Members of a U.S. Army assessment team visited Kentucky Jan. 25 to evaluate environmental compliance status at the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD).

“The Environmental Performance Assessment System (EPAS) is an Army program designed to help installations be good stewards of their public lands,” said Todd Williams, environmental manager, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP). “As we are a tenant on the depot, and fall under their overarching environmental permits, the team visits us during their depot evaluation to assess our current situation.”

Team members first evaluate BGCAPP’s permits, plans and documentation, said Williams. They then tour the plant to make observations and see its environmental practices in action. Combined with the rest of the team’s assessment, the information gathered is presented to the depot commander as a snapshot of the depot’s compliance profile at the time of the visit.

“The BGCAPP environmental program works jointly with the depot’s,” said Jim Hawkins, environmental chief, BGAD. “We strive to meet or exceed applicable laws, regulations and directives governing the depot and its impact on the environment. The EPAS team checks with us approximately every three years to provide their input. This year’s visit is a noted improvement from the last EPAS.”

“We were last here at BGCAPP in 2014,” said EPAS team member Mac Sandlin. “It’s amazing the changes since then, now construction is complete. It’s really come a long way.”