Environmental Excellence Award Sample Questions
(NOTE: Below are sample questions for reference purposes and may not reflect the final award
application)
FACILITY / COMPANY PRODUCTION
The annual production rate of the facility (in tons) applying for the Environmental Excellence
Award is:
FUNDAMENTAL ENVIROMENTAL PROGRAMS If any of the following items are not applicable at
your operation, please explain in the text area beside.
1. Do you have a corporate mission statement? If so, please upload the file in the Upload
Tab.
2. Do you conduct environmental compliance audits of this facility?
3. How often are environmental compliance audits conducted at this facility?
a. Frequency:
4. Do you audit your related use tenants at this facility?
5. Does your use of 3rd party auditors include corporate staff to conduct compliance
audits of this facility?
EMPLOYEE TRAINING
1. Describe your facility's employee environmental training program. Be specific to the
areas of training covered (i.e. corporate policies, waste management, dust control,
storm water, spill prevention, water management, etc.)
2. Explain the level of company personnel being trained (hourly workers, supervisors, midmanagement, to corporate salaried, etc.) and the frequency of training (annual
refresher, new hire, weekly tailgate talks, etc.). (No more than 250 words)
3. Do you evaluate the effectiveness of your training programs? If so, please explain how
the evaluation is conducted. If you have an explanation sheet, please attach.
a. Explain: (No more than 3500 characters)
4. Do you have operating personnel or environmental personnel available to you, either
third party, internal company, or onsite personnel, who are currently in possession of
any applicable environmental certification (e.g., visible emissions certification,
environmental professional certifications, professional engineer, professional geologist,
etc.)?
ESSENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES
1. Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention/Recycling - Describe any waste
minimization/pollution prevention/recycling programs in place at this facility.
2. Distinctive Environmental Controls Please describe unique, innovative, and distinctive
environmental control features, devices or systems at your facility and why you consider
them to be unique, innovative or distinct (ex: wheel washers, baghouse controls,
oil/water separators, building enclosures, noise abatement, vegetative covers,
sprinklers, etc.)
3. Water Management - Please describe unique and innovative techniques that you may
use to recycle process wastewater or storm water, minimize water use, or achieve
permit compliance or reduce permit obligations, such as clarifier tanks, belt presses, etc.
4. Innovative Land Use/Reclamation - Explain any unique reclamation or endues plans that
have been approved for existing or future uses at this facility. Examples include:
reclamation design, wetland mitigation/creation, nature trails, education centers, public
park space, etc. Please be specific and include photographs.
5. Biodiversity - Explain any unique conservation or biodiversity plans that increase wildlife
habitat at this location. Examples include: practical implementation of land trusts,
wildlife habitat, partnerships or MOUs with conservation groups. Please attach copies of
biodiversity plans and/or demonstrated results or benefits to wildlife. Describe any
community or regional NGOs involvement such as Boy Scouts, schools, conservation
groups, etc. Is this facility a certified Wildlife Habitat Council site?
FACILITY OUTREACH
1. Facility Recognition Please describe or list any external environmental awards conferred
by community, state or federal regulatory agencies, conservation groups, NGOs, special
interest groups, or trade associations.
2. Community Communication/Industry Education - Please describe briefly your facility's
program for communicating environmental information to the community, general
public, or other allied industry sectors (i.e. open houses, adopt-a-school programs,
community newsletters, etc.). This would include any site outreach/education programs
for teaching children, government officials, or stakeholders about your site, site
operations, products, wildlife projects at the site or environmental education/learning
projects at the site.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESULTS
1. Please describe any proven, quantifiable environmental results that demonstrate that
this facility exceeds the regulatory requirements for air, water or land protection
through the use of modeling, monitoring or Best Management Practice techniques.
Examples include, but are not limited to: summary of results of water discharge limits
achieved, air monitoring or modeling results, copies of regulatory agency
correspondence, or other verifiable actions taken demonstrating compliance of this
facility with state or federal regulatory requirements.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
1. While your facility may not have a formal, documented, or approved EMS, NSSGA is
striving for ultimate industry acceptance of EMS's as a metric that gauges a company's
continuous improvement in environmental stewardship. Answering the following
questions gives credit to those facilities that have elements of an EMS in place, even
though they may not refer to those elements as part of a formal or certifiable EMS.
2. Does your facility have a formal certified ISO 14000 EMS in place? If so, please describe.
a. If your facility does NOT have a formal certified EMS, please answer the
following questions.
b. Has your facility identified aspects of its operations that could result in an impact
to the environment? (ex: air emissions, water discharges, waste disposal, oil or
chemical storage.) If so, please describe your facility's actions taken in identifying
aspects.
c. Has your facility implemented operational or administrative controls (engineered
controls/interlocks, guidelines, procedures or inspection sheets) to ensure the
above aspects do not impact the environment? Please list or summarize the
operational or administrative controls in place at your site. Explain: (No more
than 3500 characters)
d. Has your facility set objectives for improvement that relate to the above
aspects? Explain: (No more than 3500 characters)
e. Have you identified and listed the federal, state and local environmental
regulations that are applicable at your facility? Explain: (No more than 3500
characters)
f. Does your facility have a procedure on internal reporting if a complaint is
received? Describe this procedure and how the response is communicated. (No
more than 3500 characters)
g. Does your facility have a procedure to follow if a regulatory inspector visits your
site and you receive a notice of violation or warning? Please describe your
procedure. (no more than 3500 characters)