Why Companies Should Perform Environmental Audits and Disclose Violations

Don’t wait for the EPA to investigate your business. Learn how to fix environmental violations yourself.

Companies can benefit from performing internal environmental audits in several different ways. Instead of waiting around for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate, owners should take the initiative to conduct their own internal audits. By which we mean checking for any and all environmental violations and issues. For example, non-compliance with environmental regulations for emissions or wastewater discharge.

By performing an internal environmental audit, a company can take necessary corrective actions. The goal of which is to fix any regulatory violations and help expedite its path to compliance. Of course, this is just one of the many reasons why a company should perform its own environmental audits…

What is an Environmental Compliance Audit?

In short, environmental auditing is a systematic process that objectively assesses your organization’s environmental impact. The end result is an audit report that documents findings or issues related to compliance with environmental laws.

In addition to ensuring regulatory compliance, these types of environmental audits are an important aspect of best management practices—just like your business’s internal policies and procedures around risk management. Measuring your organization’s compliance status is one of many due diligence activities to prevent any breaches of legal requirements.

EPA Audit Incentive to Prevent Environmental Issues

The EPA actually has an incentive program in place to encourage in-house audits and disclosure of environmental violations. The EPA’s Audit Policy is a program that rewards companies for voluntarily identifying, disclosing, and rectifying violations and compliance issues. (Before 2011, it was formally known as “Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations“).

For a company to qualify for the EPA Audit Policy program, it must meet a total of nine specific conditions. Here is a brief overview of these conditions set forth by the EPA:

1. Discovery through the company’s own environmental audit or compliance management system (CMS).
2. The discovery was made voluntarily and not through a monitoring or legal auditing procedure.
3. Written disclosure of the violation was sent to the EPA within 21 days of discovery (some jurisdictions may require shorter times).
4. Independent discovery of the violation was made before the EPA.
5. Remediation was completed within 60 days of discovering the violation.
6. New practices were enacted to prevent similar violations in the future.
7. The same violation cannot occur within the next three years.
8. Violations resulting in serious or life-threatening harm are not eligible for the EPA Audit Policy program.
9. The company or representative responsible for disclosing the violation must cooperate with the EPA.

How Can an Environmental Audit Report Benefit Your Company?

If a company meets the nine conditions mentioned above, it is eligible to receive incentives from the EPA. You can read the official PDF file for more information, but the incentives are based on penalty reductions. For instance, ‘gravity-based’ penalties are completely eliminated as long as the company fulfills all nine conditions. If the company meets all conditions except systematic discovery, it will receive a 75% reduction in gravity-based penalties. This is a significant benefit that can lead to substantial financial savings for companies.

Companies that meet these nine conditions are also not recommended for criminal prosecution by the EPA.

Need help with environmental management systems or supplies for your business? Contact Travis Zdrazil at travis@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.