Environmental Reporting for a Paper Coating and Laminating Facility
« All Projects

Project Objective

A family-owned paper coating and laminating facility that had operated in New Berlin, Wisconsin, since the 1920s did not have a full-time environmental manager and needed help complying with environmental regulations and reporting. Geosyntec was retained to support the company’s risk management program by helping the client understand its environmental reporting obligations and fulfill those obligations expeditiously and cost-effectively.

Geosyntec’s Scope of Services

Using data on the current year's production (including amounts of inks, solvents and other chemicals used, stored, and generated as waste), and our knowledge of industrial operations, Geosyntec accomplished the following:

• Quantified facility air emissions during the calendar year to assess obligation regarding annual air-emissions inventory reporting; confirmed the limits on emissions and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the facility’s air operation permit
• Assessed the facility’s hazardous-waste-generator status by reviewing shipment manifests and inspection logs of waste storage areas; determined the facility’s annual reporting obligations as a hazardous waste generator
• Assessed the facility’s maximum on-site chemical storage quantities and reviewed safety data sheets to determine the facility’s SARA 312 Tier 2 reporting obligations
• Assessed the facility’s uses of chemicals on the SARA 313 Toxic Release Inventory to determine reporting obligations
• Prepared related reports and exempt-status documentation
• Evaluated compliance with the facility’s air operation permit (issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) and recommended steps to support compliance with all aspects of the permit
• Calibrated the thermocouples of the regenerative thermal oxidizer, which controls VOC emissions at the facility

Notable Accomplishments

Using our expertise in environmental compliance for manufacturing and in federal and state regulations, Geosyntec helped the client understand their reporting obligations, maintain compliance, and meet regulatory timelines. We also made recommendations regarding the facility’s environmental management and record-keeping practices and created projections of future environmental permitting, reporting, and regulatory issues to help the client make informed decisions.