Environmental compliance consulting
Environmental compliance consulting keeps your facility inside the terms of its air, stormwater, and waste obligations — and catches the permits you did not know you needed. Meridian EHS Partners builds a single compliance calendar covering every permit, plan, report, and sampling deadline, then manages it.
What is environmental permitting and do we need it?
If you coat, weld, grind, burn, store oil, generate waste, or have industrial activity exposed to rain, some permit or plan probably applies. The big five for mid-market plants: air permits (in Ohio, permits-to-install-and-operate through Ohio EPA — many shops operate under exemptions they have quietly outgrown); stormwater (industrial general permit coverage plus a current SWPPP and benchmark sampling); hazardous waste (RCRA generator status, accumulation limits, manifests, training); SPCC (oil storage above 1,320 gallons aggregate); and EPCRA (Tier II chemical inventory reports each March, Form R for larger users). Applicability is the trap — agencies penalize the permit you never got far harder than a deviation on one you have.
What is stormwater compliance?
If industrial activities are exposed to precipitation, you likely need coverage under your state’s industrial stormwater general permit, a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) that reflects your actual site, quarterly visual and periodic benchmark sampling, and documented routine inspections. It is the most commonly ignored program we find — and one of the easiest for an inspector to check from the parking lot.
How do we keep up with all the deadlines?
One calendar. We inventory every applicable obligation, load each deadline — Tier II by March 1, air fee emission reports, discharge monitoring, SPCC reviews, waste training refreshers — into a single compliance calendar with a named owner, and either run it for you (fractional) or hand it over with training. No more finding out in April what was due in March.
What we handle
- Air permit applicability reviews and applications
- Emission inventories and annual fee reports
- Stormwater general permit NOIs and SWPPPs
- Benchmark sampling and inspection programs
- RCRA generator compliance and waste minimization
- SPCC plan preparation and PE certification
- EPCRA Tier II and TRI Form R reporting
- Wastewater/pretreatment permit compliance
- Agency inspection support and NOV response
- Environmental compliance calendars and audits
Related services and proof
Frequently asked questions
How do we know which environmental permits we need?
An applicability review — a half-day site visit plus process review that maps your emissions, discharges, chemicals, and waste streams to specific permit obligations. It is the first deliverable of every environmental engagement and frequently finds one obligation nobody knew about.
What happens if we have been operating without a required permit?
Do not panic and do not call the agency before you have a plan. Options range from permit-by-rule and exemption documentation to voluntary disclosure, which can substantially reduce penalties. We build the technical case first, then manage the agency approach deliberately.
What does a Notice of Violation (NOV) mean?
An NOV is the agency documenting non-compliance and opening a response clock — it is serious but negotiable. Respond within the stated deadline with corrective actions and a compliance schedule. We draft NOV responses regularly and the quality of the first response strongly shapes the outcome.
Do you handle Ohio EPA specifically?
Daily. Our environmental practice has filed 300+ permits and reports with Ohio EPA districts and works routinely with Indiana IDEM, Kentucky DEP, and Michigan EGLE. State-specific procedure is half the value of a regional firm.