Environmental Permitting and Compliance

Many activities related to environmental laws and regulations require federal, state and/or local permits. GRI offers a full line of UST, petroleum and environmental permitting and compliance services:

NPDES Wastewater Discharge Permits - The federal Clean Water Act requires that all municipal, industrial and commercial facilities that discharge wastewater or stormwater directly from a point source (a discrete conveyance such as a pipe, ditch or channel) into a water of the United States (such as a lake, river, or ocean) must obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NPDES Permit. All permits are written to ensure the receiving waters will achieve their Water Quality Standards.

Land Application Permits For Petroleum Contaminated Soil - Petroleum contact soil may be disposed by land application in certain states.  One time land application permits can be obtained for small quantity volumes for single applications.  In addition permitted disposal facilities (landfarms) are permitted to receive large volumes of petroleum contact soil from numerous sources.   These facilities may use conventional land application rate, production facility storage, or containment and treatment methodologies.

Temporary UST Operating Permits

Permits To Install or Replace USTs

UST Compliance Audits - Underground storage tank (UST) owners and operators have a responsibility to keep their regulated USTs in compliance with state regulations. UST Compliance requirements have been established in an effort to protect human health and the environment from UST system releases.  Each state has an implementing agency responsible for assuring that all regulated underground storage tanks (USTs) meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) requirements for release detection, spill and overfill prevention, and corrosion protection.  The state implementing agency is responsible for tracking UST facilities, inspecting UST facilities, and implementing enforcement actions in accordance with EPA requirements.

CERCLA and SARA -  Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, was enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980. This law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. Taxes are collected and the money placed in a trust fund for cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) reflected EPA's experience in administering the complex Superfund program during its first six years and made several important changes and additions to the program:

• Stressed the importance of permanent remedies and innovative treatment technologies in cleaning up hazardous waste sites;
• Required Superfund actions to consider the standards and requirements found in other State and Federal environmental laws and regulations;
• Provided new enforcement authorities and settlement tools;
• Increased State involvement in every phase of the Superfund program;
• Increased the focus on human health problems posed by hazardous waste sites;
• Encouraged greater citizen participation in making decisions on how sites should be cleaned up.

Tier I/II Forms - Submission of Tier I and II forms is required under Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986  (EPCRA). The purpose of the Tier I form is to provide State and local officials and the public with information on the general hazard types and locations of hazardous chemicals present at your facility during the previous calendar year.  The purpose of the Tier II form is to provide state and local officials, and the public with specific information on potential hazards. This includes the locations, as well as the amount, of hazardous chemicals present at your facility during the previous calendar year and are required for certain quantities of chemicals. To find out if you need a Tier II report give us a call or visit the EPA Website at this address Tier II requirements and procedures. Tier II Reports are submitted annually to local fire departments, Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) and State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs) to help those agencies plan for and respond to chemical emergencies. Since the Tier II report includes all of the information found on the Tier I, plus additional information, most states require the comprehensive Tier II report.

Form R Reporting – Form R reporting is also known as Toxic Release Inventory Reporting (TRI). The current toxic chemical list contains 595 individually-listed chemicals and 32 chemical categories (including five categories containing 70 specifically-listed chemicals).  The list can be found at EPA Toxic Release Inventory. If a facility meets all three of the criteria below, it must complete the Form R report online:

• Is in a specific industry sector (e.g., manufacturing, mining, electric power generation)  check yours here R Reporting NAICS Codes
• Employs 10 or more full-time equivalent employees
• Manufactures, processes, or otherwise uses a TRI-listed chemical in quantities above threshold levels in a given year.

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