While ERMI president Steve Hilfiker is our primary blogger, other members of our staff will occasionally contribute posts based on their specific areas of expertise.
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Low-Scored Site Initiative Scores Some Big Improvements: Understanding New Environmental Legislation, Part 1 of 5
The 2016 Florida Legislative Session brought about some significant changes in the area of environmental legislation. This is the first in a series of five quick recaps I’ll give you, focusing mainly on amendments to Florida Statute 376—particularly as those amendments impact the Petroleum Restoration Program (PRP). One of the biggest developments is that this… Read More...
ERMI gets a visual update
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...
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...
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...
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...
Environmental Risk Management | Storm Water Services
Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPP) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) require certain industrial facilities and construction sites to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit coverage for their storm water discharges. These facilities must develop and implement a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan to satisfy the… Read More...
Remedial Bidding Conditions
The following is a commentary on the recent changes to the FDEP Petroleum Restoration Program, which is becoming more price-driven. Best-value certainly includes a cost-component, but the key to subsurface remediation is diligence and data. ERMI supports the FDEP and believes the changes will ultimately lead to a more successful program. We applaud the emphasis… Read More...
Environmental Risk Management | Tank Closure
The Importance of Tank Closure Did you know there are approximately 575,000 underground storage tanks (USTs) nationwide that store petroleum or hazardous substances? The greatest potential threat from a leaking UST is contamination of groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans. The EPA reported that groundwater supplies drinking water to… Read More...