ROAD TO EMS CERTIFICATION

For the last 12 years King County has had a fairly stable biosolids recycling program. King County is a large, multi-sectional agency that recycles approximately 27,000 dry tons of biosolids annually. We have spent lots of time nurturing strong, local sponsors who are influential and enthusiastic spokespersons for their project, which maintains strong public support. With that in mind, it was not so much our public participation element but our internal communications/connections that needed improvement. The Environmental Management System (EMS) has provided an effective tool to help bridge the gap in communications and create a stronger biosolids value chain within our Wastewater Treatment Division.We were fortunate to have many of the documents and an established paper trail, which facilitated developing our EMS manual and support documents. Then the challenge was to work, with an often reluctant staff, to help them see outside their own work area and how their job relates to the final end product – biosolids. This transition did not happen overnight and so we would like to relate our phased approach to EMS implementation, our mistakes and our successes on the road to EMS certification.