According to Fairchild Air Force Base in Airway Heights, 2019 is the year to go green.
Base officials are kicking off the new year with “Green in ’19,” a plan to improve the base’s overall energy consumption by promoting conservation practices and waste reduction.
Green in ’19 is vision to inspire Team Fairchild Airmen to become the Department of Defense’s leader in environmental initiatives,” Sgt. Travis Edwards with 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs said in an email. “Our goal is to highlight many of the practices we already have in place to conserve energy, and motivate airmen to create new ways to be good stewards of our home in the Inland Northwest.”
That means beefing up current programs and starting new ones, plus addressing the base’s landscape water usage. Currently, about 50 percent of the facility’s water use is due to ground maintenance. According to an Air Force press release, base officials will be working on smart irrigation systems that monitor the amount of water being used.
Base personnel will also be encouraged to embrace the mantra of “reduce, reuse, recycle,” while adjusting energy consumption habits.
The introduction of the conservation initiative comes on the heels of a recent contamination incident in which firefighting foam from Fairchild Air Force Base leeched into the local water supply, requiring thousands of dollars in water system treatments and resulting in multiple lawsuits.
As previously reported by the Cheney Free Press, the chemicals are believed to have seeped into groundwater from a fire training site on the eastern edge of the base though officials have maintained the position that it cannot know the extent to which past base activities contributed to the contamination.
According to a press release, the base will strive to continue environmentally responsible practices even when they are not required, and will be working to come up with more creative ideas to address military environmental issues.
“Inspiring innovation will be integral to the ‘Green in 19’ movement and Fairchild Air Force Base is a diverse team that has already proven to have incredible ideas, know-how and the capability to develop comprehensive programs,” Edwards said. “We plan to levy that potential to empower our airmen to help conserve energy and take care of our environment – no idea is too small.”
Shannen Talbot can be reached at shannen@cheneyfreepress.com.
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