Environmental Compliance

Clients in all sectors have consistently found significant value in improving environmental compliance.  Traditionally, these benefits were experienced in terms of avoided enforcement actions and fines.  However, in recent years, greater benefits have been uncovered in terms of improved efficiency and reduced operating costs that are identified through regular audits of environmental compliance and environmental management systems and practices.  GeoInsight assists clients in reviewing, auditing, evaluating, and improving compliance with the wide range of federal and state environmental regulations that applies to their operations.  The services provided include assisting clients in applying for federal and state permits and complying with permit requirements including record keeping and reporting.

Compliance Audits

The first step in improved management of environmental issues is typically a thorough audit of operations to identify waste streams and emissions that are regulated by federal, state, and, in some cases, municipal regulations and the applicable provisions of those regulations.  In many cases, clients use audits to evaluate environmental management systems (EMS) as well.  Audits can be triggered by a range of interests and needs including:

• acquisition of a facility and its continuing operations;
• routine management reviews;
• compliance management objectives (i.e., routine auditing of critical operational components); and
• enforcement actions by regulatory agencies.

Effective audits include thoughtful, detailed review of facility operations, chemical use and disposition, waste streams and emissions, chemical and waste management practices and facilities, training programs and documentation, records, and reports.  Good audits also identify opportunities to reduce compliance requirements and costs by improving chemical use efficiency; recirculating, reusing, or recycling waste streams; replacing chemicals with less highly-regulated alternatives; and modifying permit requirements.  GeoInsight assists clients in performing these activities with a level of effort that extends from overseeing and reviewing results of internal audits to performing detailed, independent audits with its own staff, as well as overseeing corrective actions and implementation of measures to improve compliance and reduce environmental liabilities.

Permitting

Many environmental regulations require that permits be issued to govern certain aspects of operations that generate waste streams or emissions.  The process of applying for and complying with the terms of environmental permits is time consuming and costly.  Significant forethought as to the implications of permitting requirements is required to minimize subsequent constraints on the growth of business operations.  This anticipatory evaluation is particularly critical to establishing flexible permit terms that will accommodate changing and growing operations and, in some cases, to identifying situations in which operational changes to eliminate a permit requirement is advisable.  GeoInsight provides its clients with the benefit of its experience in evaluating the implications of regulatory permitting and negotiating favorable, flexible permit terms.

GeoInsight also serves its clients in developing required record keeping systems that employ, to the maximum extent practicable, software and systems already in use by the clients’ management.  Periodic reporting is typically required by most permits, and GeoInsight assists its clients in designing and completing such reports. 

GeoInsight’s services include tracking changes in environmental regulations that may affect its clients’ operations and assisting clients in evaluating the implications of pending changes.  In some instances, GeoInsight can provide assistance to clients in commenting upon and proposing revisions to pending regulations that will result in more pragmatic regulation with which compliance can be more efficiently accomplished.