Environmental Garage Audits & the EPA

Environmental Audit Workshop for Municipal Highway Garages

The Maine Local Roads Center and the Maine Chapter of APWA sponsored a seminar on August 2nd at MMA in Augusta to review the EPA regulations which pertain to any highway garage in Maine. Over 65 people attended and 3 of those towns were lucky to receive a free environmental audit courtesy of MDOT. 

The main “push” at this session was to alert towns that they have an opportunity to go to the bottom of the EPA’s inspection list IF THEY APPLY BEFORE OCTOBER 1, 2001. Since this session, the EPA Boston Office has decided to extend the deadline for Maine applications to October 30 (nothing else changes). If you decide NOT to participate, then your Town will revert to normal inspection status and will be treated no better or no worse than all other nonparticipants. It’s worth the effort ! 

This application basically says that your Town is willing to do an environmental audit by December 31, 2001, however, the EPA understands the short time period and will work with your Town as long as you contact them at their Boston office at 617/918-1016 (Nancy Barmakian).

This audit program asks you to hire an independent consultant to perform an inspection and identify any problems you may have at your facility regarding such things as bulk oil storage/handling, cleaning solvents, floor drains, spill prevention plans, etc. There are several engineering firms which provide these services and they can be found below. Basic price to do these inspections ranges from a low of $1,000 to about $5,000 -- it all depends on the size of your facility and how good (or bad) you are at housekeeping. It is possible to do a self-audit, but if you do not have properly trained personnel , then the audit may be rather incomplete.

For more information and to view a Fact Sheet on Audit Policy and a Garage “checklist”, please refer to http://www.epa.gov/region01/steward/neeat/compliance.html

You can also refer to http://www.epa.gov/region01/steward/neeat/munis1.html and click on the Compliance" link on this page and it will take you to a garage checklist of sorts and it also has a list of violations they have been seeing most frequently in highway garage facilities.

Give this some serious consideration as many municipal garages throughout New England have been cited and are looking at stiff fines/penalties. The MDOT has completed audits of all its garages and have avoided some very hefty penalties as a result of cleanup and good housekeeping practices.