Environmental Compliance Audits

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Environmental Compliance Audits

Protect your business and ensure your current practices are compliant with applicable environmental regulations through our environmental auditing process (e.g., EPA audits or DOT audits). The scope of this process can be as focused or as broad as necessary, and VBA Compliance Assurance will work with you to identify the best scope based on your needs, from a specific operation, activity or piece of equipment; to an EPA audit or DOT audit that focuses on federal regulations; to a multi-media audit that includes federal, state and local regulations; to anything in between. Our environmental auditing process can help you:

  • Ensure current practices are compliant with environmental regulations to protect from violations or citations should you ever get inspected by a regulatory agency
  • Obtain protection under an agency self-audit disclosure policy
  • Meet corporate requirements and metrics
  • Obtain a baseline assessment of compliance and identify areas of non-compliance
  • Determine gaps in compliance during acquisition or divestiture
  • Demonstrate continuing compliance and commitment to environmental protection, sustainability and corporate responsibility

We work in a wide variety of industries, which means we can confidently offer solutions to environmental risk management challenges that we know are successful in practice for situations similar to yours. Our environmental auditing process can be used for multi-discipline (full EPA/state agency and DOT audits), or focused programs (RCRA audits, CAA audits, CWA audits, TSCA audits) and more.

All auditors are experienced, senior auditors and are able to offer recommendations on full action plans to correct issues identified during an audit to achieve and maintain compliance. If you are looking for a compliance partner that can perform a comprehensive environmental compliance audit and proactively help you maintain compliance and safe practices, contact VBA today or call 636-458-3382.

Audits Offered

Our auditors have over 100 years of combined experience and all VBA auditors are lead auditors so you get the full breadth of our experience on every audit. When performing a regulatory compliance audit, we audit directly against the federal, state and local regulations, which results in audit conclusions that are based on the full text of promulgated regulatory requirements.

Examples of personalized audits VBA provides include:

  • Acquisition and divestiture due diligence
    • Due Diligence “Fatal Flaws” Review
    • EH&S Conformance Audit with Cost of Corrective Actions
  • Wastewater treatment system compliance
  • Oil Pollution Act (OPA) audits
  • Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) audits, including public water supply compliance
  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) audits, including all waste generation and management compliance
  • Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know (EPCRA) audits
  • Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) audits
  • Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) audits
  • Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA) audits
  • Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials (DOT HAZMAT) audits
  • Risk Management Program (RMP) audits
  • Storage tank audits
  • Spill prevention audits
  • Chemical Security audits
  • Contractor audits
  • Consent Decrees/Records of Decision audits
  • Radiation source audits

We can also provide self-assessment checklists that can be used by you as part of a “Plan, Do, Check, Act” compliance program to check for continuing compliance outside of a third-party independent compliance audit program.

Don’t see the audit you need performed? We are experts in almost all regulatory obligations, so please reach out here to one of our experts or call 636-458-3382 to discuss your specific environmental compliance audit needs.

Environmental Risk Management & Assessment

Risk is the major driver for most compliance audits, and the desired result of a compliance audit is to identify areas of risk and methods to control that risk. Independent of a compliance audit, a risk assessment can be an invaluable tool in identifying risks, potential impacts associated with those risks, and methods that can be used to reduce or control the identified risk. Risk assessments can be targeted to a specific activity or operation or to include an entire facility.

Unlike software packages or junior associates, our senior lead auditors know how risk mitigation strategies will play out in the real world. They are able to customize environmental aspect and impact assessments and recommend strategies that have effectively been implemented many times before and provide practical, updated knowledge during risk assessments.

Examples of risk assessments provided by VBA include:

  • Environmental Aspects and Impacts —A systematic process of identifying the impact of existing, new or altered activities or projects on the environment. An aspects and impacts report helps you identify, document and mitigate potential risks and non-compliance areas across all aspects of your business based on local, state and federal requirements and corporate standards.

Health and Safety Hazard and Risk Assessments—A systematic process of identifying hazards that have potential to cause harm, analyzing and evaluating the risk associated with identified hazards, and determining ways to eliminate the hazard or control the risk.  VBA will help you identify any potential health and safety hazards present at your business; determine and document measures already in place that manage or control the hazard to an acceptable risk; and recommend practical and acceptable solutions to manage, control or eliminate risks.

  • ASTM/CSA Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessments—A Phase I ESA is an investigation of a property’s history and current usage to identify any activities performed on or near the property that could result in environmental contamination or a recognized environmental condition or “REC”. If you are buying or acquiring a new property or business, utilizing VBA’s environmental professionals to perform a Phase I ESA of the property will help protect you from the risk of purchasing a property that is contaminated or is associated with current or past RECs. When performed in accordance with the requirements for all appropriate inquiries (AAI) under the ASTM/CSA standard, utilizing a VBA professional to perform the Phase I ESA will allow you to satisfy the requirements of the innocent landowner designation with respect to CERCLA liability.

If you are ready for an expert environmental risk management partner to assist you with assessment and control of environmental, health and safety risks, please contact VBA today.

VBA Environmental Auditing Process

Our process for developing audits and other services begins when you contact VBA. One of our experts will discuss your needs and the path forward we would recommend. From there, we go through the following steps for every project:

  • Work with you to identify a full scope for the project, based on your needs and our recommendations based on years of experience
  • Request and review additional information if needed to ensure the identified scope and provided proposal represent the best possible option and will result in desired outcome for your needs
  • Provide a proposal for the determined scope of work. Our proposals always include:
    • Project scope
    • Tasks for completion and deliverables
    • Cost estimate
    • Estimated timeline
  • Implement scope in accordance with accepted proposal
  • Provide ongoing support, which may include:
    • Answering questions and supporting employee implementation regarding need corrective actions as a result of the completed environmental compliance audit
    • Regularly updating you on regulatory actions that may impact your business so you don’t have to worry about falling out of compliance
    • Future projects

At the conclusion of the environmental auditing process, you can feel assured you have received an in-depth, expert compliance review of all operations and applicable regulatory requirements. Any new solutions we help you implement protect your business and employees for the long-run by meeting important compliance deadlines with accurate information and effective processes. Our on-going support means you don’t have to worry about missing important regulatory updates and deadlines.

Ready to work with VBA? Contact us here or call: 636-458-3382.