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Are You Ready?

April 1, 2004By Merrie Spaeth

Given the odds that something bad will happen at your facility at some point in the future, now is the time to prepare for dealing with an environmental crisis

Readers of this publication are typically highly trained and credentialed professionals; many have graduate degrees in technical fields. Whatever your field or job function, you can count on one more thing in addition to death and taxes: something will go wrong. We all followed the extensive, painful analysis after the blackout in 2003; the finger-pointing and bad publicity continues. If your company suffers a spill, emission, explosion, contamination, fatality or any one of a number other incidents, are you ready? Most people think crisis preparation and crisis communication are someone else's job.

Dust Off Your Plan

April 1, 2004By Pat Huff

Having an environmental management information system in place can help you to smoothly implement your company's stormwater pollution prevention plan

Has your stormwater pollution prevention plan been shelved along with the best intentions of your best management practices? If so, you are not alone. Leaner environmental, health and safety (EHS) staffs may appear more productive to management, but oftentimes these lean staffs inadvertently ignore aspects of their jobs, completing the activities with reporting deadlines and letting less-defined requirements gather dust in notebooks on the shelf.

If Neanderthals Become Homo Sapiens, Will Anyone Recognize the Difference?

April 1, 2004By Richard MacLean

Many industries have changed, but getting public opinion to change is another matter

Some companies have done horrific damage to Mother Nature out of greed and ignorance. Relatively few individuals have gotten extremely rich on the profits from businesses that passed-off the true costs of their operations to communities, workers and future generations who will be stuck with cleaning up the human and environmental wreckage.

Shape Up Your Compliance

April 1, 2004By John R. Haestad

Hydraulic modeling software can assist you in meeting the requirements set out in stormwater and wastewater regulations

With the promulgation of new laws and regulations pertaining to water quality, extensive stormwater and sanitary sewer management plans are no longer a luxury for rapidly growing and affluent communities. Neglecting corrective action to bring systems into compliance can have far-reaching consequences, including polluted drinking water sources, heavy state and federal fines and jail time. In this regard, cities and municipalities are being mandated to assume roles as water resources managers and enforcers of water quality protection.

Spreading in New Directions

April 1, 2004By Erwin T. Prater

An overview and update concerning the role of computer modeling in air quality management, especially emergency response and planning

Many stakeholders -- including federal and state regulatory agencies, citizen groups, corporations, planning groups, industrial associations and legislative committees -- have been involved in the development of air quality management strategies.

Environmental Management Systems -- Part 2

March 1, 2004By Richard MacLean

Certification may be a requirement for entry into some markets, but aside from the public relations value, what else does a certified environmental management system offer? Not much, according to the results of recent research studies of conformance-based environmental management systems (EMS) such as ISO 14001 and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).

Smooth Sailing Ahead

March 1, 2004By Keane Callahan, Earl W. Phillips, Jr., Pamela K. Elkow, Esq.

Two New England case studies illustrate how brownfields along coastal edges can be successfully redeveloped

Successful coastal brownfield redevelopment requires a timely approach to the following critical components: (1) a comprehensive brownfield site selection and acquisition strategy; (2) analysis of environmental liability; (3) coastal permitting strategy and site feasibility analysis; (4) demolition, site preparation and remediation strategy; (5) addressing stakeholders' concerns; and (6) identifying public/private partnership opportunities such as public financial incentives and leveraging private investment.

Speaking of Risk

March 1, 2004By John P. Bachner

A primerThose who don't learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat mistakes of the past. You'd think everyone would know that by now; but, in truth, the ranks of the condemned continue to swell. Regrettably, many of them are environmental project managers who all wind up in the same dreadful spot: snared in the barbs of litigation.on how to select an environmental consultant

Arsenic Removal Arsenal

February 1, 2004By Darin St. Germain

An overview of treatment options for successfully cleaning up contaminated drinking water supplies in compliance with the new stricter arsenic standard

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has historically regulated arsenic at 50 parts per billion (ppb), but the agency will lower the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for arsenic to 10 ppb by 2006. Some states are even setting their own limits well below this level.

Environmental Management Systems

February 1, 2004By Richard MacLean

Do they provide real business value?

The winter meeting of the Auditing Roundtable was a wakeup call to environmental auditors. The keynote speaker did not mince words: Conformance-base environmental management systems, such as International Standardization Organization (ISO) 14001, are "fundamentally flawed." What is the point of auditing systems that don't bring value? If certification is not on management's must-do checklist to enable entry into certain markets, why are these systems needed? ... and who needs these auditors?

Getting the Most Out of Your Data

February 1, 2004By Gregory Swiech

How software automation can increase the efficiency of hazardous material business processes

Hazardous materials (hazmat) compliance has a significant impact on the product life cycle in every organization that is involved in the use, manufacture or transport of dangerous goods. Developing integrated hazmat processes results in measurable improvements in revenue, costs and performance.

Staying on Target

February 1, 2004By Sabrina Barker

Despite many challenges, the international community is striving to implement the UN's goals of providing clean water and adequate sanitation to people worldwide by specific deadlines

Over the course of the past year, the international water agenda raised water quality issues to the forefront, with the need for clean water becoming central to securing the future of human and ecosystem health. This priority has been culminating since the year 2000, as the international community has built a series of objectives and commitments in the name of global sustainable development. Interestingly, while most of the context is hunger and poverty alleviation, the biggest challenge has been to create an awareness that economic health and environmental health are mutually reinforcing, rather than competing goals.

Sustainable Switzerland

February 1, 2004By Dana Corbin

This small country is doing big things for sustainable energy and efforts to counteract climate change

Switzerland, a country known for its chocolate, cheese, bank accounts and clocks, also demonstrates quite a knack for supporting environmental protection. This small, landlocked country generates a seemingly endless number of businesses, associations, academic initiatives and other enterprises focused on making use of resources in a bio-friendly manner for the benefit of the global community.

2003 Editorial Index

January 1, 2004

2004 Executive Forecast

January 1, 2004By Angela Neville

Industry leaders from different sectors offer their predictions about trends in the environmental industry

If your personal crystal ball is getting foggy, you'd better hang on to this issue of Environmental Protection. (Plus, you'll probably want to steer your fellow environmental professionals to this online version of this issue, if they don't have their own copies.) This month we turn futuristic, offering bold, insightful visions from several leaders in the environmental field about what they see this New Year bringing us.