DUE DILIGENCE, PERMITTING, AND COMPLIANCE
Environmental Due Diligence / Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
ELM has a team of experienced due diligence experts to assist with all your environmental due diligence needs. ELM completes Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) in accordance with the 2021 ASTM Standard (E1527-21) to satisfy the federal requirements of CERCLA’s innocent landowner defense and provide the client with a baseline of conditions and potential liabilities/risks associated with a property it may be planning on purchasing or occupying. ELM’s due diligence program is structured to identify and communicate potential and/or existing environmental concerns early in the transaction negotiation process and/or prior to occupying the property.
ELM also maintains extensive experience in guiding clients through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA) process and has successfully completed hundreds of ISRA cases in a timely and cost-effective manner. Under ISRA, a Preliminary Assessment (PA) is completed in accordance with NJDEP requirements. In a due diligence situation, a PA provides additional protections for environmental liabilities under New Jersey’s Spill Act. ELM often combines Phase I ESA and PA to create a hybrid document that accomplishes both objectives more efficiently. When appropriate, ELM can also provide Phase II/Site Investigation programs to further evaluate potential environmental conditions based upon the initial Phase I ESA/PA findings.
ELM’s consideration of client needs, and risk tolerances, facilitates well-informed decision making. Based upon our due diligence findings, ELM:
- Advises our clients regarding a property’s potential environmental liabilities/risks.
- Develops recommendations to manage or assess those risks.
- Delivers a comprehensive report for client/lending institution/investor use.
- Provides remediation cost estimates to satisfy regulatory or reserve requirements.
ELM’s due diligence team also performs desktop due diligence review of prospective purchase opportunities. We also review Phase I ESA reports by others and provide our professional opinion regarding the conclusions and recommendations of those reports.
For more information regarding ELM’s Environmental Due Diligence services, please contact Kim Skibo (kskibo@elminc.com), Julie Kurz (jkurz@elminc.com), or Jeff Moore (jmoore@elminc.com).
Solid Waste/Recycling
ELM has supported the solid waste and scrap recycling industries for decades and understands the unique business and regulatory compliance challenges associated with both related industries. ELM routinely provides the following services to our clients in the solid waste and recycling industries:
- Performance of environmental compliance audits and corrective action recommendations.
- Development and implementation of Environmental Management Programs (EMPs).
- Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) and Best Management Practices (BMPs).
- Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plans.
- Landfill evaluation/investigation, closure plan preparation and redevelopment.
- Solid Waste Facility permitting for Material Recovery Facilities (MRF), and Transfer Stations, including applications for County Plan inclusion and NJDEP permit applications.
- County and State Permitting for Recycling Facilities including:
- Class A (paper, metal, glass, plastics),
- Class B (wood and concrete),
- Class C (composing/food waste),
- Class D (electronics, used oil and universal waste).
- Air and storm water permitting for Solid Waste and Recycling Facilities.
- Assistance with A-901 License Applications.
- Management of materials for reuse or disposal.
ELM develops project teams to serve individual solid waste, landfill, and recycling clients in consideration of site-specific conditions and other factors. ELM engineers and environmental scientists collaborate to ensure that clients in the solid waste and recycling industries remain in compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local statutes, regulations, and guidance.
For more information regarding ELM’s Solid Waste/Recycling services, please contact Ken Hart (khart@elminc.com), Lauren LaPort (llaporte@elminc.com) or Jeff Moore (jmoore@elminc.com).
Permitting and Compliance
In addition to wetlands and related permitting (see Land Use Licensing and Permitting Services), ELM has extensive experience in designing and preparing other environmental permits for both Federal and state agencies, including:
- Stormwater discharge permits.
- Discharge to Surface Water (DSW) permits.
- Discharge to Groundwater (DGW) permits.
- DGW Permits-by-Rule.
- Air quality permits.
ELM utilizes a site-specific approach to preparing permit applications that are sensitive to facility and regulatory requirements as well as cost. ELM also prepares reports and other deliverables pursuant to these permits, such as Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) and emission inventories.
In addition, ELM’s scientists and engineers develop the necessary compliance plans and engineering controls for facility operators to track and maintain compliance with the applicable regulatory and permit requirements for their facility. These plans include but are not limited to: (1) SWPPPs; (2) SPCC Plans; (3) Discharge Prevention Control and Countermeasures (DPCC) Plans; and (4) site-specific Environmental Management Plans (EMPs). ELM also prepares reports and other deliverables required pursuant to these plans as well as preparing and submitting chemical/material inventories for Community Right-to-Know (RTK) and Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting.
ELM also performs environmental, health, and safety (EHS) compliance audits of all types of industrial and commercial facilities. The results of ELM’s EHS audits provide compliant, practical, and cost-effective solutions to identified conditions of regulatory non-compliance.
For more information regarding ELM’s Permitting and Compliance services, please contact Jeff Moore (jmoore@elminc.com), Dipa Chavan (dchavan@elminc.com), or Lauren LaPort (llaport@elminc.com).
RCRA Site Management
ELM has wide-ranging experience in assisting our clients with hazardous waste management and remediation in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), including:
- Facility Audits.
- Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) Closure.
- Corrective Action.
ELM performs comprehensive facility audits in order to identify regulatory non-compliance with hazardous waste storage and reporting requirements for generators. As part of the audit, ELM provides practical solutions to areas of non-compliance as well as thoughtful source reduction and waste minimization strategies to reduce the toxicity and/or volume of hazardous waste. The results of ELM’s RCRA audits provide compliant, practical, and cost-effective solutions to identified conditions of regulatory non-compliance in relation to hazardous waste management. When necessary, ELM offers site-specific in-house training to our clients to facilitate proper management and off-site disposal of hazardous waste in the future.
ELM also assists our clients with RCRA Corrective Action and closure of regulated SWMUs. We rely on our extensive remediation and hazardous waste management experience to develop cleanup and closure strategies that are both cost-beneficial and approvable by the regulatory agencies. We leverage our substantial knowledge of RCRA to optimize the management of remediation waste and reduce the overall cost of disposal associated with the cleanup.
For more information regarding ELM’s RCRA Site Management services, please contact Jeff Moore (jmoore@elminc.com).
PCB Management & Remediation
ELM maintains extensive regulatory knowledge and site remediation experience in the cleanup of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), including:
- Transformer (and other electrical equipment) spills.
- Spill residues.
- Environmental media contamination
- Soil,
- Sediment,
- Groundwater.
Our expertise covers every aspect of PCB cleanup, from testing and sampling to removal and disposal. In managing PCB remediation sites, we remain cognizant of the TSCA anti-dilution provision and manage the site cleanup in a manner that minimizes waste volumes and off-site disposal costs. ELM prepares self-implementing plans for PCB cleanups that account for current and/or future use of the subject remediation area, which are agency approvable and minimize the overall scope and cost of the remediation.
ELM also completes pre-demolition surveys to identify and help manage PCB items (such as transformers, capacitors, and ballasts) required for removal/disposal in concert with demolition. Once the survey is complete, ELM can coordinate with our trusted remediation contractors to complete the PCB mitigation in a cost-beneficial and regulatorily compliant manner.
For more information regarding ELM’s PCB Management & Remediation services, please contact Jeff Moore (jmoore@elminc.com).
