the Army Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) contractor, Brown and Root (BR), for providing such services in the tactical areas. BR was already heavily involved in building, maintaining and logistically supporting some twenty-three (23) base camps B/H. The notion of redefining Bit's role midstream to exclude hazardous waste management services was seen as unrealistic by the Army.
In short, BR functions as the waste manager in the tactical zone. BR periodically removes wastes from the base camps and consolidates them at collection sites in each country, one near Lukavac, B/H ("OK Corral"), and one at Slavonski Brod, Croatia. From these sites, DRMR-E is responsible for removing and making arrangements for appropriate disposal of each waste.
At present, BR manages the "OK Corral" collection site and continues to support base camps in B/H. The collection site in Croatia, however, has since been closed. The US IFOR presence has been substantially reduced in Croatia and is expected to remain so during the current follow-on Sustainment Force, or SFOR mission.
Hazardous Waste Disposal in Croatia and B/H
In contrast to Hungary, DRMR-E's contractor, SMT, was unable to identify disposal facilities in Croatia and B/H that met disposal standards for all waste streams, and satisfy other important terms of the contract.6 DRMR-E struck a balance with operational necessities and approved SMT's proposal to process certain, less hazardous wastes in B/H. BTU-rich wastes, such as used petroleum products and non-halogenated solvents are currently burned for heat recovery at a power plant near Tuzla, B/H. Lead acid batteries are managed at a nearby site and processed at a lead recycling facility in Slovenia. These bulky waste streams also account for approximately 70% by weight of the wastes generated in B/H. By managing these high volume waste streams in B/H, the storage burden on the hazardous waste collection was at least minimized. BR was still responsible for storing the balance of wastes which could not be processed in B/H for lack of technically acceptable facilities.
In addition to the operational, practical side to the above accommodation, DRMR-E also considered the concept and importance of "Nation Building" in the former republics of Yugoslavia. Because B/H suffered severe damage during the war, DRMR-E reasoned that allowing some, less hazardous waste streams to be managed in B/H might play an incremental, small part in re-building the country's infrastructure, such as the power utility, and contribute to other efforts in revitalizing the industrial sector.
To track shipments of such waste from the BR collection site to Bosnian facilities,
SMT prepared a special ad hoc hazardous waste manifest, written in Serbo-Croatian, for this purpose. B/H, like Hungary does not have a national requirement for manifesting shipments of hazardous waste.
Given that there were no acceptable facilities in B/H for the remainder of hazardous wastes (e.g., lithium batteries, asbestos, photographic wastes and others), DRMR-E recognized that disposal in a third country would be necessary. Again, as we had seen in Hungary, disposal standards were shaping the program and leading DRMR-E and US IFOR into new issues and challenges.
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HAZARDOUS WASTE TRANSIT ISSUES
From the very beginning of OJE, DRMR-E realized that the proper disposal of hazardous waste generated in Bosnia-Herzegovina would present special challenges. Due to a lack of industry infrastructure in Bosnia-Herzegovina, we expected that the application of responsible standards for the disposal of hazardous waste would necessitate many wastes having to be transported to other countries in order to ensure that such wastes were managed and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.7 If wastes had to cross national borders for disposal, these transboundary movements might be subject to the 1989 Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
In general, the Basel Convention establishes a prior notification/consent framework for movements of hazardous wastes crossing national borders. Before any waste shipment can commence, all affected states—export, import, and transit—must first be notified of the proposed shipment and give their express written consent. Significantly, however, the Basel Convention also provides that Parties to the Convention may not allow the import of hazardous wastes from non-Basel Convention parties, unless there is a specific bilateral agreement or arrangement between the Party and non-Party state whose terms achieve environmentally sound management and disposal of such
wastes, as articulated in the Basel Convention. Bosnia-Herzegovina is not a Party to the Basel Convention. All other countries where we anticipated disposal might occur, i.e., Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, and Germany, are all Parties to the Convention. Moreover, there are no bilateral agreements on hazardous waste which have been negotiated between Bosnia-Herzegovina and any of the foregoing countries. Given the significant amount of time necessary to negotiate environmental bilateral agreements, DRMR-E fully recognized that if the competent authorities of these countries concluded that the Basel Convention would be applicable to OJE hazardous waste shipments, there might be no legally acceptable mechanism for such movements to occur.
In response to this issue, DRMR-E consulted with USEUCOM and USAREUR, and developed a consensus position that the transit and stationing agreements specifically negotiated in support of the Dayton Peace Accords and OJE contained language which provided an alternative protocol to the Basel Convention regarding the movement of US IFOR hazardous waste. These transit agreements between NATO IFOR and the countries of Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Austria, generally provide for the unrestricted transit of equipment, supplies, and "material of whatever kind, including ammunition." The transit agreements do not, however, specifically mention hazardous
waste. The US planners, however, reasonably concluded that the affected nations would not be opposed to the movement of hazardous wastes under these agreements, especially when the overall goal of such movements would be to ensure that the wastes were properly managed.
In order to use the transit agreements to move hazardous waste through these countries, it was also necessary to address the issue of whether DRMR-E's commercial contractor would be granted special status under the agreements. Once again working closely with USEUCOM and NATO Command Support (C-SPT) in Zagreb, Croatia, the determination was made that US defense components could reasonably confer full IFOR status on contractor personnel who were performing essential logistics functions, to include hazardous waste management and disposal. Accordingly, DRMR-E's contractor personnel were issued full IFOR status identification cards.8
Having developed a strategic approach to the problem of transporting hazardous waste from B/H, DRMR-E was optimistic that any problems could be resolved during implementation of the plan. One thing we learned, however, is that in a contingency operation, plans must be continually modified to fit changing scenarios. Thus, even before the strategic plan could be implemented on a trial basis, the Croatian environmental authorities declared in the spring of 1996 that SMT must have certain permits to transport waste in Croatia. The processing time for such permits was initially represented as "no more than three to five days." For reasons not entirely clear, however, the permits were not issued even after four months had passed.
In addition, NATO IFOR in Croatia concluded an international agreement with the Croatian Government on September 16, 1996, which contained the following language:
The measures and procedures concerning hazardous material and hazardous waste which include collection
(segregation and labeling), transportation (packaging and storage) and disposal will be provided by mutually
agreed high standards of hazardous waste management systems." (emphasis added)
Recognizing the implications this language had on the US Forces hazardous waste disposal program, NATO C-SPT initiated discussions with the Croatian environmental authorities. During these discussions, the Croatians specifically raised their concerns that waste generated in B/H could not transit Croatia to other countries for disposal because Bosnia was not a Party to the Basel Convention. The Croatians were willing, however, to allow movement of wastes under the transit agreements only if all other affected countries provided assurances that they would also allow movement of the wastes under the transit agreements.
While the transit issues were being resolved to establish commercial contractor transport of hazardous wastes, TFDE made interim arrangements with USAREUR's 37th Transportation Battalion to convey wastes from B/H to Germany using military transportation assets. To facilitate the process, SMT marked, labeled and prepared the waste containers, which were then loaded into 20 foot, sealand (MILVAN) containers. To date, nearly forty-five (45) containers have been staged in this manner. Approximately one-third of these MILVAN containers were shipped by military vehicles to DRMO Kaiserslautern, Germany, where the cargo was re-loaded onto SMT trucks for shipment to facilities in Germany for recovery and disposal.9 Although this mechanism has been marginally successful,
establishing a long-term commercial capability was still viewed as essential.
With the assistance of USEUCOM and several Defense Attaches in different US Embassies, DRMR-E representatives met, in quick succession, with the competent authorities for Germany, Austria, and Hungary, and obtained from each, a written statement of no objections to the transit of US IFOR hazardous waste generated in the Operation Joint Endeavor theater, which includes B/H. In the first week of January 1997, we met with the Croatian competent authorities and secured their acceptance of the assurances made by Austria and Hungary that US IFOR wastes would be allowed to transit their territories, and Germany's assurance that such waste would be allowed to be disposed of in Rheinland-Pfalz. With the Croatians' issuance of a similar statement of no objections on January 14, 1997, all major procedural obstacles to the movement of US IFOR hazardous waste from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Germany have been overcome. DRMR-E expects that the first contractor arranged shipments of hazardous waste from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Germany will be completed by February 1, 1997.
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CONCLUSIONS
The hazardous waste program in OJE was built upon USEUCOM's January 1996 "environmental considerations" message. It tasked USAREUR to assume leadership for all environmental issues, and further instructed DLA to find the optimal ways to dispose of hazardous waste generated in the AOR, where cost, tactical considerations standards, and emphasis on environmental leadership were necessary elements.
In retrospect, the authors believe that the above elements were fully accomplished in OJE. Services were effectively tailored to each location, optimizing the disposal process and utilizing local disposal options as much as possible, without sacrificing consistent and defensible disposal standards throughout the AOR. Two contracts were quickly and prudently negotiated, maximizing competition under the challenging circumstances. Both contracts, as well as the used oil service in Hungary, resulted in reasonable price schedules, comparable to service costs obtained in Central Europe.
Despite some discord during the pre-deployment phase, hazardous waste disposal standards established in DRMR-E service contracts for OJE were also eventually accepted by US IFOR elements. The consensus among most participants is that the approach achieved an appropriate level of environmental protection and contributed significantly to the health and safety of service-members. When appropriate, due consideration was likewise accorded to tactical and operational necessities. Fortunately, the US IFOR elements have deterred
aggressive actions between the various factions to such an extent that managing hazardous waste was not so significantly different from what is ordinarily done on sustained field exercises. Environmental Leadership. Credit for the success of the current hazardous waste program is not attributable to any one single activity, but to the DOD team. The combined efforts of US IFOR service-members, USAREUR, USEUCOM, TFDE and DRMR-E, as well as many others made this program succeed. Many dedicated people (some of whom are listed at Appendix 1) contributed to its planning and execution, and stepped up when required, to assist in resolving unusual political, technical, legal and logistical problems. The net effect was that DOD met high environmental standards on hazardous waste management and disposal in some of the most unfavorable conditions possible. Teamwork and a "can do" attitude resulted in an unprecedented environmental track record for such an operation.
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CONSIDERATIONS FOR FUTURE OPERATIONS
Joint Disposal Doctrine Needed. OJE reinforced a need for joint disposal doctrine, including the establishment of hazardous waste disposal standards. The approach and standards used in OJE could serve as a template for such a joint endeavor. They have been widely accepted world-wide for installation operations and have now been shown to be effective for a contingency operation.
Source of Historic Waste Data. The hazardous waste generations data obtained from OJE can be used for planning purposes and for estimating hazardous waste disposal requirements in future contingency operations. Appendix 2 summarizes the type and total quantity of wastes produced during OJE, as of Jan 97. These data, representing the production of waste from an armored division (20,000 troop strength) with an intermediate support base (3,200 troop strength), may be used as a base line for similar peace-keeping operations. It can also serve as surrogate information for projecting waste production rates for larger or smaller operations.
Synchronizing Deployment and Waste Management Services. The availability and timing of waste management and collection services is critical to establishing a sound hazardous waste management and disposal program for a contingency operation. In this case, the authors believe that the success realized in OJE was partly connected to the early involvement and participation of DLA and USAREUR in setting up a waste management program at each location and arranging for drums and other supplies at the beginning and not after significant wastes had been already generated.
Increased International Regulation of Waste Movements. As evidenced by international agreements like the Basel Convention, the international community is devoting more and more scrutiny to the movement of hazardous wastes across national borders. Although it is unclear to what extent the Basel Convention applies or should apply to military contingency operations, planners of future contingency operations should fully consider the impact such agreements may have on the US Government's ability to achieve responsible disposal in contingency settings. To the extent that transit and stationing agreements are negotiated in advance of any operation, consideration should also be given to including language in such agreements \which would facilitate the movement of hazardous waste across borders.
Transportation Support Needed from Private Sector. Planners should anticipate some difficulty moving hazardous wastes across international borders. Although the Army's organic transportation assets successfully moved some hazardous waste from Croatia and B/H to Germany for disposal during OJE, the interim program was not as effective as a commercial solution would have been (once the transit issue was resolved).
In today's US military, hazardous waste managers cannot rely on the availability of military transportation assets for back hauling wastes to a disposal site in another country, nor can they rely on the military services to prepare drivers with the proper specialty skills and experience for accomplishing a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes.
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Appendix 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:*
OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR
HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAM TEAM
TFDE/DRMO Alpha:
Lt. Col. Thomas Childress, USAF, Commander, TFDE
Mr. Edward Kopsick, Property Disposal Specialist
Ms. Loni Kerns, Environmental Protection Specialist, (DRMS-DW)
Mr. Leroy Lamphear, Environmental Protection Specialist, (DRMS-DE)
Mr. Michael Glines, Material Sorter & Classifier, (DRMO Tucson)
Mr. Daniel Vandemark, Material Sorter & Classifier, (DRMO Stockton)
SK3 Carol J. Kiger, USN (NR DCST DRT2)
SK3 Taylor T. Hyde, USN (NR DCST DRT1)
SSgt. Roy Elm, USAF, (DRMO Sagami)
DRMR-E. Wiesbaden. Germany:
Col. Greg R. Gustafson, USA, Commander
Mr. Stephen Moore, Chief, International Operations
Mr. Mark Smith, Contracting Officer, DRMS-PMG
Ms. Audrey Weber, Environmental Protection Specialist
Appendix 1 (cont.)
Ms. Miriam Alonso, Environmental Protection Specialist
Ms. Gloria Lenz, Environmental Protection Specialist
Environmental Branch staff, DRMO Kaiserslauter
Environmental Branch staff, DRMO Kastel
Environmental Service & Compliance Branches staff, DRMR-EH
Procurement Branch staff, DRMS-PMG
US European Command:
CAPT Faunce, USN, Staff Engineer, CCJ4/7
CDR Michael McGregor, USN, Of lice of the Legal Adviser
Mr. Steve Hearne, Environmental Engineer, CCJ4/7
US Army, Europe:
MAJ Donald Archibald,USA, USAREUR (FOOD) Eng
Mr. William Nichols, Environmental Engineer, USAREUR (FOOD) Eng
Mr. Garry Zettersten, Chief, Environmental Office, USAREUR (FOOD) Eng
Mr. William Stark, Environmental Engineer, USAREUR (FOOD) Eng
MAJ Kurt Preston, USA, USAREUR (FOOD) Eng, (AR 412~ Eng Group)
LTC Michael Chenoweth, USA, USAREUR (FOOD) Eng, (AR 416~ Engineers)
MAJ Dwight Pearson, USA, USAREUR (FOOD) Eng, (AR 416~ Engineers)
US Defense Attache, State Department and NATO:
COL John Fairlamb, USA, Defense Attache, US Embassy, Vienna
COL Dale E. Hollrah, USAF, Air Attache, US Embassy, Vienna
CPT John Cook, USA, US IFOR Transportation Liaison, Vienna, Austria
LTC John Sadler, USA, Defense Attache, US Embassy Zagreb
Mr. Thomas Praster, Economic Officer, US Embassy Zagreb
Wing Cdr. David Ash, RAF, NATO C-SPT, Legal Adviser, Zagreb
Wing Cdr. Bill Boothby RAF, NATO C-SPT, Legal Adviser, Zagreb
Mr. Steve Taylor, Environment, Science and Technology Attache, US Embassy,
Budapest
DLA Organizations:
COL Michael Pendergast, USA, Commander, DLA Europe
LTC Steve Bell, USAF, USEUCOM DLA Liaison Office (DLA-Europe)
COL Riggs Wilks, USA, Office of General Counsel
Mr. James Carr, Office of General Counsel
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Appendix 2
OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR WASTE GENERATIONS
(as of 31 December 1996)
ITEM TOTAL (KG)
Aerosol Cans 2,690
Antifreeze 147,611
Asbestos 2,229
Battery Acid 9,639
Battery, Dry Cell 50
Battery, Lead Acid 457,262
Battery, Lead Acid, Undrained 10,000
Battery, Lithium 11,710
Battery, Magnesium 532
Battery, Mercury 150
Battery, NiCad 1,362
Cartridge, Ink 100
Filters, POL Contaminated 13,541
Grease, Automotive 95,932
Metal Containers 321,637
Mixed POL Liquids 2,600
Paint 2,586
Paint, Solid 5,100
Photographic Waste 36,448
Plastic Containers 342,862
Soil, POL Contaminated 145,548
Solids, POL Contaminated 171,141
Solvent, Non Halogenated 500
Spill Residue, Solid 35,500
Spilled POL Liquids 200
TOTAL 1,817,000
Fuel for Recycling (in Hungary Only) 139,896 Liters
Oil for Recycling (in Hungary Only) 109,383 Liters
Approximately 38 % of the waste was generated by Hungary, and approximately 62% was generated by Bosnia/Croatia.
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REFERENCES
DOD Overseas Environmental Baseline Guidance Document, Oct 92.
USCINCEUR message, Subj.: Environmental Considerations during Operation Joint Endeavor, 9 Jan 96.
USCINCEUR Operations Plan, Annex D, Appendix 5, Tab B. Environmental Considerations and Services, 2 Dec 95.
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, 1989.
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