House Enrollment Act (HEA) 1162 requires the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to consider risk-based solutions to environmental impacts. An important part of risk based thinking is the use of “Multiple Lines of Evidence”. This webinar with summarize risk-based closure thinking and explain how “Lines of Evidence” are used in the process of obtaining environmental closure. You will learn what specific “Lines of Evidence” are most helpful and why.
To register for this October 7th
Environmental Remediation Consulting webinar, visit
augustmackevents.webex.com.
August Mack Environmental, Inc., a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm, is pleased to the promotion of Bennett Thayer to Office Manager for the Dublin, Ohio office. Since joining August Mack in 2004, Thayer has served as a field scientist, staff scientist and project manager.
With more than eight years of experience, Thayer specializes in local, state and federal environmental compliance; environmental, health and safety (EH&S) servicing and reporting; environmental management program development and implementation; biological assessment and environmental investigations; groundwater monitoring; subsurface investigations; underground storage tank (UST) closure; environmental site assessments; wetland determinations and delineations; remedial system operations and maintenance; work plan design and implementation; asbestos surveys; Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) preparation and implementation; and Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan preparation and implementation. In his new role as an office manager, Thayer will be responsible for managing the office’s daily operations, providing technical oversight for projects and managing the office’s growing staff. According to Bryan Petriko, vice president and principal environmental engineer for August Mack, “During the past six years at August Mack, Ben has shown exemplary strength in leadership, technical knowledge, resource management and client management. These qualities made him an excellent choice for the Office Manager position of our Ohio office. I am confident that our Ohio office will continue to flourish under his leadership.”
Thayer received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science from Otterbein College.
August Mack Environmental, Inc. is a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm specializing in regulatory compliance; environmental due diligence and risk management; site investigation/remediation/closure; and sustainability services to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on the company’s products and services, call 317.916.8000 or visit www.augustmack.com.
After a client called me last week regarding the rules of heating oil tanks in Indiana I did a quick search of the web for more information to send him for a good point of reference. So I thought everyone might benefit from this reference; however, regulations on heaitng oil tanks vary from state to state, so check with your state environmental regulatory agency for more information on your state!
Here's what the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) says about heating oil tanks:
Heating oil tanks that are for consumptive use on the premises are not regulated by the UST Section. If, however, they leak, it should be reported and must be cleaned up. If a release is detected at a residential heating oil tank, please contact the IDEM Spill Line at (317) 233-7745 or toll-free at (888) 233-7745.
Home heating oil tanks are fairly common. Many were installed in the 1940s and later abandoned. Typically, they are 100-500 gallons in size. Unfortunately, many of these systems leaked or may still leak due to corrosion (rust). Most were abandoned without proper closure. There are no grant or loan programs available to the homeowner to investigate or cleanup leaks from these USTs. If you own and are seeking to buy or sell a home with a heating oil UST that is no longer in use, you should consider taking steps to reduce your current and future human health risk and financial liability. There are UST closure procedures for regulated USTs, which should be followed. If possible, the UST should be removed along with the associate piping. If the UST is inaccessible, it can be closed in place. You can use the advice given for the FAQ titled "How Should I select a Consultant". It is not necessary for them to have experience with the IDEM ELTF program in this situation as it does not apply.
If you have limited resources and have no reason to suspect that the UST leaked, the minimum that should be done is to empty the tank of its contents. The oil and water should be containerized and recycled or disposed of properly. Many communities offer free "Tox-A-Way" programs as a way to properly dispose of "household hazardous waste". Next all piping should be disconnected and removed, if possible. This will ensure that the UST cannot be filled again. Finally, the empty UST should be filled with an inert material such as sand or pea gravel. For more information regarding household hazardous waste programs in your community, visit the following Recycle Indiana Household Hazardous Waste page or call toll-free at (800) 988-7901.
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs) technical regulations for underground storage tanks (USTs) are designed to:
- Reduce the chance of releases from USTs (Construction & Installation)
- Detect leaks and spills when they do occur (Design)
- Secure a prompt cleanup (Notification)
The installation performance standard for a new or upgraded UST installation Performance Standards for New or Upgraded USTs requires that:
- Installation of USTs must be performed by Qualified Contractors and Certification of Installation must be provided to Agency
For more information about installation requirements for USTs, give one of our environmental remediation consulting experts a call at 800.579.0770. With offices in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, August Mack Environmental can help with all of your environmental remediation needs throughout North America.
August Mack Environmental has offices and environmental compliance specialists in:
- Indiana
- Ohio
- Michigan
- Pennsylvania
- Missouri
Having said that, we have performed work in more than 40 states and were awarded work in approximately 30 states in 2009. So regardless where you are located in the United States, consider our environmental compliance consultants, environmental remediation specialists and environmental due diligence experts if you need assistance.
For any demolition/renovation project in any building, you should retain a licensed asbestos inspector to perform a pre-demolition/renovation inspection. In buildings constructed earlier than 1980, a licensed asbestos inspector should be retained to identify (via sampling or assumption) asbestos-containing materials and convey this information to the proper occupants and visitors.
Suspect asbestos containing materials (ACMs):
- Sprayed on / troweled on insulation
- Thermal systems insulation (TSI)
- Miscellaneous: drywall, plaster, resilient flooring materials, adhesives or ceiling tiles
Asbestos can present time and cost constraints as well as on-going management. Regardless of the construction date, inspections are required to perform renovation activities and/or demolition activities. Detecting ACMs early is extremely beneficial as abatement costs can be expensive.
Listen to a webinar on
Emerging Environmental Trends in Buildings presented by one of our Indiana environmental consultants.
August Mack Environmental, Inc., a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm, is pleased to announce that Michael Schutz was selected as the first president of the Midwestern States Environmental Consultants Association (MSECA). Schutz is the environmental due diligence and site investigation/remediation/closure department manager for August Mack’s Indianapolis office and has been with the company for more than 20 years.
MSECA was founded in 2009 as a technical association focusing on site characterization remediation and closure. The organization’s mission includes two key service-oriented components: educating the membership and providing technical assistant to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).
The need for a technical association like MSECA was heightened because of changes occurring in Indiana. One of MSECA’s first projects is assisting IDEM with their updating and re-writing of the Risk Integrated System of Closure (RISC) Technical Guide. In addition to Schutz’s involvement with MSECA, other August Mack employees have been involved through Committees and Focus Groups. This involvement has provided August Mack valuable insights and technical knowledge regarding existing and future policy and guidance.
As MSECA’s first president, Schutz’s initial responsibilities include establishing a Board of Directors, finalizing association bylaws, establishing a structure for growth and developing a strong relationship with IDEM. “Our hope is that this sharing of technical information will help IDEM efficiently and effectively formulate sound and practical policy and guidance,” said Schutz.
August Mack Environmental, Inc. is a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm specializing in regulatory compliance; environmental due diligence and risk management; site investigation/remediation/closure; and sustainability services to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. For more information on the company’s products and services, call 317.916.8000 or visit www.augustmack.com.
August Mack was contracted by a corporation to implement eCAP® at its facility. The benefits to this organization of outsourcing its environmental, health and safety (EH&S) compliance have been two-fold. First, compliance has become a manageable component of daily operations and the corporation has realized tangible and intangible cost savings. The organization estimates that one facility will save $15,000 in outside consulting fees, $10,000 in regulatory training and approximately $30,000 to $60,000 in increased productivity of existing plant personnel. Second, annual financial disclosure estimates of environmental liabilities can be reduced based on increased assurance of compliance, consistent program implementation and fixed outsourcing costs. In total, it is estimated that the company reduced its EH&S costs in excess of $100,000 per facility after eCAP® was implemented. Additionally, since eCAP is accepted as an approved environmental management system (EMS) for a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the facility was able to receive more than $100,000 fine reduction for implementing eCAP® at its facility.
The initial audit of the facility prior to the implementation of eCAP® reviewed all aspects of regulatory compliance and identified deficiencies in the Title V air monitoring program and chemical management system. August Mack personnel developed a program to implement Title V tracking requirements and a chemical management system to facilitate MSDS and chemical usage requirements.
The system was implemented via a web-based management tool and on-site inspection by August Mack experts. This web-based program includes a consistent, reproducible environmental management system that operates throughout the organization and can be monitored by corporate personnel on a real-time basis.
Now, August Mack is 100 percent responsible for the facility's environmental regulatory reporting requirements, improving the accuracy and timeliness of submittal of all plans and reports. As confirmation that eCAP® has been effective, the facility was recently subject to an inspection from the environmental regulatory agency and no findings or Notice of Violations (NOV’s) were issued.
August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.
August Mack was retained by a client to complete a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) plan for the Ohio plant. The purpose of this project was to ensure the facility’s compliance with the SPCC requirements codified in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 112 (40 CFR 112). The scope of work for this project included compiling pertinent operational information for the site, conducting a site inspection/assessment of the facility and preparing the SPCC plan for the site.
The facility has sufficient above ground petroleum storage capacity to trigger SPCC requirements (total above ground storage greater than 1,320 gallons). August Mack requested information such as facility layout diagrams, secondary containment descriptions and current spill response procedures. The facility was visually inspected by August Mack staff to confirm tank capacities, secondary containment capacities and tank locations. A site plan was developed denoting tanks, piping, secondary containment and spill kits.
A SPCC plan was prepared for the site that specified the current conditions at the facility, and presented the activities and implementation schedules for minimizing the potential for spills of petroleum products. More specifically, the plan identified key personnel responsible for implementing the SPCC plan, discussed previous spills, predicted the direction, rate of flow and total quantity of petroleum discharged for a possible spill, reviewed containment structures and storage vessels, identified spill response/notification procedures and provided a Professional Engineer’s review and certification. The SPCC plan was completed incorporating the latest adopted 40 CFR 112 rules.
August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.
Recognizing the ever-increasing importance of sustainability and "green" initiatives in business today, August Mack is leading the way in developing and implementing successful sustainability programs for a number of clients in various industries. Additionally, we have taken a look at our own business model and implemented a sustainability plan aimed at further reducing our own impact on the world. As a testament to our sustainability efforts, we have successfully reduced our carbon footprint every year for the last five years as well as received the first Gold LEED Certification for Commercial Interiors from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in Indianapolis.
Utilizing more than 20 years of environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting experience coupled with our innovative approach to projects, we have developed an unique four-step process aimed at integrating sustainability in an organization, including our own. The first step in our approach, the Sustainability Baseline Assessment, is a one-time assessment that is necessary to quantify key sustainability parameters which will help establish areas where sustainability efforts should be focused in the future as well as determine the metrics to evaluate future performance. After the completion of a Sustainability Baseline Assessment, we recommend the development of a Sustainability Plan that explicitly presents the company’s commitment to sustainable development and outlines the various efforts the company will make in the coming year to integrate sustainability into their process. The plan should be written to reflect the company’s vision and values, and incorporate all of the efforts being implemented to ultimately achieve sustainability. The third step of this process is the actual Implementation and Tracking of the Sustainability Plan. The fourth step is a Sustainability Annual Report that can be used as part of the company’s stakeholder communication and illustrates the company’s past, present and future efforts in regards to sustainability.
Our Sustainability services include:
- Sustainability Baseline Assessment
- Sustainability Reports
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
- Energy Audits
- Waste Mapping
- Logistics Analysis
- Green Building Assessments
- Facility Air Balances
- Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Surveys
August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.
The word “compliance” typically evokes thoughts of overwhelming, complicated and constantly changing regulations with the fear of looming penalties and regulatory inspections. Not to mention, in a society that is becoming more environmentally-focused by the minute, environmental, health and safety (EH&S) compliance is becoming a high priority for every business. While the benefits of achieving and maintaining compliance from a regulatory standpoint are important, workplace compliance also is vital for other reasons. For instance, any organization that is committed to the communities in which it operates should realize that safe, healthy and environmentally-friendly workplaces are more efficient and productive than unsafe and unhealthy workplaces. Furthermore, these types of positive workplaces also increase the retention rate of an organization’s employees.
August Mack can help you understand and comply with the multitude of complex health and safety regulations applicable to your work sites. We also can get your employees involved with environmental awareness, pollution prevention and health & safety training – and work with them to ensure they understand and support your initiatives as well as your commitment to strong corporate citizenship.
Our EH&S compliance services include:
- Environmental Compliance Audit
- MSDS Database Development and Maintenance
- Litigation Support
- Air Permits
- Dispersion Modeling
- Tier II/Form R Reporting
- Health & Safety Compliance Programs
- ISO 14001
- SPCC Requirement Implementation
- Storm Water Permitting
- Air Monitoring
- Air Emission Inventory
- Health & Safety Training
- Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation
- Landfill Design & Permitting
- Landfill Construction
- Air Emission Statement
- Industrial Ventilation
- Noise Monitoring
- MACT Compliance
- Waste Management
- Stack Testing
August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.
The Midwestern States Environmental Consultants Association (MSECA) was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2009 as a technical association focusing on site characterization, remediation and closure. MSECA’s mission includes two specific components: 1) educating the membership and 2) providing technical assistance to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) during development of policy and guidance.
To learn more,
click here to read an interview with Michael Schutz.
August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.
August Mack Environmental, Inc., a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm, is pleased to announce it has received an Environmental Services Schedule 899 Contract from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).
The five-year contract enables August Mack to be listed on an approved GSA Schedule to provide federal government customers with environmental planning and documentation, environmental training as well as remediation and reclamation services. The contract number GS-10F-0074W may potentially be renewed for up to three renewal periods of five-years each, for a total contract extension of up to 15 years.
Federal agencies interested in learning more about August Mack’s GSA-related offerings can contact Jason Schnellenberger directly at 317.916.3104.
August Mack Environmental, Inc. is a full-service environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm specializing in regulatory compliance; environmental due diligence and risk management; site investigation/remediation/closure; and sustainability services to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on the company’s products and services, call 317.916.8000 or visit www.augustmack.com.
Powered by Compendium Blogware