Tracking all of the relevant environmental regulations that a company must comply with can be a daunting task. Not only are there a myriad of federal regulations to contend with, but each state has its own requirements that must be met. Smaller companies typically don't have the resources that are available to larger corporations to maintain awareness of the changes to existing regulations and introduction of new legislation. However, it is critical that companies comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations. Fortunately, there are several basic strategies that can be utilized to help firms stay abreast of the constantly evolving regulatory universe.
Aside from avoiding potential fines and civil and/or criminal penalties, compliance with environmental regulations affords many benefits to companies of all sizes. One of the most important benefits, of course, is protection of the environment. Many firms that belong to industry trade associations such as the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA) make a commitment to compliance as a condition of membership through participation in Responsible Care®. Companies that comply with environmental regulations minimize the negative impact they have on the environment. A firm that is in compliance also presents a better image to the public as a responsible corporate citizen. Those companies that stay ahead of and go beyond the requirements of federal, state and local environmental regulations often can also establish a competitive market advantage.
Before a company can track environmental regulations, it needs to be thoroughly familiar with the federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations that apply to its operations. The first step of any strategy is to conduct a comprehensive review of existing regulations and generate a list of those that are applicable. In some cases, only certain aspects of regulations may apply to a company's activities, so it is important to be aware of what parts are relevant.
Implementation of an environmental management system (EMS) that includes identification of all applicable regulations and a system for monitoring changes in them as well as the development of new regulations is the most effective means of staying abreast of environmental regulations. An EMS typically involves the planning, implementing, reviewing and improving of processes and actions designed by the company to meet its environmental goals. The most common EMS model follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. Success of an EMS is based on commitment from top level managers on down through all levels of employees and also requires a continuous improvement approach that involves constant review and revision and includes tracking of regulations.
ISO 14000 refers to a family of voluntary standards and guidance documents issued by the International Standards Organization that are designed to assist companies in implementing an EMS. The American Chemistry Council recently developed a Responsible Care® Management System (RCMS) that all of its members, and members in Partner companies, must implement. In Europe, the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) was introduced by a European Union (EU) council which required its implementation in all EU Member States. BS7750 has been the EMS Standard in the UK since 1992.
If a company elects not to implement an EMS, it is recommended that a system for tracking regulations be developed and documented. The system should include procedures for reviewing current applicable regulations for any changes and also for evaluating regulations under development for their potential applicability. Procedures for follow-up of any action items generated during the review should also be included.
Participation in government advisory committees at both the state and federal levels, as well as involvement with trade association activities relating to environmental regulations is another valuable strategy for maintaining a current level of awareness. Companies that take action at this level can actually help establish new regulations through their involvement. In addition, these companies will be fully aware of any new requirements well in advance of the implementation of the regulations and therefore will be far more prepared to develop a plan for coming into compliance with them.
Much information on federal and state regulations can be found on the Internet for monitoring of both existing and new environmental regulations. Many resources provide free access. There are also some fee-based services that can be useful. Specific resources are discussed below.
About the Author
Cynthia A. Challener (challener@vtlink.net) is Principal Consultant at C&M Consulting (www.candmconsult.com). C & M Consulting offers technical writing, editing and research services to the chemical and allied industries. Services include the development of marketing brochures, technical bulletins, presentations, and feature articles. In addition to her work for ChemAlliance, Dr. Challener has provided services to a wide variety of chemical industry clients, including Chemical Market Reporter, ACS, and SOCMA.
Free-access Internet Resources
One of the most valuable online resources is the website of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), http://www.epa.gov. The EPA has a newsroom page (http://www.epa.gov/newsroom) that provides current news generated by agency activities, including the status of regulations under development and information on programs that encourage company participation. Two specific EPA resources provide information for small companies. The Resource Directory of Small Business Environmental Assistance Providers (http://www.epa.gov/sbo/sba-directory.pdf) covers federal, state and private resources that can be useful for tracking environmental regulations as well as with compliance. EPA's Environmental Assistance Services for Small Businesses is a resource guide covering small business legislation, assistance and compliance support programs offered by the EPA (http://www.epa.gov/sbo/ea-resourceguide.pdf).
Several free-access online services provide links to state environmental agencies. The State Resource Locators website is operated by the EPA (http://cfpub1.epa.gov/clearinghouse/index.cfm?TopicID=C:10:800:175:) and is part of the EPA's clearinghouse for environmental information. Capital Reports "news Link" also offers a State Resource Locators site (http://www.caprep.com/stagency.htm) that contains links to state environmental agencies. Environmental Health and Safety Online includes links to state agencies and federal regulations and also posts news and other information on its site (http://www.ehso.com).
Other websites provide assistance with gathering of general environmental information. This ChemAlliance site offers a "Plant Tour," a factory-level view of environmental regulations, as well as pollution prevention and good management practice techniques that can help a company stay in compliance (http://www.chemalliance.org/Tools/plant/index.asp). Envirosource offers free searching of an environmental database from Putney Press as well as regulatory tracking information including links to different agencies and regulations (http://www.envirosource.com).
The Small Business Environmental Regulatory Calendar (http://www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/compliance/regcal.html) includes a Calendar and Timeline for Regulatory Deadlines, Environmental Reporting Requirements by Law, and an Environmental Reporting Requirements Checklist. The P2Rx programs directory (http://www.p2rx.org/Networking/NationalProgram.cfm) provides access to pollution prevention information. Trade associations like SOCMA (http://www.socma.com) and the American Chemistry Council (http://www.americanchemistry.com) post useful environmental regulatory related information on their websites. Member have access to even more information.
The Maryland Law School also has a web site that provides links to federal agencies with some impact over health and the environment (http://www.law.umaryland.edu/Environmental/Casebook/meet_players.asp), information on ongoing cases in the courts with implications for environmental regulation (http://www.law.umaryland.edu/Environmental/Casebook/cases_to_watch.asp), and links to information on different regulations including TSCA, EPCRA, and FIFRA (http://www.law.umaryland.edu/Environmental/Casebook/chap4_links.asp). The Findlaw Legal News website provides legal information with respect to environmental issues (http://www.findlaw.com/legalnews/environment).
Newsfeeds are a recent development in Internet technology. News Syndication refers to the sharing of news stories between websites. The most common tools for implementing a news feed on a website is an XML application known as Really Simple Syndication (RSS, sometimes also called Rich Site Summary). There are a few sites that maintain news feeds for environmental issues. The ChemAlliance site publishes pollution prevention and environmental compliance assistance news in an RSS format
(http://www.chemalliance.org/News/news_on_your_site.asp) that can be accessed for other sites. P2RIC offers a FAQ on RSS technology including links to free software sources
(http://www.p2ric.org/EnvNews/WhatIsRSS.cfm). The site also includes a list of organizations that publish pollution prevention and/or environmental compliance assistance news feeds in RSS format
(http://www.p2ric.org/EnvNews/newsRSSdirectory.cfm). An EPA news feed can be accessed at the Topix website
(http://www.topix.net/US/epa). The Air and Waste Management Association
(http://www.awma.org) offers a news feed for BNA.
Fee-Based Resources
There are several Internet sites that will for a fee send alerts on environmental regulations. RegScan, Inc. (http://www.regscan.com) offers a subscription service and provides daily environmental changes on its website or through an e-mail service. NETSCAN iPublishing's ReAlert service provides real-time information on proposed and adopted regulations in all 50 states. With a subscriptions users gain receive the information through e-mail updates and also gain unlimited access to the company's database through its website (http://www.regalert.com). State compliance information is also available from Business and Legal reports (BLR, http://www.enviro.blr.com). Some limited information is free on this site. Lexis Nexis (http://www.lexisnexis.com/bna/environment.asp) is a well know provider of environmental regulatory information, as is BNA (http://www.bna.com) with its chemical regulation report and environmental report. Some environmental software suites also include modules for tracking of regulations. Greensuite (http://www.greensuite.com) is one example of commercially available software designed for use in establishing an EMS that includes regulatory tracking as a component.
No matter what strategy is used, successful companies in the chemical process industries must find a way to track the ever changing environmental regulations that apply to their operations. Information on federal and state regulations can be found from a variety of resources on the Internet. The investment in identifying applicable regulations and implementing a system for tracking them will bring tremendous returns.
