Environmental Manager's Quick Guide: Common Regulations & How to Get Help

The Environmental Manager’s 5-Min Guide to Regulations (and When to Call in Reinforcements!)

As an environmental manager, you’re constantly balancing a mountain of responsibilities: compliance deadlines, permit renewals, and navigating ever-changing regulations. The pressure to keep it all running smoothly is intense, especially when you’re stretched thin.

If you’re feeling like you’re always one step behind, overwhelmed by deadlines and an overflowing inbox, it’s a clear sign you might need some extra support. After all, it’s hard to juggle everything alone without risking burnout or missing critical compliance steps.

That’s where bringing in an experienced environmental consultant (like us here at RMA!) can make all the difference. Below, we’ll cover the key regulatory areas where managers often struggle and highlight when it’s time to call in reinforcements to lighten your load and keep your facility compliant.

5 Key Environmental Areas to Look Out For

Before we jump in, if you’re unsure which regulations apply to your facility or where you might have gaps, our free environmental assessment tool is a great way to get a quick handle on your compliance status.

It's online, takes just 5 minutes, and totally free. It’s designed to help you identify areas that may need attention, so you can prioritize your next steps with confidence. And with that, let's dive in!

1. Environmental Permitting

Relevant Regulations: Clean Air Act (CAA), National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), and more.

Your Challenge: Securing environmental permits is a complex, ongoing process. Each permit comes with specific conditions, compliance deadlines, and monitoring requirements. Even a minor oversight, like missing a reporting date or misunderstanding discharge limits, can lead to fines or compliance issues. For facilities expanding operations or making process adjustments, additional permits may be necessary, increasing the regulatory burden.

When It’s Time to Call in Backup: If keeping track of permits and compliance feels like a full-time job, or if your facility is growing and you’re unsure how that impacts your permits, it’s time to bring in extra support. Consultants can navigate these complexities, handle permit renewals, and ensure your facility stays compliant during changes, saving you time and avoiding costly mistakes.

2. Environmental Reporting

Relevant Regulations: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), Tier II Reporting, Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting, and more.

Your Challenge: Environmental reporting is high-stakes and time-sensitive. Missing deadlines or submitting incorrect data can lead to significant fines and potentially damage your facility’s reputation. Collecting accurate data across departments, verifying its accuracy, and compiling comprehensive reports can become overwhelming, especially when juggling other responsibilities.

When It’s Time to Call in Backup: If you’re constantly scrambling to meet reporting deadlines or worried about the accuracy of your submissions, it’s time to seek help. Consultants can streamline the process, ensure data accuracy, and submit timely reports to keep your facility compliant and avoid fines.

3. Environmental Plans

Relevant Regulations: Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), and more.

Your Challenge: Environmental plans like SPCC plans and SWPPPs are not one-and-done documents. They require regular updates to reflect changes in regulations, facility operations, or staffing (and that's assuming you already have one in place!). Failing to keep these plans current can lead to compliance violations, especially during inspections or audits.

When It’s Time to Call in Backup: If you don't have plans in place or find yourself struggling to keep these plans updated, it’s a clear sign to get help. Consultants can develop these plans, perform thorough plan reviews, make necessary updates, and guide your team on implementing these plans effectively, ensuring compliance and peace of mind.

4. Waste Management

Relevant Regulations: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Your Challenge: Waste and hazardous waste management involves more than just disposal. Proper classification, labeling, storage, and documentation are crucial. With regulations constantly evolving, it’s easy to fall out of compliance, especially if your team isn’t fully trained. Mishandling waste can result in fines, increased liability, or even legal action.

When It’s Time to Call in Backup: If you’re unsure whether your waste practices are fully compliant, or if audits have uncovered gaps, it’s time to call in reinforcements. Consultants can conduct waste audits, optimize processes, and train your team, ensuring compliance with RCRA and reducing your facility’s liability.

5. Environmental Training

Relevant Regulations: SPCC, NPDES, Hazardous Materials, Waste Management, and more.

Your Challenge: Keeping your team trained on evolving regulations is an ongoing effort. With new hires, changing regulations, and the need for refreshers, it’s easy for environmental training to fall behind. Lack of proper training can lead to compliance violations, accidents, and inefficiencies.

When It’s Time to Call in Backup: If your team is struggling to stay current on compliance or if you notice knowledge gaps, it’s time to bring in external support. Consultants can provide tailored training sessions, ongoing compliance support, and refresher courses, ensuring your staff is always prepared to meet regulatory requirements.

Signs You’re in Over Your Head

If you’re feeling constantly overwhelmed, missing deadlines, or worrying that something important might fall through the cracks, you’re not alone. Here are a few red flags to watch out for:

• Regulatory changes keep catching you off guard, leaving you scrambling to update your compliance plans.
• Your reports, plans, and other documents feel rushed because you’re too busy putting out other fires.
• Reporting deadlines feel like a never-ending nightmare, with last-minute submissions and stressful late nights.
• Your inbox is overflowing with vendor inquiries, permit renewals, and internal compliance questions.

The Solution? Hiring an Environmental Consultant to Help!

Bringing in an environmental consultant can provide immediate relief and long-term benefits. Here’s how:

• Free up your time to focus on higher-priority tasks instead of getting bogged down in the weeds.
• Gain expert insights to navigate complex regulations and stay compliant with confidence.
• Streamline your processes and identify more efficient ways to handle your environmental responsibilities.
• Reduce stress levels by sharing the burden with someone who’s been there, done that.

Consultants are specialists in their field, and they can quickly spot issues, fill knowledge gaps, and get you back on track. The best way to get started? Have an environmental consultant perform an environmental audit as a test-run to identify any areas you may be missing or lacking in. Then decide whether a deeper partnership makes sense to fill any gaps!

How to Convince Your Boss to Hire a Consultant

Maybe you know you need help, but getting your boss to agree feels like an uphill battle. It's a common problem - so much so, in fact, that we wrote a whole article about it! Check it out here: How to Convince Your Boss to Hire an Environmental Consultant.

Here are some of the key tips to make a compelling case:

• Highlight the cost of non-compliance: Emphasize how fines, legal fees, and lost productivity can cost more than hiring a consultant.
• Present potential savings: Show how a consultant can optimize your processes and reduce inefficiencies, ultimately saving money.
• Focus on risk reduction: Explain that hiring experts can prevent costly mistakes and help the company avoid compliance issues.
• Offer a clear plan: Lay out how hiring a consultant will free you up to focus on strategic initiatives that benefit the company.

The Bottom Line

Environmental compliance is too complex to handle alone, especially if you’re already stretched thin. With so many areas to keep up with, it's no wonder you might be scrambling to stay on top of everything!

The key areas to be aware of are environmental permitting, reporting, plans & documents, waste management, and training & ongoing compliance. If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath - you don't have to do it alone!

Hiring a consultant can alleviate your workload, reduce stress, and ensure your facility stays compliant. Ready to explore how we can help? Let’s chat—because trying to manage it all on your own just isn’t sustainable.