Violations of the Clean Water Act in Washington in 2019

Over the past several years, regulatory authorities and nonprofits have increased their watch over stormwater compliance. Freer Consulting routinely monitors records for the state of Washington from the Region 10 office of the Environmental Protection Agency for Notices of Intent (NOI) to Sue under the Clean Water Act. In 2019, the EPA received 21 NOIs […]

King County Stormwater Violations Trend

This year, a new permit for Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP) for the state of Washington went into effect. Now is a great time to look at how permit holders in King County did over the 2015-2019 period regarding stormwater violations. Data was collected from the Department of Ecology looking at all industrial stormwater violations […]

Using ISO 14001 to Simplify GRESB Reporting

Completing Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) reports is a complex, resource-intensive process for any business, whether when establishing benchmarks for the first time or working towards well-specified goals. GRESB has successfully streamlined the reporting process, but data collection, management, and verification still pose obstacles during the annual reporting cycle. GRESB complexity comes from the […]

COVID-19 and CLIA Expedited Certification

With COVID-19 clinical laboratory testing continuing to ramp up throughout the United States and worldwide, Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) applications for registration are continuing to increase. In response to the pandemic, the federal government is taking unprecedented action to ensure laboratories in the United States wishing to test for COVID-19 are expedited through the […]

Remote Stormwater Regulatory Compliance

In this time of social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s challenging to comply with regulatory requirements due to disruptions in business operations or lowered staff availability. Despite these challenges, there isn’t a legal mechanism that relieves businesses of their duty of regulatory compliance. The pandemic and efforts to fight it continue, yet rain […]

USCG Crackdown on TPO Inspections of Quality Management Systems

On March 31, 2020, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) updated CG-CVC Mission Management System Work Instructions CVC-WI-005(2) Request For Recognized Organization Internal Quality Management System Review – “Quality Case” to inform USCG Marine Inspectors to “evaluate situations where objective evidence indicates that a potential failure of a Recognized Organization (RO) or a Third Party […]

Benefits of R2 Certified Recycling

Electronic waste is all too often making its way into local landfills or being exported to countries where it is improperly disposed of, posing a significant threat to the local people and the environment in general.  Responsible Recycling Practices Standard, known as R2, was facilitated by the EPA and developed by recycling stakeholders to promote […]

Changes to the Washington ISGP: Are You in Compliance?

The new Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP) for the state of Washington went into effect on January 1, 2020 and contains many changes from the 2015 permit that affect both current permittees and businesses that were previously not covered by the permit. Major changes include: When applying for coverage, applicants must identify their industrial category […]

Remote Compliance Support for Essential Operations

https://www.freerconsulting.com/aisc-certification-consulting Last night, Governor Inslee issued a “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, which requires Washingtonians to stay home for at least the next two weeks to flatten the curve of the COVID19 pandemic and keep our healthcare system functioning. This order is crucial for the health of our community. It also highlights just how many […]