Step outside, take a deep breath, and experience the benefits of fresh air. Now, think about taking a deep breath – only to inhale a lungful of toxic chemicals. Fortunately, the ongoing quality of our air is part of a concerted effort by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As North American industry continues to grow, …
How to Prepare for an Environmental Compliance Audit
Industrial facilities have a responsibility to protect the environment. This responsibility spans industry functions, encompassing everything from air emissions to groundwater pollution. With this in mind, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces a number of laws addressing a facility’s environmental impact. To better enforce these laws, the EPA encourages the use of environmental compliance audits. …
What You Need to Know About NPDES Permits
The Clean Water Act of 1977 governs how individuals and corporations are able to interact with our nation’s waterways. The goal of the act is to limit harm to wetlands and other natural spaces by controlling pollution levels and to help companies act responsibly in regard to their environmental impact. Learn about NPDES permits to …
Developing a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
There’s nothing quite like a summer storm. These sudden torrential downpours make for a cozy day in the house – but they can also contribute to polluted waterways. Left untreated, stormwater can gather excess debris and pollutants before flowing directly to a larger body of water. Fortunately, a stormwater pollution prevention plan, or SWPPP, can …
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response
Emergency environmental response is a far-reaching endeavor, encompassing everything from oil spills to groundwater contamination. But hazardous waste operations are one of the more high-stakes elements of emergency response; thus, these operations are closely regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. Read on to find out more about hazardous waste operations and emergency response, …
How We Use Drones for Environmental Monitoring
Remotely managed drones are an excellent tool for environmental field services and contracting. Not only are drones fast, efficient, and accurate, but also they help save costs by reducing the amount of manpower required for tricky monitoring projects. At Environmental Works, we use our in-house drone fleet for a number of client services, particularly when …
EWI Assesses Contamination and Vertical Fault Migration
Members of the next generation of environmental enthusiasts have important work ahead of them. With that in mind, Environmental Works is proud to partner with the academic community near our company’s Springfield, Missouri, headquarters to conduct ongoing research. Recently, EWI team member Bobbi Lynne Koepke worked with a graduate student and faculty member from Missouri …
Aquifer Testing 101
Aquifers are an important natural resource, providing large stores of naturally filtered groundwater. Unfortunately, not all aquifers can provide usable amounts of groundwater, and the natural filtration process isn’t always enough to remove contaminants in groundwater. Left unchecked, those contaminants can present an environmental hazard – but aquifer testing can help evaluate an aquifer’s usefulness …
NEPA Environmental Assessments
The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is a long-standing law that serves to protect the environment via a broad national framework. Environmental assessments are a key component of NEPA, ensuring that large-scale federal projects work to minimize their environmental impact. Federal agencies are required to submit these assessments before moving forward with a variety …
What Is PFAS Contamination?
If you’ve ever touched a water-resistant fabric, cleaning product, piece of cookware, or sink tap, there’s a good chance that you’ve been exposed to a group of manmade chemicals that some scientists refer to as “forever chemicals.” These ubiquitous chemicals are better known as PFAS, and, despite government regulations, they persist in the environment to …
