Our company turns 17 this month. As technology and legislation have evolved over the years, we’ve changed our methods and our organizational structure. However, one thing that hasn’t really changed along the way has been our visual branding: it’s been bypassed as all the other advances were taking place around it. So after 17 years with the existing… Read More...
ERMI president Steve Hilfiker is in high demand as a speaker
ERMI president Steve Hilfiker is in high demand as a speaker at conferences and conventions. As a 25-plus-year veteran of the environmental field, the author of dozens of articles, and a frequent advisor to Florida legislators, Steve brings a perspective to his presentations that is multidimensional and authoritative. If your group, agency, or organization is… Read More...
2016 LSSI Expansion
2016 Legislative Session Includes Expansion to LSSI (Effective July 1, 2016) The Low Scored Site Initiative (LSSI) has now been expanded through the approval of Senate Bill 100 to include limited remediation activities. The cap expenditure for each site has been raised from $30,000 to $35,000. The total amount that can be spent on the… Read More...
Phase I ESAs are not a Commodity
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments are not a commodity, although many hiring decisions are based solely on price. Consulting is critical to the due diligence process. An innocent land owner defense based on a thorough Phase I ESA is necessary for defending liability for the borrower/investor, and when issues arise, expert consulting is often required… Read More...
ERMI President Addresses STEM teachers at FGCU
ERMI’s Steve Hilfiker was a featured speaker at the Center for Excellence in Education’s “Bite of Science” event on March 2nd, hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University College of Education.Steve spoke to middle and high school teachers from throughout the region who serve as instructors in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) about the opportunities… Read More...
Florida Engineering Society Conference: NAM Presentation
Natural Attentuation Monitoring (NAM) was the subject of a presentation to members of FES by Steve Hilfiker, president of ERMI. NAM, sometimes called “passive remediation” is an option available for some former petroleum storage sites under the state’s Petroleum Cleanup Program. In locations where underground storage tanks once leaked minor amounts of fuel, the soil… Read More...
The Value of Consulting
DEP Agency-Term Contractors (ATCs) should maintain their role as consultants with site owners and responsible parties even though their contract is with the DEP. This is most significantly highlighted on sites with funding caps. Many owners are not aware of the amount remaining in their cap, and some do not even know there is a… Read More...
Florida Engineering Society Conference: RBCA Presentation
Steve Hilfiker, ERMI President helped attendees at the FES conference get up to speed about changes to Florida’s Risk-Based Corrective Action program (RBCA). The program, which has undergone some streamlining by the Legislature, is a primary frame of reference for engineering personnel involved in the remediation of contamination resulting from pollutant/hazardous substances discharges....
Turning Point
The mood of the Petroleum Restoration Program presentation at the Florida Remediation Conference this year was much more positive than it was one year ago. Contractors seem to have much less frustration and much more hope. The FDEP developments, ability to encumber more projects and streamline some of the procedures appears to be working. On October 20, 2015, the Department… Read More...
Environmental Risk Management | Spill Prevention Plans
Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasure Plan The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires commercial facilities that maintain petroleum storage systems to maintain a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan. A SPCC Plan is designed to protect public health, public welfare, and the environment from potential harmful effects of oil/petroleum discharges to navigable waters and adjoining… Read More...