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My plant is scheduled for an epa on-site inspection soon. What can I expect?
On-site inspections by EPA inspectors range from a quick walk-through (e.g., less than half a day), to an inspection by a team involving extensive collection of samples, which could take up to several weeks. The inspections could be done routinely or in response to complaints received by citizens, from TIPLINES, or from other government or private interest organizations. In a majority of cases, the visit will not be a surprise; however, the EPA (or state officials) have been known to occasionally conduct random inspections.
The walk-through inspection: limited generally to a quick survey of the facility, checking only for the existence of control equipment, observing work practices and housekeeping, and checking as to whether there is a records repository.
Compliance evaluation inspection: is the most common form of inspection. It might include visual observations, review, and evaluation of records, interviews with facility personnel, and collection of other evidence, such as a physical sampling. It might also include detailed review and critique of self-monitoring methods, instructions and data, and probing for details about process and control devices that are in place.
Sampling inspection: always involves pre-planned collection of physical samples. Sampling inspections are the most resource-intensive, since they involve advance planning of the sampling as well as laboratory analysis of the samples.
Inspectors for EPA and state agencies are often the only environmental officials you or your workers will ever see in person. The inspectors have technical competence in the subject of the inspections they perform, are skilled in obtaining the crucial facts and know how to collect and preserve evidence of noncompliance for use in enforcement actions. |
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