Defining Environmental Consultant

An environmental consultant helps industrial plants and facilities avoid citations with the EPA, OSHA, and in Oklahoma the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality or DEQ.  Having environmental audits performed regularly help determine what types of environmental permits might be needed to stay compliant with EPA regulations.  Another part of an Environmental Consultant’s job is helping to determine if land that was once used for industrial purposes are safe to be re-zoned for commercial or residential use.  Before the property can be re-zoned an environmental team must decide if the land can be cleaned so that it is not harmful to live, work, or conduct business on.

OSHA is often the first governmental agency Facility Directors are concerned about coming to perform an inspection.  They sometimes forget about the EPA.  The Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) is there to ensure that as people continue to use landfills and produce potentially harmful waste that the environment is still protected.

Consultants help ensure that in every aspect of owning and running a manufacturing company all necessary and required permits by the EPA are acquired, they also help to facilitate training on the different permits.  There are many different types of permits that a facility might be required to have, and one of the best ways to know is to hire a consultant.  Air permits, waste water permits, and several operating permits are just a few and most permits are based on the businesses SIC code. 

The EPA’s main concern is how industry affects the earth and as a result effects the population that inhabits the earth.  The EPA wants plants and facilities to be aware of the effects, both negative and positive that their business has on the environment.  The EPA created a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for manufacturing companies that store certain items outside in the open elements.  This plan helps to inform local city officials what chemical waste, both hazardous and not, is in the storm water runoff.  This also helps to prevent contaminating run off streams that lead into larger water supply areas, such as a city’s main water source.  

Different industries need different permits and the only way to know for certain which permits are required is to contact a local Environmental Consultant.  The consultant can perform an audit of any plant or facility and devise a plan to obtain all necessary permits.  If you need the have an environmental audit performed on your company click here.