EPA Compliance

Environmental Compliance – What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You!

Environmental compliance is a major responsibility for many organizations since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970. The EPA is an important agency for almost everyone who generates, transports, treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste, emits contaminants to the air, or discharges pollutants to the water. Many businesses claim that environmental rules are complex and difficult to understand. As many large and small companies have found out, ignorance is not bliss. What you don’t know can hurt you. in the form of fines and, in extreme cases, jail time.

What makes environmental compliance even more difficult is that many states have adopted compliance rules that are stricter or more comprehensive than federal rules. Most states impose stricter requirements for chemical reporting, facility siting, asbestos abatement, air and water discharge limits, and more. Careful review of state compliance requirements, as well as federal requirements, is clearly warranted.

Why Is Compliance Important?

Just about everyone recognizes the value of protecting our natural resources and the general public from harm. Businesses must also recognize that every environmental law provides some form of civil, and in many cases, criminal, penalties. With penalties of up to over $45,000 per day per violation, civil penalties can reach into the millions of dollars. And every 4 years, The EPA adjusts civil penalties for inflation. While civil penalties are a concern for facility owners and operators, criminal penalties are even more severe.

Being in compliance with environmental regulations saves money and time. At a recent industry course on environmental compliance, industry and compliance professionals expressed the need for continued and consistent support from guidance documents, reference manuals, as well as environmental and legal specialists to effectively comply with the complicated and ever-changing regulations.

EPA Compliance Examples and Other Tools to Help YOU!

Enviro.BLR.com provides comprehensive state and federal environmental compliance analysis. It also offers an extensive compliance “Tools” section that provides more than 7,000 guidance documents, sample plans, forms, and checklists for all of the major compliance topics, including:

  • SPCC (spill prevention control and countermeasures)
  • Aboveground and underground storage tanks
  • Stormwater
  • Hazardous waste management
  • Universal waste management
  • Air permitting
  • HAZWOPER
  • SDS and Hazard Communication
  • Asbestos
  • TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act)
  • Training

Some of the most-used environmental compliance tools available from BLR include:

  • Environmental training PowerPoints®
  • Sample compliance plans
  • Reporting and inspection forms
  • Compliance checklists

If you need an EPA compliance solution, BLR has it!

More About EPA Compliance
Other Environmental Topics