Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 1, 1993                   TAG: 9310010007
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHY IT PAYS TO STAY AHEAD OF POLLUTION LAWS

A corporate executive is unsure whether her industry is generating hazardous waste. What can she do?

As local business managers, bankers and others learned Thursday during a crash course on environmental liability, it pays to obey the law.

Better yet, it pays to stay one step ahead of environmental requirements.

Federal and state regulators are cracking down on polluters, said Charles Flippo, manager of compliance programs with Environmental Technologies of North America Inc., which recently opened an office in Roanoke.

He offered sobering stories and statistics to back them up:

One company with more than 100 plants opted not to invest $300,000 a year to monitor its compliance with environmental rules. Now it's paying $20 million in penalties, legal fees and cleanup costs after a toxic spill at one of its plants.

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency assessed a record $78.7 million in civil penalties against polluters. The agency's focus no longer is just on large industrial firms.

EPA also is stepping up criminal enforcement. Last year, defendants convicted of violating environmental laws got total jail time of 94.5 years. And ignorance of the law is no defense.

About 75 people attended the meeting, sponsored by HazWaste Industries Inc., a consulting firm and parent company of Environmental Technologies; the law firm of Christian, Barton, Epps, Brent & Chappell; and accountants Coopers & Lybrand.

The keynote speaker was Richard Burton, executive director of the newly formed Department of Environmental Quality.

"We're constantly accused of being a moving target. We're guilty," Burton said. The rules change so fast that businesses and bureaucrats alike are frustrated by the system, he said.

The DEQ's top priority is to help businesses understand the regulations and to streamline the permitting process, which sometimes can take years. "Our intent is to head off environmental conflict and damage before they occur," he said.

Aside from responding to environmental emergencies, companies should conduct environmental audits of their facilities to identify potential problems, said Michael Higgins, president of HazWaste Industries.

On average, such audits cost about one percent or less of a company's operating budget, he said. But the benefits are many - avoiding potential fines and litigation fees, better public image, lower insurance costs, better worker productivity, and better relationships with regulating agencies.

Doing an audit shows that a company is taking measures to comply with regulations, which is what federal and state agencies want to see, he said.

Companies also can save money by finding ways to reduce or reuse materials, avoiding disposal costs for hazardous waste that can run thousands of dollars per ton.

But, given the enforcement climate, woe to the company that does an audit and ignores problems that turn up, Higgins warned. The law requires that companies report violations.