North American Business & Industry has been impacted with the critical challenge of satisfying an extensive scope of regulatory compliance requirements. The problem is compounded by ever-evolving laws from three independent departments of the Federal Government, as well as those regulatory offshoots at state, county and local jurisdictions. Federally in the U.S., there are some 40 regulatory laws, compounded at the state level, like California, by as many as 20 other related laws, and then administered by state, county and local agencies.

Vanguard takes a common sense, but serious approach to Environmental Compliance Management. It's only sensible that industry must approach regulatory compliance with an emphasis on due diligence for all compliance laws which, in turn, must lead to a site-specific "Regulatory Compliance Agenda." A company must know which laws require compliance and which do not. It must know its "Regulatory Compliance Agenda" for each and every compliance year, as well as the dynamic changes due to amended and newly-enacted laws. The stakes are too high to do otherwise when considering the repercussions of enforcement penalties for non-compliance on laws in which personnel aren't even aware of their existence, much less their compliance mandates. 

Hence, Vanguard's mission is two-fold:

1. To develop a site-specific "Regulatory Compliance Agenda" for each client's facility(ies) relative to local, county, state, and federal regulations;
2. To systematically satisfy those mandates on a turnkey basis, continuing to manage the client's regulatory issues over the years in a "mission control" style.

Note: For a template of Vanguard's one-page Regulatory Compliance Agenda, complete the Needs Assessment Profile , send it to Vanguard by email, fax, or standard mail, and a copy will be sent to you, along with some complimentary information about Vanguard.

With the client's "Regulatory Compliance Agenda" as the ultimate arrival point, the vehicle to net out the client's compliance mandates has to be something quite different than traditional methods associated with compliance projects. It's one thing to satisfy a compliance project. It's quite another to define a client's "Regulatory Compliance Agenda," and to then satisfy all compliance laws required of the client. Just as a trip to the moon would require a spaceship worthy of space travel, defining a client's site-specific "Regulatory Compliance Agenda" requires a unique technology capable of executing the necessary due diligence on every law, and then providing pertinent evidentiary documentation on mandates required and not required.

Obviously, this kind of technology is not available at your favorite software store, and could not be developed without an investment of millions of dollars and the expenditure of several years by a team of compliance-savvy computer technicians with a background of chemical engineering, regulatory protocols specific to any zip code in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico, and the fortitude to maintain and manage the system for the continuous evolution of EHS legislation through either amendments or newly-enacted laws.

Since virtually all Regulatory Compliance laws are based on chemicals (driven by thresholds and complex regulatory mandates), the overwhelming majority of companies (large and small) are simply not equipped with the necessary expertise, manpower, and technology to meet the insurmountable task of screening one's chemical inventory against the hundreds of thousands of chemicals (and threshold variables), all for the purpose of developing and implementing a compliance program that will stand the test of enforcement inspections. Additionally, it's too cost-prohibitive to assemble a representative staff with the time, versatility, expertise, experience, and technical writing skills to effectively and efficiently manage the daily challenges posed by compliance laws: 1. To continually screen which laws apply and which do not; 2. To maintain an image of good corporate citizenship by complying with applicable mandates. 

Escalating annual internal costs include staff salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, office space, clerical support, seminar travel, computer-related products, source materials, etc. Non-compliance is not an attractive alternative due to repercussions of enforcement penalties. Nor, is "volunteering" a colleague who, at best, achieves partial compliance, but remains fearful of telling the chief officer about the company's risk, forever dreading the day an enforcement agent arrives.  In light of the client's dilemma, Vanguard has pioneered innovative solutions for achieving Environmental & Safety Compliance in behalf of its clientele on a turnkey basis.

Essentially, Vanguard has eliminated the confusion associated with compliance regulations by
demystifying all that goes with this the compliance arena. Vanguard's philosophy toward compliance parallels the manner in which a 3rd-party CPA firm meets a company's financial challenges. Moreover, Vanguard has become America's only source for implementing the concept of Strategic Planning to the challenges of Regulatory Compliance for Industry. It is timely that the same strategic planning technique, applied to all other facets of contemporary business, has become a staple for managing Environmental, Health & Safety Compliance. However, it takes the combination of state-of-the-art technology and savvy professional expertise.

Vanguard has amassed an outstanding Team of Compliance Professionals (Engineering, Environmental Science, OSHA Education, Industrial Hygiene, Regulatory Specialists, Client Service, supported by a copyrighted, one-of-a-kind $10M Computer Technology) - all for the purpose of meeting and managing its clients' compliance needs - for any Zip Code in the U.S. & Canada on a long term relationship basis. Serving hundreds of clients throughout North America, Vanguard helps the client achieve compliance at a fraction of the ongoing prohibitive costs associated with internal compliance methods.

Primary benefits include:
- Risk Management Against Enforcement Penalties (Eliminates "Surprises");
- Legislative Updating on Amended & Newly-Enacted Laws (Regulatory Reviews);
- Defensible Documentation / Representation at Enforcement Audits (Proof & Support);
- Productivity Enhancement (Employee's Attention Returned To Company's Priorities);
- Minimizes Compliance Costs / Increases Profitability for all Stakeholders;
- Consolidation & Uniformity of Multiple-Facility Compliance Needs throughout U.S.

DUE DILIGENCE IMPERATIVES & THE REGULATORY COMPLIANCE AGENDA
The client's end-result benefits are achieved through Vanguard's one-of-a-kind, copyrighted technology, the Chemical Hazard Analysis. This EHS compliance power tool is literally the third largest chemical data base in the U.S. - a ten million dollar technology - brought to bear on the client's site-specific compliance challenges.

When Vanguard's team of EHS compliance specialists and computer technicians at Vanguard's "mission control" are thrust into the picture, the client's Regulatory Compliance Agenda becomes the ultimate representation of crystallized thought on just what compliance laws are required of the client and, just as importantly for the purpose of evidentiary documentation, what laws are not required.

In addition to breaking out and categorizing the facility's chemical data and site-specific facility information to SARA subsections and thresholds: - 302-TPQ's (375 chems); - 304-RQ's (775 chems); - 311/312 & HazCom (650,000 chems); - 313 toxic candidates (644 chems); due diligence is executed for the client's Regulatory Compliance Agenda...on virtually all EPA, OSHA, DOT laws.
-392 Carcinogens (cancerous-IARC); - Mutagens (genetic mutation); - Teratogens (birth defects); - Physical States (Liquid, Solid, Gas, Paste, Gel, Powder, Particle, etc.); - NFPA 704

Fire Codes for Placarding Purposes; - Physical and Health Hazard Ratings (Fire, Pressure, Reactivity, Acute and/or Chronic Health Effects; - Medical Impact (potential damage to Genes, Lungs, Organs, Eyes, Skin); - 547 OSHA Air Contaminants Relative to Indoor Air Quality under 29 CFR 1910.1000; - Industrial Hygiene Issues; - Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs-OSHA); - Target 23 Chemicals having their own OSHA Standards; - 542 California's Proposition 65 (Safe Drinking Water Act); - Executive Order #12856 requiring Federal facilities to comply with Form R Reporting regardless of SIC or industry; - Toxic Substance Control Act (Premanufacture Notification & PMN for 78,000 Chems and Inventory Update Rule/Form U Reporting); - Clean Water Act (54 pollutants for Process/Waste Water Discharge); - Storm Water Runoff Pollutants (273 "Water Priority" Chemicals); - Persistent Bio-Accumulative Toxins Reduction for 53 toxics; - Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (123 pollutants);

Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasure Plan (SPCC) with 3 major criteria; - 640 CAR Regulated Hazardous Waste Codes; - Chemical Weapons Convention for 54 chemical & biological hazards; - OSHA Process Safety Management (130 chems-TQs/5 yr. master compliance plan); - Clean Air Act Permitting (Title I: VOCs; Title III:187 Air Toxics; Title IV: Acid Rain Deposition; Title V: Permitting Documents; Title VI: Ozone Depleting Chems - ODCs; - EPA Risk Mgt. Program / 112(r) (140 chems for Accidental Release Prevention); -Maximum Achievable Control Technology / 112(g) for Major Source HAPs); - 1100 DOT HazMat Chems under 9 transport categories. California Clients: Please refer to companion piece to this document, titled "Hazardous Materials Business Plan" for a more in depth discussion of the 20 additional state-specific laws unique to California's leading-edge regulations under Plain English Guide to EHS Laws. These state regulations include:

• Assessment of Carcinogens, Mutagens, Teratogens under Prop. 65;

• California OSHA Carcinogen User Registration of Chemicals;

• EPA List of Priority Pollutants;

• AB 1803 - Well Monitoring Chemicals;

• State Filing of Toxic Release Inventory, Sec. 313 (Form R), SARA Title III

• SARA Section 302 EHS where State Threshold differs from Federal;

• Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) List of Contaminants;

• AB 2588 - Air Toxics "Toxic Hot Spots" Chemicals;

• Drinking Water Action Levels - Dept. of Health Services;

• AB 1807 - Toxic Air Contaminants - Calif. Air Resources Board;

• National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), specific
  chemicals;

• Assessment of all Substances Regulated in California under Prop. 65 - the Safe Drinking Water Act;

• DOT Inhalation Hazard Chemicals;

• Permissible Exposure Limits for Chemical Contaminants (CalOSHA);

• Hazardous Substances List (a.k.a. "The Director's List" - CalOSHA);

• SB-14...Source Reduction / Waste Minimization for Large Quantity Generators.

Back to the federal level, as if this is not enough, a critical step has been taken with regard to the laws administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Executed concurrently with the above regulatory issues, Vanguard's CHA satisfies OSHA's HAZARD DETERMINATION MANDATE required of all facilities with a chemical inventory. As required under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200), the purpose of the Hazard Determination Mandate is to establish that all Employee Right-To-Know Training (HazCom, HAZWOPER, etc.) be SITE-SPECIFIC to the hazards within the employer's workplace.

For Canadian clients, strict adherence to federal and provincial regulations is provided. Since the essence of Vanguard's work is to gather facility and chemical hazard data relative to employee safety/health and environmental impact, the only adjustment needed by Vanguard is to align the client's data with the guidelines of those agencies having jurisdiction over the client's Canadian facility. It must be remembered that, while Canadian laws are similar to many counterparts in U.S. regulatory legislation, chemical lists, chemical thresholds and the mandates, forms, objectives, and agencies that govern facilities within their jurisdictions are different! The best way to show respect for our Canadian neighbors is to do all compliance for our Canadian clients with the due diligence, precision, and protocol that would stand the acid test of an enforcement inspection. With Canadian legislative updating and provincial due diligence an essential facet of Vanguard's work for Canadian clients, Canadian laws screened and managed include:

• Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS is Canada's equivalent to OSHA in the U.S.] for an unlimited number of chemical hazards);

• Carcinogens, Mutagens, Teratogens;

• Physical and health hazards of fire, pressure, reactive, acute, chronic which would have adverse medical effects on genes, lungs, organs, eyes and skin;

• National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI [EPA Form R = U.S. Equivalent] for 176 Toxic Hazard Categories); 

• Domestic Substance List (DSL [TSCA = U.S. Equivalent] for 24,000 toxic chemicals);
  Persistent Bio-Accumulative Toxins (PBT for 91 toxics / 53 toxics in U.S.);

• Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC for 54 chemical & biological hazards); 

• Pollution Prevention thru Storm Water Runoff Provisions administered by each province;

• Transport of Dangerous Goods (TDG). A Canadian-specific document is provided as defensible documentation.

DEFENSIBLE DOCUMENTATION….YOUR COMPANY'S
 SITE-SPECIFIC INSPECTION SHOWPIECE

DEFENSIBLE DOCUMENTATION REFLECTIVE OF THE DUE DILIGENCE EXECUTED. The end-result of Vanguard's service renders a precise reflection of the facility's site-specific compliance via the Environmental Data Document, prepared to the specs of virtually all EPA, OSHA and DOT compliance laws impacting industry, thereby establishing the client's "Regulatory Compliance Agenda" as a precision-oriented representation of those compliance mandates required of the facility. The document book, updated annually, becomes an excellent inspection showpiece, demonstrating compelling evidence of due diligence, compliance achievement, exemplary corporate citizenship, all defensible by Vanguard's unique, copyrighted regulatory data configuration. Presented upon project completion, the document book becomes a "power tool" for inventory control, product substitution, pollution prevention, waste disposal reduction, employee health and safety, emergency planning and environmental protection.

EPA ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE REPORTING.  Coupled with the installment of the client's Regulatory Compliance Agenda, all compliance reports are prepared to the specs of the SARA Title III law - Section 301-312 - relative to the facility's local, county, state, federal regulations, and then provided signature-ready for client approval when that part of the compliance year arrives. Completed reports are sent by certified mail and prepared in the form requested by the agency administering each law/regulation.

REGULATORY REVIEW (QUARTERLY OR AS NEEDED). Upon project completion, the client's Regulatory Specialist will deliver the document book, the client's site-specific Regulatory Compliance Agenda for the compliance year of record, and all pertinent signature-ready compliance reports. The Regulatory Specialist will conduct a regulatory review for the facility's EPA Facility Designee, Sr. Mgt., and/or Environmental Compliance Management Team, educating them further on just how the two parties should continue working in concert to satisfy those compliance requirements showing up as gaps in the client's overall EHS compliance program, as well as functional issues on how to update MSDSs, chemical inventory issues, and pertinent changes in the facility's processes, raw materials, etc., which now can be achieved electronically through the web-based functions within Vanguard's website under client services. An executive briefing of those compliance mandates satisfied, as well as the due diligence executed, comes to the client at this time, along with further recommendations needing attention for achieving compliance with all other EPA, OSHA and DOT laws.

In essence, the entire philosophy and concept behind Vanguard's application of strategic planning to the client's site-specific Regulatory Compliance Agenda, is established to serve those companies whose corporate citizenship cannot be compromised, their policy is one of continuously safeguarding their company's finances, image, and community standing through risk management against enforcement penalties [in other words, they have a low risk tolerance threshold!], but yet they do not wish to engage in "overkill" when it comes to EHS compliance.

CONTACT US
Email: webmaster@vanguardenvl.com
(918) 641-5588 (Worldwide)
Fax: (918) 641-0663