Environmental Health & Safety

Role of the Department of Environmental, Health and Safety

SUNY Oneonta is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all persons associated with the University, including students, faculty, staff, visitors and the local community.

The Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) department provides leadership for the University health and safety programs, by developing EHS programming unique to each area on campus, implementing lean methodologies, performing various inspections/audits and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs).

Safety is a shared responsibility. Department heads, principal investigators, faculty members, and supervisors are directly responsible for ensuring full compliance with local, State (PESH, DEC) and Federal regulations and the University’s safety policies and procedures.

The Environmental, Health and Safety department has the authority to prohibit, stop, or otherwise limit potential environmental or occupational harm to individuals, community, or the environment.

Mission Statement

The Environmental, Health, and Safety department supports the University’s core value and mission by proactively recognizing and controlling health and safety hazards, ensuring regulatory compliance, engaging all stakeholders, and minimizing future potential liabilities.

Education and Training

One of the ways the EHS department meets its mission is by providing managers, supervisors, and workers with:

• Knowledge and skills needed to do their work safely and avoid creating hazards that could place themselves or others at risk.
• Awareness and understanding of workplace hazards and how to identify, report, and control them.

Additional training may be needed depending on the roles assigned to workers. Supervisors may need specific training to ensure that they can fulfill their roles in providing leadership, direction, and resources for the safety and health program. Workers assigned specific roles in the program (e.g., incident investigation team members) may need training to ensure their full participation in those functions.

Environmental Compliance

• Chemical waste
• Oil storage and Tank management
• Stormwater management
• Universal waste

The EHS department offers training programs on the following topics: