News & Articles

This post is an excerpt from my August 2011 newsletter… it is more ‘markety’ than I would like my blog posts to be but I think this is a great way to kick off this blog and what I hope to be a lively discussion among environmental compliance professionals.

What is the difference between an environmental consultant and an environmental contractor? I have been considering this recently, wondering where I truly fit in. So I did what any reasonable person would do– I googled it!

An environmental consultant is often a compliance consultant, ensuring that the client maintains an appropriate measure of compliance with environmental regulations. A consultant also helps plan a project to ensure that environmental requirements are met–or avoided.

An environmental contractor completes various environmental projects (e.g., permit applications, plans, or reports) for the client.

In my environmental consulting business, I provide both services but more commonly the latter even though many companies could benefit from the former.

As an environmental consultant, I will meet with the client and determine the facility’s requirements with respect to environmental compliance. This typically occurs through an environmental compliance assessment. I will then provide a written report outlining the major environmental areas (air, solid waste/hazardous waste, industrial wastewater/stormwater, hazardous chemicals (SARA), oil storage), the applicable requirements, the facility’s compliance status, and recommendations for improvement. If the client needs me to complete the applications, plans, or reports that are necessary to achieve environmental compliance, I will then serve as an environmental contractor to complete the project.

Often, a client will call and ask for help with a specific project. Typically these clients have well-established environmental programs but are too busy to complete the project in the timeframe required. Other times, a client will call when they are neck-deep in compliance issues and they need some help digging out. I can serve as a contractor for both but the latter could have benefitted from hiring a consultant early on to identify compliance issues, assess the record keeping systems, and ensure that all required permit applications and reports had been submitted. Violations identified and corrected prior to discovery by the regulatory agencies still have potential for notices of violation (NOV) or findings and orders (F&O) but it is always preferable to have been proactive and have compliance achieved (or well underway) before the regulatory agency discovers it.  This can have a positive impact on whether enforcement action is pursued and any resultant penalties. Most agencies have enforcement discretion and they are not afraid to use it!