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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Members of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune’s Environmental Management Division laid boom and surrounded the crash site as they were re-certified in facilities response training recently.
The four-day annual training is part of the base’s spill response program, which ensures any hazardous spill aboard base is contained and treated properly.
George Taylor, pollution abatement supervisor for Environmental Management Division, said the program is not only designed as an obligation to protect the local environment, but is also part of the federal Clean Water Act.
“We have hundreds of miles of protected waterways on Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River and our endangered species that need to be taken care of,” said Taylor.
In the case of a hazardous spill on the water such as fuel or a downed aircraft, the fire department is called, and then the spill response team is notified.
The team will arrive and assess the situation, promptly deploying containment boom if necessary, said Taylor. Boom used for spills is a plastic barrier filled with foam that contains substances on the water surface.
“We had an incident aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River where approximately 10,000 gallons of fuel leaked,” said Taylor. The spill response team was called, and we managed to contain the problem before it ever reached the water ways. We had teams with containment boom in the water testing regularly to ensure we had done it right.”
There is a lot of coordination required to respond to a spill, but through the training, we are equipped to handle any situation, added Taylor.
The spill response program operates using a variety of boats to handle any size spill. The arsenal includes more than 8,000 feet of boom.
“A lot of people see our boats and think we are just out to go fishing,” said Taylor. “We have a very professional group of individuals on our team and every time we head out on our boats it’s to respond to a potentially hazardous event.”
David Turner, environmental protection assistant, said this year was his second certification with facilities response training.
“We have one day of class and four days of practical application training,” said Turner. Learning to use all the equipment properly ensures the members of the team can quickly and effectively respond to incidents, added Turner.
“In 2013, we had an Amphibious Assault Vehicle become submerged and inoperable, and we quickly cordoned off the area and surrounded the site with boom to ensure no leaks occurred,” said Turner. “We are constantly ready for anything that can happen, and for us, it means we can protect the environment and keep it unharmed for years to come.”
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| Date Taken: | 06.12.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2014 11:15 |
| Story ID: | 135606 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Camp Lejeune’s spill response team in constant readiness, by Cpl Joshua Grant, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
