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Marine Corps Logistics Base

Executive Summary

The Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB), Albany, Georgia was commissioned on March 1, 1952 as the Marine Corps Depot of supplies with supply support responsibilities for all Marines east of the Rocky Mountains. Today, as the logistics center for the entire Marine Corps, the primary missions are to execute the phase of military logistics which controls the acquisition availability, and disposal of material under its cognizance. Work in support of the mission includes maintenance, repair, and rebuilding of ground combat and combat support equipment, fuel storage, and motor transport. MCLB executes technical direction of the Marine Corps Stores and Distribution System providing procurement, maintenance, storage, and distribution services for equipment and supplies. The Maritime Prepositioning Ship and Norway Geo-Prepositioning Programs are also managed by MCLB.

Introduction

The MCLB installation is located five miles southeast of the city of Albany, GA and occupies 3,579 acres or about two percent of Dougherty County, Georgia. The Command employs 3,000 civilians and 650 active duty military personnel. The Pollution Prevention (P2) Section of the Base Environmental Branch has the primary responsibility for P2; however, the Compliance Section, Natural Resources Section, and the Installation Restoration Section are strong contributors to the P2 actions that take place at MCLB Albany. Four units which compose the P2 Section are the Potable Water Unit; Storm Water, Safety, and Sampling Unit; Recycling Unit; and the Hazardous Material Management Unit.

Specific P2 Initiatives

Resistant Coatings (CARC) for ground combat vehicles, which required the use of thinners and methyl ethyl ketone to achieve proper spray viscosity and spray equipment cleanup. The Marine Corps took the P2 lead and developed a water-borne camouflage coating. This coating uses deionized water for thinning and equipment cleanup, which greatly reduces the volume of hazardous waste generated from painting operations.

Air pollution abatement at MCLB Albany will continue with the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled vehicles. With the construction of the new Alternative Fuel Station slated for late FY 99, and the arrival of dual-fueled vehicles from the General Services Administration, CNG will become the P2 choice for MCLB Albany.

The Storm Water, Safety, and Sampling Unit manages MCLB's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) in accordance with the Base's NPDES permit. This unit inspects construction sites, storm drainage systems, parking lots, and other suspect areas for point sources of pollution that might enter the Base storm drain system. The unit manages the sampling activities of the Base that include water, oils, hazardous materials, hazardous waste, asbestos, soils, air and other materials as necessary. It also manages an inspection program of secondary containment structures for above ground storage tanks. The branch safety program headed by this unit provides safety education and guidance for the branch.

The Recycling Unit receives newspaper, computer paper, white ledger paper, corrugated cardboard, clear glass, green glass, brown glass, and aluminum cans for recycling. The cardboard is baled into 1,200-1,400 pound bales, the aluminum cans are crushed, the glass is crushed, and the other paper products are merely segregated. These products are then sold to a recycler. A pallet recycling program was begun in 1996, and during FY 97, 6,641 pallets were recycled through rebuilding waste pallets. This program eliminated 239 tons of solid waste from the landfill. Since only waste wood was used for pallet repair, the cost of raw materials was limited to fasteners. The rebuilt pallets are sold first to government agencies and then to the private sector.

The Potable Water System of MCLB Albany includes a distribution system, three deep wells with a capacity of 1,660 gal/min each, and two 500,000 gal elevated storage tanks. The Potable Water Unit has installed a scheduled flushing sequence for fire hydrants for this system. The timing and sequencing plan was developed to eliminate dead end spots in the water mains. Moving water in the mains in this way eliminates the development of pockets of water that could become stale or have increased turbidity. This unit has also implemented a Cross Connection Control Program that manages more than 400 backflow prevention devices. The backflow devices are inspected, tested, and repaired as required annually. This program insures a high quality potable water for the Base.

The Hazardous Material Management Unit was established in January 1998. This unit was created to manage all aspects of the approving, ordering, buying, receiving, storing, distributing, returning, and accounting of all hazardous materials that come on Base. The Hazardous Material Cell uses HMMS software for the Data Management System. Staff members in the cell are matrixed from different organizations and have various skills that reflect experience in building, inventory, data input, safety, supply, fire safety and protection, industrial hygiene, and environmental law and practices. The startup of this unit began in January 1998, but all inventory and systems input for all Base sections will not be completed until the second quarter of 1999.

Future P2 Opportunities

Future P2 projects for MCLB Albany include a composting program and a recycling program for steel cans and oil filters.

POC: G. Lawson Vann 912.439.5637