A compliance audit is an evaluation of an organization, facility, or operation to determine its status with respect to applicable, predetermined requirements. Audits are distinct from evaluations based on professional opinions or addressing conditions not associated with established audit criteria.
Environmental and safety compliance audits are used to identify regulatory compliance condition, identify necessary corrective actions, provide a basis for organizational attestations, and support proactive management initiatives. Audit results provide facility managers with a clear picture of needed actions and organizational leaders with information relating to environmental and safety program performance, risks, and emerging challenges.
USEPA developed its Audit Policy to “enhance protection of human health and the environment by encouraging regulated entities to voluntarily discover, disclose, correct and prevent violations of Federal environmental law.”
“Voluntary audit programs play an important role in helping companies meet their obligation to comply with environmental requirements. Such assessments can be a critical link, not only to improved compliance, but also to improvements in other aspects of an organization’s performance…Environmental audits may identify pollution prevention opportunities that can substantially reduce an organization’s operating costs…[and] serve as an important diagnostic tool in evaluating a facility’s overall environmental management system or EMS.” (USEPA, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance)
These efforts are sometimes referred to as environmental compliance “evaluations”, “assessments”, “reviews”, or similar terms to emphasize the internal and proactive nature of the process.
AARCHER has provided environmental and safety compliance auditing services to clients throughout North America for more than 20 years, including:
- Performing audits at varying intensity levels, to support client program goals
- Developing, evaluating, and improving environmental compliance audit programs
- Completing audits for organizations with operations in numerous locations
- Identifying recommended corrective actions that are appropriate, effective, and practical
- Developing and incorporating root cause analysis in audit results
We are regulatory and auditing experts with the ability to perform comprehensive environmental or safety audits that go beyond the norm by integrating on-the-spot staff training, management recommendations, root cause analysis, EMS evaluation, pollution prevention opportunity identification, and instant reporting.
We have performed hundreds of compliance audits in every state, for manufacturers, commercial facilities, and Federal agencies. We maintain a comprehensive inventory of environmental regulations for every U.S. state, and our staff is experienced applying state and regulations anywhere in the country.
AARCHER has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Justice, and several states to serve as Third-Party Verifier (TPV)/Third-Party Auditor for organizations working to meet the terms of a consent decree (CD), compliance order, voluntary disclosure agreement, or supplemental environmental projects (SEP). We are familiar with the terms of enforcement settlements and experienced in both environmental management system (EMS) and compliance-focused environmental management system (CFEMS) implementation.
Contact us for more information on our approach to environmental compliance auditing.
- Audit teams led by broadly experienced auditors
- Audit quality control monitored and managed by appropriately credentialed senior staff, including Professional Engineers (PE), Certified Professional Environmental Auditors (CPEAs), Certified Safety Professionals (CSPs), Certified Hazardous Materials Managers (CHMMs), and media-specific compliance specialists
- Experience conducting audits to meet voluntary disclosure and supplemental environmental project (SEP) requirements
- Audit approach that emphasizes client staff training and addressing underlying issues
- Experience providing guidance on compliance deficiency root causes and prioritization
- More than 20 years organizational experience serving as intermediary with resource agencies
- Auditors cross-trained in EMS auditing, safety regulations, and industry consensus standards
- Auditors knowledgeable in all regulatory areas
Environmental Compliance Audits
Multimedia auditing and employee training for a dairy processor with both established and newly acquired facilities throughout a three-state region
Food Processing (Private Client)
Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota
Multimedia Environmental, Health, and Safety Compliance Audits
Audited more than 600 facilities in 18 states
Compliance Assessment – Safety, Health, and Environment (CASHE) Program
Bureau of Land Management; Nationwide
Environmental Compliance Audits for Two Assembly Plants In Mexico
Assembly (Private Client)
Mexico
Environmental Compliance Audits
Environmental compliance audits for two open-pit mining operations
Mining Company (Private Client)
Nevada and Utah
Multimedia Environmental Compliance Audits
Audits for more than 60 National Forests
US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; Nationwide
Environmental Compliance Evaluation – Nuclear Power Plant
Carolinas -Virginia Nuclear Power Association (CVNPA), Parr Site
Jenkinsville, South Carolina
Environmental Compliance Audits, Three Facilities
Avnet, Inc.; Arizona and Texas
Environmental Compliance Surveys of Two Federal Correctional Institutions
Bureau of Prisons; Florida
Multimedia Environmental Compliance Audits – Nine Medical Centers
Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 3; New York and New Jersey
Underground Storage Tank System Compliance Audits
Eight retail gas stations and Government facilities
Washington, DC
Environmental Compliance Audits for Two Buildings in DC
Department of Treasury; Washington, DC
Environmental Compliance Audits – Main Interior and South Interior Buildings
Department of the Interior; Washington, DC
Environmental and Safety Compliance Assessment
Linemark Printing, Inc.; Maryland
Environmental, Health, and Safety Compliance Audits of Department of the Interior (DOI) Facilities
National Business Center (NBC)(Phoenix, Colorado, Virginia, Alaska); Aviation Management Directorate (Alaska)
Compliance Audit Protocol Manual Development
Compliance Assessment – Safety, Health, and the Environment (CASHE) Program
Bureau of Land Management
Peer Review of Environmental Compliance Checklists
USDA Forest Service, Region 9 and Forest Service Enterprise Team