The Environmental Conference, which qualified for CEUs from Missouri State University, included key insights on the latest environmental compliance topics. Attendees could opt to earn six CEU contact hours and .6 CEUs for a nominal fee.
For those unable to attend, each presenter’s slideshow is available for viewing below along with a brief synopsis of the presentation.
Presented by John E. Price—Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell & Brown, P.C.
John E. Price is an attorney and shareholder with Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell & Brown, P.C. and concentrates his practice in environmental law, civil and business litigation, corporate and real estate law and appellate practice areas. Mr. Price handles litigation with government agencies and private parties under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Superfund and toxic torts. He regularly advises clients on regulation, permitting issues and real estate transactions.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY: The EPA’s 2013 enforcement strategy reflects its intent to cut back on traditional federal enforcement strategies across all major federal environmental programs. For 2011-2013, national enforcement initiatives are raw sewage, storm water discharges, animal waste, largest source air pollution, energy extraction sectors, with no mention of CERCLA or RCRA issues. With less EPA enforcement, private parties are enforcing regulations. Take a proactive approach to remediating hazardous waste and superfund sites. Especially for small businesses, get involved in the clean up before the Environmental Protection Agency is involved, followed by litigation to recoup expenses from other responsible parties. (Slides coming soon)
Presented by Susie Heckencamp—Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Susie is a graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia with a degree in Chemical Engineering. She worked for seven years at Monsanto Enviro-Chem as a Process Engineer in their Air Pollution Control division and Sulfuric Acid Plant division. She also has over seven years of experience with the Department of Natural Resources’ Air Pollution Control Program. During this time, she has reviewed and written New Source Review permits and supervised the New Source Review Unit. She is currently the New Source Review Unit Chief where she oversees the construction permitting for Missouri.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY: Everything you need to know about the basics of air permitting, including types of permits, air permitting procedures, who needs an air permit and who doesn’t, construction timelines and requirements, pre-construction air permit waivers, operating permit thresholds, air quality analysis through computer modeling, and several informational links to air permitting resources.
Presented by Amanda Sappington—Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Amanda has been with the Department of Natural Resources for nine years. She became the Industrial Permits Unit Chief in February. Prior to that she wrote domestic wastewater permits and nonpoint source grants. She has also worked in the field doing compliance monitoring and stream studies.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY: The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is centralizing its storm water permitting. Learn more about how the storm water permitting unit is bringing consistency to the permitting process, the department’s emphasis on lowering ammonia discharge, how to establish Storm Water Prevention Pollution Plan (SWPPP) best practices and benchmarks, no exposure certification, general permits and how Missouri House Bill 28 impacts storm water permitting.
Presented by Mark Rader—Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Mark is an Environmental Manager at the Southwest Regional Office of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, where he has been for the past 22 years. During that time he has worked with the agency’s involvement in regional compliance and enforcement activities in the areas of Water Pollution, Hazardous Waste, Underground Storage Tanks, Asbestos, Air Pollution, Solid Waste, Scrap Tires and Public Drinking Water. His primary focus when he was a field inspector was in the world of hazardous waste inspections and complaint investigations. During his time in the field he has participated in over 500 compliance inspections of all kinds as well as more than a 1,000 investigations into environmental concerns. He currently oversees a staff of 19 who are responsible for over 500 annual compliance inspections of roughly half the state’s public water systems.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY: Learn how you can better control compliance before, during and after inspections. Mr. Rader offers a common sense approach to regulations and provides tips on how to manage the process, including cooperation, taking control, and negotiating and proving your trying. This presentation covers the fundamentals of an inspection, the latest regulations, how to understand your permits and make reasonable efforts to comply, little known facts about inspections, as well as what to say and what not to say to your inspector.
Suzan Gonder, CHMM, is a Managing Principal of EWI, Inc. and is responsible for emergency management systems. She was voted one of 20 of Springfield, Missouri’s most influential women in 2013.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY: Nearly every business is required to follow some sort of environmental compliance requirement and it is cost effective to be in compliance than out. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse for regulatory environmental non-compliance. Avoiding violations is easy when you understand your responsibility for an EMS under the law and have the systems and parties in place to ensure you’re compliant. Learn how to develop a practical environmental management system that not only minimizes environmental damage, but also saves money in the long run, using the most advanced technology customized to your specific business operations and regulatory requirements.
Presented by Mike Ingham—Environmental Works, Inc.
Mike Ingham is responsible for EWI’s industrial cleaning division, developing programs and solutions that increase productivity and are regulatory compliant. He has over 24 years of experience in the environmental services industry. His experience includes managing and overseeing due diligence assessments, field/industrial services, and investigation, remediation, and tank removal projects. Mike has managed projects in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, and South America.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY: “No one wants to talk about industrial maintenance, except EWI,” states Mr. Ingham. The most important thing to look for in an industrial cleaning and maintenance program provider is experience. This presentation reviews several case studies in which EWI created and implemented programs for customers, providing all of the training, the specialized equipment and OSHA compliance.
Presented by Andrew Brought—Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP
Andrew is a partner practicing in Spencer Fane’s Environmental Group. His practice includes regulatory permitting and compliance counseling, environmental litigation at the state and federal levels, OSHA compliance, and environmental matters associated with corporate acquisitions and real estate transactions. Mr. Brought has significant experience in civil and criminal enforcement matters associated with environmental laws. He also practices with Spencer Fane’s Corporate Investigations Group where his work has included matters relating to executive malfeasance and health care fraud matters. He was awarded his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law. Andrew received his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Resource Management from Virginia Tech.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY: Learn the EPA’s national enforcement initiatives for 2014 through 2016, the top ten RCRA hazardous waste violations and why the line between civil enforcement and criminal prosecution is become blurry. Review recent storm water enforcement cases and how Clean Water Act cases are resulting in multi-million dollar fines. Mr. Brought spotlights seemingly benign events that have put warehouses and distribution centers at the forefront of regulatory scrutiny and what you can do to avoid non-compliance violations and lawsuits, as well as the importance of determining whether or not products are considered products or waste in the eye’s of regulators.
Presented by Dan Hoy—Bass Pro Shops
Dan Hoy has been with Bass Pro for over three decades and he started as a janitor and groundskeeper. His entire career has focused on the care of their facilities, and other internal services for the family of companies. Dan was responsible for not only implementing a sustainable environmental program, but also drumming up business-wide buy in on every level from management to associates. In his role he supports, among other things, managing maintenance and environmental programs for more than 120 properties around the United States and Canada including retail, resort, marine service centers and manufacturing facilities.
While Dan works for Bass Pro, he has been a part of Environmental Works, Inc. growth since the beginning and was, in fact, our first client.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY: Like many businesses, Bass Pro was narrowly staying out of trouble with environmental regulations and needed a company environmental policy by which to abide. Bass Pro’s compliance program was formerly motivated by fear of penalty, but also realized that in order to put in place a quality program, buy in had to be achieved. Buy in was found in the mission statement to “conserve the great outdoors.” Hoy recounts how uncomplicated presentation from the boardroom to the warehouse understands the environmental policy and why it is important to live it. See what elements are in place, how Bass Pro uses 3rd party objectivity to keep their program in focus and in compliance and how the company’s journey can inspire your own successful environmental program.
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