ECOS focus is the natural (outdoor) environment and Cornell facilities. We are responsible for ensuring that Cornell complies with over 22,000 pages of regulations concerning the environment that are issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and others. Cornell facilities are located all across New York State, off the coast of Maine and in Puerto Rico – each with potential environmental impacts. The Ithaca campus has a coal-fired combined heat and power plant, an incinerator, a compost facility, underground storage tanks and other facilities with environmental aspects.
ECOS also takes environmental protection "beyond compliance" to sustainability. We lead the university operations in reducing our negative footprint and enhancing our beneficial impacts.
ECOS assesses and works to reduce Cornell's potential impacts on the outside environment in many ways, including:
- ensuring discharges of wastewater are treated properly;
- minimizing contamination and volume of storm water runoff;
- preventing spills;
- reducing and monitoring air emissions;
- reviewing and mitigating disturbance of wetlands and unique and natural areas for building sites;
- managing and abating continuing environmental impacts of past disposal practices.
Operating units are directly responsible for managing their operations in compliance, while ECOS has overall corporate responsibility to ensure compliance for the university. Refer to the University policy on Environmental Compliance and Voluntary Environmental Initiatives that was adopted in 2003 at http://www.policy.cornell.edu/vol2_9.cfm for information regarding specific environmental compliance responsibilities.
Engineering Services
Below are some of the technical expertise and project management services that we can provide:
- review Capital Projects for compliance;
- manage environmental projects;
- determine environmental aspects of buildings;
- conduct local municipal approvals, when requested; and
- manage the cleanup of Cornell’s former radiation and chemical disposal sites (RDS and CDS), which were used from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Contact Steve Beyers, Team Leader at 607-255-5941 to discuss the services his team can provide.
Environmental Compliance Programs
We can advise, guide, and assist Cornell units in achieving compliance by the implementation of systematic regulatory compliance programs. We also assess the compliance status of units and administer major campus permits.
We assist Cornell’s Utilities Department with environmental issues resulting from their operations, including large coal boilers and the Lake Source Cooling system. We are currently assisting them with the Cornell Combined Heat and Power Project, that is adding two gas turbine generators, totaling a nominal 30,000 kilowatts of electrical output with heat recovery steam generators, at the current central heating plant.
Contact Pat McNally, Team Leader at 607-255-2304 or a member of his compliance team.