Bert P. Krages II
Attorney at Law | For more information, visit www.krages.com
1. Compliance, Noncompliance, and the Enforcement Process
Organizations need to understand the benefits of compliance, the risks associated with noncompliance, and how environmental laws are enforced if they are to make prudent decisions that enable them to minimize their liabilities over the long run.
2. Legal Liability and Attitudes toward Compliance
Understanding the basis of attributing liability to individuals and organizations is important when attempting to manage environmental issues. In addition, the chapter provides insight that can help managers avoid problems that affect compliance such as why people allow violations to occur.
3. The Compliance-Oriented Attitude
A major step in fostering environmental compliance is developing attitudes that reflect an appreciation of compliance. Specific aspects include assigning and assuming responsibility for compliance and avoiding the pitfalls that prevent many organizations from understanding what compliance means.
4. Foundations for Environmental Compliance
Establishing leadership, acquiring sufficient talent to manage environmental obligations, and implementing an adequate compliance program are critical steps in achieving total environmental compliance. This chapter provides practical advice on hiring practices, internal communication, and establishing management systems.
5. Ascertaining Environmental Requirements
Knowing how the government decides to proceed with enforcement, and understanding the scope of its regulatory powers, can help you understand the vulnerability of organizations that do not comply with the law. This chapter goes further by explaining why environmental laws can be so ambiguous and showing how managers can reduce the uncertainty of determining the requirements that apply to their operations.
6. Communicating Compliance Information
Communication within and outside the organization is an important compliance skill. This chapter not only covers various types of communication, but also describes how to manage documents.
7. Designing Facilities and Processes to Enhance Compliance
This chapter provides guidance on working with design teams to encompass compliance issues, designing systems that comply under all conditions, and avoiding pitfalls that result in unexpected compliance issues.
8. Promoting Compliance through Careful Permitting
Permitting is one of the most critical processes affecting compliance. This chapter goes into the details of preparing applications, commenting on draft permits, and implementing final permits.
9. Measurements, Monitoring, and Their Implications for Compliance
Measuring and monitoring requirements are sensitive regulatory issues and involve complex technical and legal issues. The topics include sampling, analytical issues, estimating, and reporting.
10. Compliance Assistance
This chapter discusses the factors to consider when retaining environmental service providers such as attorneys, consultants, and waste management firms.
11. When Things Go Wrong
Organizations that discover environmental problems need to correct them promptly and take measures to prevent recurrence. This chapter discusses taking corrective action, dealing with government agencies, and how to rebuild a compliance program in the wake of a major enforcement action.