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PurposeRecent reports based on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) have revealed that no country is in line with achieving the targets of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, with the slowest progress being witnessed mainly on goals that are focused on the environment. This study examines environmental performance indicators for assessing the sustainability of building projects.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an explanatory sequential design with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. An extensive critical comparative review of the literature resulted in the identification of ten environmental sustainability indicators. One hundred and sixty-seven questionnaire responses based upon these indicators from the Ghanaian construction industry were received. Data were coded with SPSS v22, analysed descriptively, and via inferential analysis. These data were then validated through semi-structured interviews with six interviewees who are fellows of their respective professional bodies, a senior academic (professor in construction project delivery) and a government official. Data obtained from the semi-structured validation interviews were analysed through the side-by-side comparison of the qualitative data with the quantitative data.FindingsThe findings from the study suggest that all the indicators were important in assessing building projects' environmental sustainability across the entire life cycle. Key among the identified indicators is the effects of the project on “water quality, air quality, energy use and conservation, and environmental compliance and management”. The interviewees further agreed to and confirmed the importance of these identified indicators for assessing the environmental sustainability of building projects in Ghana.Originality/valueCompared to existing studies, this study adopts the exploratory sequential design to identify and examine the critical indicators in assessing the environmental sustainability across the entire lifecycle of building projects in a typical developing country setting, i.e. Ghana. It reveals areas of prime concern in the drive to place the local construction industry on a trajectory towards achieving environmental sustainability.

The construction of hydropower projects is proliferating, and environmental studies are conducted to make them more environmental-friendly. As properly managed hydropower projects have minimal environmental impacts, the environmental compliance of the projects should be assessed to know whether they are properly managed. However, the environmental compliance of the hydropower projects has not been adequately evaluated. To understand such compliance, we assessed the implementation status of the mitigation measures proposed in the approved environmental study reports of the hydropower projects of Nepal as a case study. We studied eight hydropower projects, of which three were under-construction, and five were operated projects. We found that about three-fourths of the mitigation measures are partially or fully implemented in hydropower projects. There are no substantial differences in the environmental compliance between operated and under-construction hydropower projects. We found that socio-economic and cultural environment-related mitigation measures are mostly implemented in hydropower projects. However, there are some major environmental non-compliance of hydropower projects in the physical and biological environment, which can severely undermine the environmental performance of the hydropower projects. As hydropower projects are necessary for reducing the negative impacts of fossil fuels in Nepal and the global context, these mitigation measures should be implemented to make them more environment-friendly. We recommend frequent inspection and monitoring and other measures that should be urgently applied to increase the environmental compliance of hydropower projects. Similarly, further research on the reason behind the non-compliance, the effectiveness of the mitigation measures, and ways to improve the compliance rate should be carried out.

This study discusses environmental monitoring which is an activity carried out directly or indirectly by the regional environmental supervisory apparatus to determine compliance with business and / or activity compliance with regulations in controlling environmental pollution. This research method uses qualitative research using the theory proposed by T. Hani Handoko (1995: 23) "Basic Oversight", namely: 1. Preliminary Supervision; 2. Supervision of Implementation; 3. Feedback Monitoring (After Implementation). Key informants were: Head of the Banyuasin District Environmental Agency, Head of Environmental Compliance and Capacity Building, Head of the Environmental Monitoring Section, Head of the Environmental Pollution Control Section, the Head of the Environmental Damage Control Section and the Company Management. The results of the research show that compliance with business and / or activities responsible for the regulation in controlling environmental pollution has problems, namely: the available budget is still limited for supervisory operational needs, the implementation of supervision in Banyuasin District seems slow and has not been implemented well apart from the lack of company compliance in reporting liquid waste management in Banyuasin Regency for that important role with stakeholders, namely the government, the community, and companies that produce waste is needed. Conducted joint supervision will have a very effective impact in overseeing industrial waste that will result in environmental pollution, while the company itself should periodically and continuously check the industrial waste produced

In attempt to improve stormwater management and compliance the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks (MECP) has proposed a multi-site Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) system for managing stormwater compliance at the subwatershed level. This research focuses on the identification and selection of stormwater objectives, criteria, targets, and thresholds to be included as part of the approval. This research also identifies and recommends traditional and alternative monitoring techniques for inclusion in a multi-site permit. Recommendations are provided for database architecture including storage, manipulation, and viewing of monitoring data. The selected stormwater objectives, criteria, targets, thresholds, monitoring techniques, and frequencies were compiled in a multi-site stormwater ECA framework to assist with the MECP with the implementation of multi-site stormwater ECAs within Ontario. The framework serves as an overview of important parameters that can be effectively monitored within a multi-site stormwater ECA.

U.S. public university campuses are held directly responsible for compliance with many of the same federal- and state-level environmental regulations as cities, including stormwater management. While operating as 'cities within cities' in many respects, campuses face unique constraints in achieving stormwater regulatory compliance. To compare the abilities of campuses to comply with stormwater regulations to municipalities, we conduct mixed-methods research using primary data from five University of California (UC) campuses. Public universities constituted over 20% of California's "nontraditional" permittees under the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) regulation regime in 2013. We utilize semi-structured interviews with campus and regulatory officials, a survey of campus students and staff around support and willingness to pay for innovative stormwater management, and content analysis of campus stormwater management documents to examine challenges to public university stormwater compliance. We find that, despite their progressive environmental practices in other areas like energy and water conservation, even as compared to cities, stormwater management practices on the evaluated campuses are constrained by several factors: infrastructure financing limitations, lack of transparent and coordinated decision-making, a lack of campus resident involvement, and regulatory inflexibility. Our study provides new insights, both for understanding campuses as sustainable 'cities within cities' and more broadly for urban environmental compliance regimes globally.

Enforcement plays an important role in groundwater governance and management. Not only does it provide a crucial end-of-pipe view on the success or failure of imposed regulation, but also it acts as an advocate for good groundwater governance and management. As groundwater drilling or abstraction is often not the core business of inspected operators, a lack of knowledge on good installation and maintenance of the installations is often reported. A ‘not in my backyard’ or NIMBY vision is also often encountered with stakeholders living near to inspected installations. At the same time, however an ‘only my backyard’ or OMBY vision comes into play with regard to groundwater supply and use. A broadening of these visions is necessary, not only in the field, but also at the governance level to facilitate best practices. Since enforcement translates this governance and best practices to the field, it is also important to broaden the view to an international level regarding is successes and failures in doing so. Cooperation and sharing information about lessons learned during enforcement of groundwater drilling and abstraction sites aid in getting the enforcement business out of its own backyard. Resulting adaptation of legislation and enforcement tools or methods are a benefit for good groundwater governance and management, as this valuable resource does not adhere to these administrative boundaries.

In August 1996, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through its review committee reaffirmed an earlier decision to deny the application of the Pangasinan Cement Corporation (PCC) for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to build a giant cement plant, worth 1.3 billion pesos ($50 million), in the coastal town of Bolinao, Pangasinan, in the northwestern part of the Philippines. An earlier attempt by the PCC to acquire official approval for the project failed when the DENR in October 1995 ruled against the construction of the plant due to unresolved issues pertaining to land use, social acceptability, and pollution mitigation. The government’s decision came on the heels of a vigorous campaign by environmental activists to mobilize public sentiment against the cement complex on grounds that its construction will not only foster marine destruction, biodiversity loss, river siltation, and geological disturbances, but will threaten as well the health and security of local residents.

The future availability and quality of natural resources essential to life such as ecosystem services and biodiversity depend on the conservation and restoration of native vegetation. The Brazilian Native Vegetation Protection Law (NVPL) requires farmers to conserve a minimum percentage of native vegetation within their properties as Legal Reserves (LR) as well as riparian forests and hilltops as Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs). To monitor the conservation and facilitate the compliance of these areas, the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) were created. However, so far, little is known about farmers' interest in joining the PRA and the actions they intend to take to correct their past illegal deforestation. This article explores a unique dataset comprising of the individual answers of 97 thousand farmers in the states of Para and Mato Grosso given to the Brazilian Forest Service in the process of joining at the national rural environmental registry system. We found that the adherence to the PRA is positively correlated with recognition of the LR deficit and the size of the rural property. Also medium and large landowners and crop producers tend to seek compliance by taking actions outside the farm (compensation), while small farmers and squatters are more likely to act inside their own areas (restoration). Understanding farmers’ interests and options for LR compliance can contribute for the formulation of more effective implementation strategies for PRA and NVPL.

Marine renewable energy is a relatively new phenomenon that is becoming cost-competitive with traditional sources of energy. Marine hydrokinetic energy (MHK), as it moves to commercial scale, will be subject to myriad laws and regulations associated with wildlife impacts and efforts to avoid unsustainable adverse effects. At the same time that MHK is developing in this arena in the U.S., regulations and policies are changing, creating a moving target and affecting already established industries, such as oil and gas. To ensure that MHK can be cost-effective and to reduce risks of delays and impracticable project adjustments and mitigation in the U.S., early consideration of laws governing wildlife and how they are applied will be key. Planning to address wildlife priorities associated with statutory needs and industry/stakeholder goals can drive development of technology, engineering choices, siting, planning, mitigation, and adaptive management practices. Other marine industries have been recently affected by U.S. wildlife laws. For example, offshore wind is experiencing delay on the U.S. East Coast in part due to challenges with environmental statutory requirements and agency concerns about impacts. In oil and gas, it is unclear how new regulatory requirements, such as the Incidental Take Regulation pending for geophysical surveys in the Gulf of Mexico will affect the industry. MHK and other marine energy industries can leverage proactive planning and agency engagement to reduce risks of delays and costs that could significantly affect proposed projects.

Environmental stewardship is the keystone to sustainability in mining and industry. While environmental compliance appears to be costly at first sight, it gives a mining company a competitive edge. Several pieces of legislation have been enacted as a means to deal with impacts of mining on the environment and hence provide an enabling environment for sustainable development (SD). The industry has adopted the principles of environmentally responsible mining, in line with the recommendations of international bodies like the International Organization for Standards (ISO), The Equator Principles Association and International Finance Corporation (IFC). This paper evaluates the sustainability of the South African mining industry in the light of the National Planning Commission (NPC)’s overview that ‘South Africa's growth path is highly resource-intensive and hence unsustainable.’ Arguments are presented to refute this viewpoint and additional impacts of mining on the environment, not mentioned by the NPC, are also discussed together with the measures that the mining industry has taken to resolve such impacts. Although the mining industry has instituted emergency preparedness measures, environmental incidents do occur, but these isolated incidents do not provide evidence that mining is unsustainable. Such events are a feature of all sectors of the economy. The author advocates the establishment of a SD legal framework through consultative discussions with interested and affected parties to create an environment conducive for legal compliance, which would include SD indicators to enable the Department of Minerals and Resources to monitor company compliance and identify defaulting companies.

2017-373 Federal agencies involved in oil spill response in the U.S. are required to comply with several environmental compliance laws. Where a Federal agency is operating in a way that may affect endangered species in the area, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires the agency to “consult” with the two Federal agencies responsible for protecting those species and habitats – the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, nonprofit organizations filed several lawsuits against the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (the “Action Agencies”) for failure to comply with the ESA during oil spill contingency planning. In one case, a settlement required the Action Agencies to consult with the NMFS and USFWS (together, called the “Services”) on the plan to use oil spill dispersants in California waters. Perhaps responding to these developments, several Regional Response Teams across the country initiated or made plans to review the status of their ESA Section 7 consultations. These efforts have varied in cost, scope, composition of agency representatives involved, and success in completing a consultation for a variety of reasons. There have been numerous challenges for USCG and EPA in meeting the ESA Section 7 consultation requirements for oil spill planning. First, the most recent framework for cooperation between the Action Agencies and the Services regarding consulting on oil spill planning and response activities is contained in an Interagency Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed in 2001. Although the agreement is still valid, some parts have been identified as outdated or in need of clarification. Secondly, there are no direct funding mechanisms or dedicated personnel assigned to the Action Agencies to work on pre-spill ESA Section 7 consultations. Third, recommendations and consultation outcomes can vary between Service agencies as well as internally within each Service agency due to a high level of regional autonomy. In 2015, the National Response Team (NRT) formed a new, interagency subcommittee to improve the Federal Action Agencies’ ability to comply with environmental laws such as the ESA with respect to oil spill response and pre-spill planning. A workgroup of the NRT Subcommittee was formed to specifically address pre-spill ESA Section 7 consultation processes. The workgroup includes regional and national representatives from the Action Agencies and the Services. In addition to strengthening relationships and understanding among the participating agencies, the workgroup has identified gaps in the 2001 MOA and is in the process of developing tools and templates on how to conduct pre-spill ESA Section 7 consultations to help fill some of the existing gaps. The workgroup ultimately hopes to facilitate the development of updated, complete, efficient, and consistent ESA Section 7 consultations across the nation.

With the launch of China’s "Twelfth Five- Year Plan", environmental governance issues have attracted widespread attention in local governments. And the assessment of atmospheric environmental governance across China has also become an important basis for environmental compliance. General weather forecasting models only consider the information of atmospheric pollutants, which ignores the impact of emission reduction measures promulgated by government departments. In order to solve this problem and achieve more exact and realistic assessment, this paper establishes environmental countermeasures impact assessment of central China (Hubei, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Sichuan) through AIM/Technology and WRF/CMAQ models. The model can combine the basic air pollution data with local government policies to achieve accurate numerical weather prediction. In this work, the air pollution control policies formulated by the four provinces from 2012 to 2014 are used to assess whether the atmospheric environment in 2017 meets the standards. The assessment results show that in the past five years, most of cities with a 10% reduction target in central China can achieve emission reduction targets, but cities with a target of 20% emission reduction target are difficult to achieve the target. Through the assessment of the impacts of atmospheric environmental governance policies in Hubei, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, it proves that our proposed estimation framework is a necessary and effective tool to test the impact of air pollution control in other areas with scarce observation points in China.

The textile industry in Bangladesh has been a great engine for boosting economic growth in the country. However, with great success came environmental deterioration. Untreated effluents containing heavy metals are being released into rivers from nearby factories, affecting the health of people who live along the polluted rivers. The existing law in Bangladesh, requiring such factories to install an effluent treatment plant (ETP), has not been effective in reducing environmental noncompliance. This paper aims to investigate the reality of the situation that the textile industry faces regarding environmental compliance. It is based on primary data collected from textile factories in Dhaka through a questionnaire survey with complementary interviews. This study especially highlights the barriers and difficulties faced by factories in the installation and operation of ETPs. The results confirm previous findings: Low willingness of companies to meet environmental compliance requirements and inadequate monitoring and enforcement by government authorities. In addition, we reveal that the dominant barriers to ETP installation are at the purchase stage, rather than the construction stage: ETPs are unavailable in local markets and the import tax is high. Institutional arrangements are required to improve this situation, this could include establishing a subsidy scheme that would encourage voluntary construction of central ETPs. We suggest that external pressure is essential for Bangladesh to change and the external bodies exerting such pressure should have objective measures by which to judge compliance, the quality of river water might be the only reliable measure of environmental compliance in this situation.

Over the past 30 years, urban environmental pollution governance has been increasingly influenced by ideas of New Public Management. However, there is increasing evidence that it is failing in its promise to deliver efficient and effective regulation. The critiques are mounting of risk-based approaches, where regulators are increasingly accountable for the costs (and benefits) of their interventions upon firms. There is a particular lack of research on the role of conduct and practices involved on the ‘front line’ of regulation. This constrains our ability to understand how more efficient effective urban environmental pollution control might develop. This paper focuses on the regulator field officers and business duty holders of environmental compliance, who have direct contact in the processes and administration of regulation. Applying theories of social practice to environmental regulation, the paper provides new insights into compliance and enforcement practices, as these workers seek to prevent pollution, remediate sites and manage waste. The analysis reveals disconnects between expectations of enforcing and managing compliance; and between practices of policing and polluting. Using an ethnographic-informed approach to understand the social practices of regulation has not been attempted in this way before. It reveals new insights into limitations of current approaches to regulation, and indicates interventions that could lead to improved compliance outcomes in a post-New Public Management era in urban pollution governance.

Institutional perspectives and theories have shaped how problems related to individual and collective choices in forest landscapes are perceived. This article explores the social impacts of the Rural Environmental Cadastre (CAR) in the municipality of São Félix do Xingu, in the state of Pará, Brazilian Amazon. CAR is a tenure clarification and environmental compliance intervention to reduce deforestation and improve forest conservation in the Brazilian Amazon. With a focus on smallholders, the article provides insights on how to better understand institutional bricolage and behavior change in the context of social practices. Results suggest that CAR implementation is still too limited to adequately reflect the heterogeneity and complexity of reducing deforestation in the Eastern Amazon. The SFX case shows that land users responsible for pursuing environmental compliance normally draw on existing traditions – styles of thinking, sanctioned social relationships – to respond to changing situations. Neglecting such social processes and practices can decrease the long-term effectiveness of interventions such as CAR. This is usually a result of unforeseen interactions among activities practiced by the range of different actors in forest landscapes. Concluding remarks argue that, unless we shift our approach from focusing on changing individuals’ behavior to changing the interaction of elements that constitute social practices, we will remain blind to the conditions that actually drive behavior change towards environmental compliance and forest conservation.

Forests are becoming severely fragmented as a result of land development. South Korea has responded to changing community concerns about environmental issues. The nation has developed and is extending a broad range of tools for use in environmental management. Although legally mandated environmental compliance requirements in South Korea have been implemented to predict and evaluate the impacts of land-development projects, these legal instruments are often insufficient to assess the subsequent impact of development on the surrounding forests. It is especially difficult to examine impacts on multiple (e.g., regional and local) scales in detail. Forest configuration and size, including forest fragmentation by land development, are considered on a regional scale. Moreover, forest structure and composition, including biodiversity, are considered on a local scale in the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Recently, the government amended the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, including the SEA, EIA, and small-scale EIA, to require an integrated approach. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish an impact assessment system that minimizes the impacts of land development using an approach that is integrated across multiple scales. This study focused on forest fragmentation due to residential development and road construction sites in selected Congestion Restraint Zones (CRZs) in the Greater Seoul Area of South Korea. Based on a review of multiple-scale impacts, this paper integrates models that assess the impacts of land development on forest ecosystems. The applicability of the integrated model for assessing impacts on forest ecosystems through the SEIA process is considered. On a regional scale, it is possible to evaluate the location and size of a land-development project by considering aspects of forest fragmentation, such as the stability of the forest structure and the degree of fragmentation. On a local scale, land-development projects should consider the distances at which impacts occur in the vicinity of the forest ecosystem, and these considerations should include the impacts on forest vegetation and bird species. Impacts can be mitigated by considering the distances at which these influences occur. In particular, this paper presents an integrated environmental impact assessment system to be applied in the SEIA process. The integrated assessment system permits the assessment of the cumulative impacts of land development on multiple scales.

California’s projected natural gas demand, coupled with the reality of moribund supply basins, has prompted plans for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Several project applications for the siting, design, construction, and operation of onshore and offshore LNG import terminals have recently undergone a rigorous federal and state regulatory appraisal. The environmental, public safety, and security mandates encoded in current legal statutes were the dominant compliance issues. Addressing compliance required comprehensive risk assessment with extensive modeling of the potentially perilous scenarios, including natural and malevolent intentional hazards for LNG tanker movements and marine terminal operations. The objective was to evaluate the effect of adverse consequences on public and property not associated with LNG terminal. On the basis of this evaluation experience, the principal federal and state laws, regulations, standards and concerns, and jurisdictional and technical conflicts relevant to environmental, public safety, and security compliance for a marine LNG import terminal are outlined. This will benefit others planning similar ventures in California or elsewhere.

Offsets, first formalised in the United States of America in the 1970s for wetland mitigation, are now widely used globally with the aim to mitigate loss of biodiversity due to development. Embracing biodiversity offsets is one method of governments to meet their commitments under the Millennium Development Goals and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Resource extraction companies see them as a method of gaining access to land, while the community may perceive them as a way of enhancing environmental outcomes. In New South Wales, Australia, BioBanking legislation was introduced in late 2006 with the aim of ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity associated with development, particularly expanding urban and coastal development. The strengths of the legislation are that it aims to enhance threatened species conservation, and raise the profile of conservation of threatened species and habitats. Weaknesses include (1) the narrowness of the definition of biodiversity; (2) the concepts are based on a flawed logic and immature, imprecise and complex science which results in difficulties in determining biodiversity values; (3) likely problems with management and compliance; and (4) an overall lack of resources for implementation and long-term monitoring. It is concluded that the legislation is a concerted effort to deal with biodiversity loss, however, stakeholders have concerns with the process, and it is unworkable with the complexity of such ecosystems (compared for example to carbon credit trading), and underdeveloped disciplines such as restoration biology and ecology. Despite these criticisms, there is a need for all stakeholders to work to improve the outcomes.

Communities across Canada rely heavily on natural resources for their livelihoods. One such community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, has both benefited and suffered, because of its proximity to a pulp and paper mill (currently owned by Northern Pulp). Since production began in 1967, there have been increasing impacts to the local environment and human health. Environmental reports funded by the mill were reviewed and compared against provincial and federal regulatory compliance standards. Reports contrasted starkly to societal perceptions of local impacts and independent studies. Most environmental monitoring reports funded by the mill indicate some levels of compliance in atmospheric and effluent emissions, but when compliance targets were not met, there was a lack of regulatory enforcement. After decades of local pollution impacts and lack of environmental compliance, corporate social responsibility initiatives need implementing for the mill to maintain its social licence to operate.

Environmental compliance requirements periodically impact the military's ability to use all installation resources. In response, environmental management strategies have been developed to ensure compliance and allow site closure. This study examines the relationship between environmental management strategies and environmental compliance at U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) installations via analysis of environmental compliance audit scores. Five environmental scores of interest from 1998 to 2004 audits—which include total compliance, total management, audit management, policy management, and training management—were subjected to statistical analysis. Results showed the USMC met environmental compliance and management standards, despite limited resources. High management strategy scores were moderately correlated with high total compliance scores. Total management scores improved over time, and noncompliance was most often associated with a lack of resources and plans. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are point sources of pollution and require Clean Water Act permits. The 2003 regulations allow Large CAFOs to propose alternative performance standards (APS) that offer equivalent or better environmental performance than the baseline technology. Principal obstacles to APS success include the complexities of demonstrating superior performance, cost uncertainties for obtaining approval, CAFO risks of participation, inter- and intra-organizational barriers of permitting agencies, and potential lawsuits brought by environmental groups. Despite obstacles, APS offers potential for technology innovations and reduced environmental compliance costs.

In early 2002, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) completed a revision of its Environmental Management System (EMS). The new EMS is designed to fully align with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 EMS standards. The EMS incorporated a new Environmental Review Process as an integral component. It established clear roles and responsibilities for the agency NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) staff and organizations across TVA, introduced process improvements and standardization measures, and made structural changes to bring about increased efficiency and effectiveness in NEPA reviews. The NEPA process was further strengthened by its integration into the revised comprehensive EMS. A new Environmental Policy and Principles was adopted that reestablished the TVA commitments to environmental protection and stewardship, to assess and minimize the effects of TVA operations on the environment, and to involve the public. An Achievement Plan was developed to assure that TVA meets its corporate environmental commitment; that plan recognized the EMS as the principal tool for achieving that goal. Corporate environmental objectives and targets were established, and new methods to measure the overall environmental performance of TVA were introduced. Significantly, the NEPA process was directly linked to other EMS processes, including those for environmental training, communication and stakeholder involvement, records management, environmental auditing, corrective and preventive action, performance monitoring and reporting, and management review. These systematic linkages work together to reinforce all aspects of NEPA performance and to provide improved environmental compliance, cost savings in environmental management programs, and measurable improvements in achievement of TVA environmental objectives. The TVA experience, which takes an agency-wide rather than a facility-based approach to EMS development, may offer insights and an alternative strategy to other agencies addressing NEPA/EMS implementation issues.

In November 1994, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducted an environmental audit of the North Pacific Division Laboratory in Troutdale, Oregon. The North Pacific Division Laboratory performed geotechnical and chemical testing of materials for government agencies for the period 1948–1997. The audit results revealed serious deficiencies in environmental management and compliance that posed threats to human health, safety, and the environment. Specifically, the North Pacific Division Laboratory had nine “Major Findings” and one “Significant Finding.” Major Findings require action, but not necessarily immediate action, whereas Significant Findings require immediate attention. Types of deficiencies at the facility included unlabeled and improperly stored hazardous waste in storage sheds, an improperly abandoned and contaminated water supply well, illegal discharge of chemical wastewater into a local drainage ditch, and a non-permitted landfill containing buried 55-gallon drums of unknown substances. Chemicals commonly used at the North Pacific Division Laboratory included petroleum products, heavy metals, organic solvents, and chemical reagents. Following unsuccessful attempts to communicate the North Pacific Division Laboratory's noncompliance issues through normal USACE channels, one author (Jeffrey A. Hepler) exercised provisions afforded under the Whistleblower Protection Act and contacted the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. This paper discusses the sequence of events that led to the eventual closure of the North Pacific Division Laboratory and provides recommendations for environmental professionals involved in environmental auditing and compliance. These recommendations include examining the efficacy of existing environmental management plans, utilizing professional and independent auditors, changing audit frequencies from five to three years, and reporting audit results directly to senior management.

This paper is a part of some on‐going research to evaluate environmental compliance by chemical facilities with Title III requirements. The purpose of this paper is to report on a case study in Lake County, Indiana. We evaluate environmental compliance of chemical facilities through the perceptions and opinions of the members of the Lake County Local Emergency Planning Committee. We find that major problems perceived by the local emergency planners are the lack of knowledge of reporting requirements by the small chemical facilities and the difficulty of monitoring these facilities. Recognizing the limitations of this study, we hope that it will help to understand how local communities can effectively encourage facilities to comply with Title III without direct government involvement.

This paper records the transformation process in rural husbandry activities, due to modernization and emphasizes the need for archiving some aspects of indigenous knowledge in the geographical area of Khaf in North East Iran. The researcher used descriptive- analytical method and with an applied approach. It suggests that modernization, within the changing operational use of pastures has increased livestock production on one hand, but has caused partial loss of employment, reduced income, increased migration, and degradation of renewable resources on the other hand. Thus, relying on the indigenous knowledge of livestock (environmental compliance) alone has not been able to provide socio-economic stability in rural communities. Combining indigenous and formal knowledge to balance a renewable resource management system is considered suitable approach in achieving rural sustainable development especially in a developing country like Iran.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities for 2013, including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have affected or could adversely affect the health, safety, and security of the public or workers; the environment; or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report and is prepared in accordance with the DOE Order 231.1B, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.

In recent years, the public awareness and concern for the environment have been increased significantly. This has resulted in tougher legislation and more stringent standards to which the industry will have to work. In this paper, the environmental regulatory situation in Hong Kong and the effluent standards in Hong Kong and other counties were reviewed so as to give a word of caution for the local textile dyeing industry. Moreover, various pollution prevention techniques were suggested in order to reduce pollution through elimination at the source rather than treatment or disposal.

The environmental justice movement has focused attention on the need to more actively ensure equitable environmental protection for all and to empower those most often disenfranchised from the decision-making process—t he poor and people of color. In South Carolina, this effort is centered out of the Community Based Environmental Protection (CBEP) project in Charleston County. The city of North Charleston, with a resident population of 73,000, is characterized by the presence of the Charleston Naval Complex, the Naval Weapons Station, and the Charleston Air Force Base. With the national spotlight on Charleston County CBEP as an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Model Program, military installations are being pulled into the community efforts to address environmental justice concerns. The environmental compliance and conditions at bases are no longer just between the installation and the state regulatory agencies. Instead, community groups like the one in Charleston are forming to empower neighborhoods to improve environmental, health, and safety conditions.

The three pillars of Asian energy security are an adequate, reliable supply; environmental sustainability; and affordable access for all. As Asians become more affluent, managing demand by tackling outmoded subsidies so prices reflect true costs, exploring green innovations in technology and prudent infrastructure design, and changing behavior will be crucial to achieving security as will expanding both renewable and nonrenewable sources in an environmentally sound and cost-effective manner. Without radical changes to the region’s energy mix, oil consumption will double, natural gas consumption will triple, and coal consumption will increase by 81%. This would double carbon dioxide emissions to nearly 24 billion tons per year by 2035 which is more than the 22 billion tons experts see as the maximum sustainable emissions for the whole world. To fully manage demand and explore new sources, cooperative programs that integrate energy delivery systems regionally must be implemented. Jointly promoting energy savings and security does not require new technology or pose high costs, but it does require the political will to cooperate and the confidence that makes cooperation possible. Cross-border collaboration is technologically and commercially viable. What is missing is the political commitment to cooperate in energy markets and to build the necessary infrastructure.

Pollutants in urban storm water runoff, a significant and increasing fraction of pollutants in some waters of the U.S., originate from multiple activities. The industrial sector, one source category, is subject to federal and state-level storm water pollution prevention regulations, primarily General NPDES Permits that rely heavily on facility operators to identify themselves and develop appropriate site-specific pollutant controls. Degree of compliance is not readily determined and enforcement is inhibited because no publicly-available inventories contain data necessary to comprehensively identify facilities required to comply. This research evaluates the first stage of compliance, facility self-identification, concentrating on the motor-vehicle, transportation industry category using data at three scales: statewide, regional, and local or watershed. Data for California statewide and for the Los Angeles region show about 8 percent to 15 percent of motor-vehicle transportation facilities have complied with first-stage requirements. However, facility-specific evaluation in one Los Angeles County watershed suggests less than 50 percent of facilities in the industry conduct industrial activities of the kind covered by regulations; others need not comply. Results show strong variation by industry category. Second-stage compliance, follow-up reporting, is also evaluated for the Los Angeles region. About 17 percent to 34 percent of facilities completing first-stage requirements have also completed second-stage requirements.

This document is a summary of the full Nevada National Security Site Environmental Report 2012

An increase in the average size of individual livestock production operations coupled with local and regional concentrations of these operations tend to increase negative environmental impacts in many watersheds. Environmental compliance strategies developed by the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) can be applied to reduce the negative impacts caused by livestock production and other types of agricultural activities. Further, the Institute's "planned intervention/micro-watershed approach" may provide the foundation for comprehensive solutions to environmental problems within a broad ecosystem management context.

This paper reveals that Nigeria now has a relatively comprehensive environmental legal and institutional regimes adequately empowered to ensure effective compliance monitoring and enforcement of all relevant treaties, legislations and regulations for sustainable development and conservation of natural resources in Nigeria. Hence the NESREA Act 2007 and Regulations 2009-11 were instruments of necessity having learnt lessons from the drawbacks of its predecessor agency between 1991 and 2007.Nigeria's formal environmental regime has developed significantly from humble beginnings. Having been initiated in the colonial period, during which environmental issues were generally couched within public health regulation; and having developed in a rather ad hoc manner in the early days of independence, during which heavy reliance was placed on the law of nuisance; Nigeria now has a relatively comprehensive environmental regime reliance. This regime is administered by an array of institutions.This review aims at providing an overview of a comprehensive environmental legislation in most recent times for effective protection of the environment, management of biodiversity and promotion of sustainable development in Nigeria.Further, this review seeks to provide an overview of the unprecedented development in Nigeria's Environmental Law by the coming into force of twenty-four Environmental Regulations made by the Federal Minister of Environment.

Since the enactment of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), environmental consulting has emerged as a reputable profession that was estimated to employ more than 50,000 last year. Despite the importance and economic impact of environmental compliance, the environmental consulting industry remains relatively young and profuse in noncertified professionals. Environmental professionals (EPs) are faced with implementing a vast array of regulations that require expertise from a wide range of technical, scientific, and engineering staff, many of whom are not registered professionals. The result can leas to a professional overlap between the technical responsibilities and established legal principles. From the perspective of an EP, the line between sound consulting and legal advice can be easily blurred. Although not limited to the environmental industry, the problem of unknowingly rendering legal advice is evident in many other professions, including accounting and taxation, pension and group benefit plan counselling, real estate, financial and estate planning, and banking.

Numerous existing and proposed regulations have forced owners/operators of industrial facilities to reevaluate current methods for management of stormwater which falls within the confines of their facilities. Most have found it necessary to integrate their current stormwater and wastewater management practices into a comprehensive environmental compliance program. The development of an integrated stormwater management program should focus on the following objectives: compliance with state and federal regulations. the minimization of the volume of stormwater requiring treatment. the minimization of the impacts on process/production unit operations the minimization of the impacts on wastewater treatment unit operations. A well designed and properly implemented stormwater management program can reduce capital and operating costs and enhance effluent quality.