Now is the time to start thinking
about next year! Do you know what permits expire next year? Do you
know if all of your environmental plans are up-to-date? Do you know
if you will have any process changes or modifications that will
affect your permits? Start asking those questions now and getting
answers so that you will be ahead of the game.
Taken from a previously
published article in our newsletter:
Owning a commercial or industrial building can present unexpected
environmental liabilities. A property owner is ultimately
responsible for the environmental condition of the property which
includes contamination caused by past or current tenants. Most of
these environmental concerns and potential liabilities are unknown
until a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) is performed.
Unfortunately, a Phase I ESA is typically driven by...
Abandoned sites can be damaging to the environment and can lead to expensive cleanups. Take for example the former Dayton Tire and Rubber Facility. In 1987, vandals entered the closed tire and rubber plant to recover salvageable materials. While removing cooper cores from electric transformers remaining at the facility, the vandals drained the Askerol (PCB containing) transformer oil onto the ground. The oil ended up making its way into a nearby creek costing more than $8 million in cleanup...
Look around, everything we do today is done electronically. In the eWorld, we can find the answer to almost every question in minutes rather than hours, days or weeks. However, with all of this information available at our fingertips it is becoming harder and harder to discern what information is valuable and what information is not. This task is even more cumbersome for those individuals responsible for managing environmental, health and safety (EH&S) functions for their company because these...
Read More »The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
(EMS) standard specifies that an organization shall
establish and maintain procedures to identify potential for and
respond to accidents and emergency situations, and
for preventing and mitigating the environmental impacts that
may be associated with them. With recent natural disasters
such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods in the news, it seems
that preparing for an emergency would be at the top of
our priority lists. In conducting environmenta...
Read More »Did you plan to perform an
EH&S audit this year but still have not completed it? It is
time to call in the experts and hire August Mack Environmental to
get it done! We not only identify your shortfalls, but more
importantly, we provide Environmental Compliance
Solutions.
A facility’s Environmental Manager is tasked with ensuring compliance with the ever-changing rules and restrictions of today’s environmental policies. If this is a new role it is easy to get overwhelmed and not know where to begin. The following are typically regulated environmental policies and some of the common violations found in these areas.
Clean Air Act
Through the enforcement of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks to protect and enhance
the quality...
The US EPA intends to review 31
current regulations to determine if the regulations are
duplicative, outdated or overly burdensome. These regulations
apply to a wide range of environmental media.
The US EPA has indicated that many of the
environmental rules identified for change will involve
technological advances made over the past 40 years. The
US EPA will seek to advance the following
initiatives: electronic reporting, improved transparency,
innovative compliance approaches and systems...
Read More »When a property is undergoing a transaction (e.g., sale, refinance, foreclosure), a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) is conducted to identify any potential liabilities associated with past or present use of the property. The industry standard for performing Phase I ESAs is based on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard E 1527, which specifies industry-accepted minimumrequirements for evaluating the environmental condition of a property. The Phase I ESA is...
Read More »Earlier in the summer I shadowed a project manager at one of August
Mack’s clients for their monthly storm water pollution prevention
plan (SWPPP) and spill prevention control and countermeasure (SPCC)
inspections. The facility we were inspecting is a job shop iron
foundry that produces many different types of castings. I was able
to walk through the facility during production hours and follow the
project manager as she went through the routine inspection. This
was a great opportunity for me to...
Read More »In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) for new and existing industrial, commercial and institutional boilers and process heaters. The standards required certain boilers and process heaters meet air pollution limits reflecting the application of maximum achievable control technology (MACT). These new rules are commonly referred to as “Boiler MACT” standards.
The 2004 standards were soon challenged and vacated by...
Read More »
A large company was found in violation of the Clean Air Act earlier
this year. They had to pay over $5 million in penalties and
are planning on spending over $700 million to improve their
facility to help resolve their violations. This is a good
reminder to other companies to make sure they are following Clean
Air Act rules. If you need assistance
maintaining compliance with the Clean Air Act or other
environmental regulations, contact August Mack at 317.916.8000.
Federal Regulation (40 CFR 112)
requires facilities with aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity
greater than or equal to 1,320 gallons, to develop and implement a
Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan. Under
certain conditions, these facilities must report discharges of oil
to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and/or other
federal, state and local government agencies.
This webinar will review what to do in the case of an oil spill including, how to respond, who...
Read More »This webinar will review what to do in the case of an oil spill including, how to respond, who...
Would you be prepared if a regulatory inspector stopped by for a surprise visit? It might be a shocking experience! Using an Environmental Management System (EMS), like August Mack's eCAP program, makes what could be a stressful situation into a worry-free event. EMSs organize a company's environmental porgrams in a planned and documented manner and helps keep a company in environmental compliance. To find out more about eCAP, visit www.ecapsolution.com/ or call August Mack at 317.916.8000.
Read More »Industrial facilities in Ohio with a general storm water permit: The renewal general permit is being reviewed for issuance. Once you hear from the Ohio EPA you will probably have to go through the process of reviewing, updating, or creating a new Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan. If you need assistance in this process, call August Mack's Ohio office at 614.798.9922 and ask for Ben Thayer. Or feel free to call me (Tom Anderson) at 317.916.3105.
August Mack Environmental, Inc. provides environmental consulting services under the 899-1 SIN of our GSA Schedule Contract. These services include, but are not limited to:
- Environmental Planning and Documentation Services
- ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Development
- Environmental Assessments (EA)
- Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Preparation
- Waste Management Consulting Services
- Compliance Audits
August Mack Environmental, Inc. provides
environmental training services under the 899-3 SIN of
our GSA Schedule Contract.
This SIN is designed to aid agencies in training personnel in a
variety of environmentally related subjects to meet federal
mandates and Executive Orders. Examples of environmental
training courses include:
- Air/Blood Born Pathogens
- Asbestos Awareness
- Environmental Management Planning O&M
- Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA)
- Compliance with Environmental Laws &...
- What is a
workplace emergency?
- How do you
protect yourself, your employees, and your business?
- What is an emergency action plan?
To learn the answers to these and other workplace emergency questions, visit OSHA’s “How to Plan for Workplace Emergencies and Evacuations” webpage by clicking here.
August Mack Environmental has locations in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. If you need assistance with health, safety, or environmental compliance, visit www.augustmack.com or... Read More »
The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)
is required by Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community
Right to Know Act (EPCRA). This report is also called the Form R.
Reporting is required in order to provide the public with
information regarding any releases or waste management issues of
any chemicals on the EPCRA Section 313 list. The reports are due by
July 1st of each year. This webinar is intended to discuss certain
generalities of the report as well as to provide information on
reporting...
Read More »August Mack Environmental's
compliance group concentrates on many of the day-to-day compliance
activities that our clients need to get done. We do hundreds of
different types of projects related to compliance including air
permitting, regulatory plan development, as well as many
safety-related projects such as Process Safety Management and
industrial hygiene work.
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