Green Scene By Mike James
mjames@jamesenvironmental.com
Does “One and Done” Work?
hen it comes to Environmental or Safety Compliance, it is really diffi- cult comprehending how some are able to justify that it was done once and that is good enough. A common response we hear to a discussion is, “I wrote a storm water pollution prevention plan 15 years ago. I was the first in our town to ever do this.” Have you ever met that person? Worse yet, are you that person? In Search of Excellence author Tom Peters is one of the world’s most respected and recognized writers on Business Best Practices; ones we adopt in portions of our business such as environmental and safety compliance. Recently, Peters wrote, “At every executive group meeting, set aside a 15 minute block of time to discuss ‘a dumbest thing we have done lately’ item – insist that members bring a case along for discussion.”
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There is not enough room here for me to discuss all of the “dumbest things” I have done lately, but one that comes to mind often revolves around sticking my head in the sand and just thinking that some problem will go away if I just ignore it. My guess is that I am not the only per- son that sticks their head in the sand. A “dumbest thing done lately” by many business owners is thinking that Environmental or Safety Compliance is not really a big deal and that others are just making “much ado about nothing.”
Truth and consequence
I gave a presentation recently to a num- ber of business owners representing the fifth deadliest industry in the U.S. Just last week, this particular industry had yet another fatality with an employee doing one of those “dumbest things;” unfortu- nately, the owners routinely allowed this type of activity in their business. These at- risk activities put people with families in situations that can cause tragic events. Many good intentioned, yet busy, busi- ness owners and managers perpetuate
20 Automotive Recycling | September-October 2015
Peters’ “dumbest thing we have done late- ly.” How? By falling into the “One and Done” mindset. Common excuses like, “I got a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan 15 years ago,” or, “I took a storm water sample a few years back,” are the equivalent of keeping one’s head in the sand. The One and Done thinking can be a trap with consequences far greater than those of your state environmental agency.
They see your head in the sand In August, I had to talk yet one more
automotive recycler into action because they had received a letter from a group of lawyers in Washington State, filing their Intent to Sue under the Clean Water Act. You read that correctly; the Clean Water Act authorizes private citizens to sue your business due to its non-compliance (or even suspected non-compliance) with applicable storm water regulations. Once again, we have a Third-Party Environmental Activist Group out there sniffing around for those auto recyclers that continue to do that “dumbest thing we have done lately.” This owner was insis- tent that he was just going to throw away the letter he received from the vague Waste Action Project. He had never taken a storm water sample even though he had been advised to do so by the State and by his environmental consultant.
Get your head out of the sand Did you take your storm water sample?
Did you do your quarterly inspection? Your wet weather inspection? Your annu- al inspection? Did you file your Notice of Intent (NOI) for a permit? In my past life, I have worked with large companies that routinely would answer “no” to these sim- ple questions, including the decision to not file an NOI for any of their facilities. Their logic was pretty straight forward… if they never filed an NOI, then nobody would ever find them. Wrong! It troubles me that we repeatedly expe-
rience the negative side of the Third-Party Law Suit actions allowed by the Clean Water Act (from groups like MassPirg, Bay Keepers, River Keeper, Conservation Law Foundation, Clean Water Action, and Waste Action Project in Washington). It does not matter which part of the coun- try or region, or whether rural or urban; this experience plays out exactly the same in every case and yet we still do not learn. What can you do to minimize the neg- ative impact from these groups on you? 1. Stop doing the “dumbest thing we have done lately.” 2. Get your permit in place today because tomorrow is too late. 3. Do your sampling; stop making excuses.
4. Do your inspections; if you truly do not have 15 minutes every quarter to do a quarterly inspection, then your troubles might be much further-reaching than storm water.
5. Picking up; insist that your employ- ees do the required daily housekeeping. Housekeeping of a clean facility is signif- icantly easier to do than housekeeping in a filthy facility.
6. File all of the reports that are sup- posed to be filed, whether DMR, SDO, Annual Comprehensive Inspection, or any of the other report names that some states come up with.
Becky James says, “If you always do what you always did, then you will always get what you always got.” It is not important that we like it or that we agree, but it is important that we give proper attention to all of the business Compliance Assurance issues that confront our busi- ness, including environmental, safety, taxes, DOT, etc. None are fun, but all are a part of doing business.
With over 25 years experience in pollution pre- vention, Mike James is President of James En- vironmental Management, Inc., specializing in environmental compliance assurance and cur- rently serving over 1,200 facilities in the U.S.
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