Project: Manufacturing Facility in Maine

In January 2016, an international company with a local health and nutrition products manufacturing facility in Maine found themselves without in-house staff or other resources to manage environmental regulatory requirements. Two key EHS (environmental, health and safety) department personnel had left within a three-month time period – one for a new job opportunity; the other for medical issues.

SOLUTION

Known for their EHS technical and regulatory expertise, St.Germain was contacted on a Friday for immediate assistance. By Monday, a team of two EHS specialists were onsite to provide the support needed to keep the facility in compliance. On that very first day, a Notice of Violation (NOV) for hazardous waste violations was found in the former EHS Manager’s mailbox. Almost 3 weeks old, the NOV required a response with corrective actions to be taken within 30 days, leaving only 10 days for the company to respond. That began the process of re-building a comprehensive environmental compliance program and tracking system.

RESULT

Led by an experienced Senior Project Manager, and with the assistance of two others and the cooperation of the facility manager and other technical staff, an improved program was developed and implemented. Decentralized responsibilities for compliance were brought together, employee training was refreshed and renewed, all monitoring and reporting requirements were met on time—including those specific to Title V Air Emissions permit requirements, industrial pretreatment discharge sampling and reporting, cooling water NPDES permit sampling and reporting, onsite hazardous waste management, solid waste/beneficial reuse permit and reporting, and others. It is a complex facility with restrictive standards, requiring diligent monitoring and tracking.

St.Germain set up its web-based Sentry EHS compliance tracking program which pulled everything together. Weekly reports were generated and sent to the corporate offices. The results of an intensive 5-day corporate audit conducted a year later, in January 2017, proved that it was working, with less than 10 findings, compared to over 200 findings a few short years ago.

As a result, the manufacturing facility was awarded an Environmental Excellence Award from the corporate office, for the first time in the history of the facility. The company has hired a new EHS Manager, and St.Germain continues to be a trusted advisor providing both onsite and offsite compliance assistance.

SERVICES PROVIDED

Environmental Compliance
Outsourcing
EHS Reporting
Sentry EHS Program