HAZCLEAN Environmental Consultants, Inc. Jackson firm is a leader in regulatory compliance management
Businesses in the State and in the Delta benefit from HAZCLEAN’s services
Growing awareness of—and increasing concerns about—the environmental impact of construction and industrial operations created the need for a company like HAZCLEAN Environmental Consultants, Inc. In an ever more complex regulatory climate, the firm has become a leader in the field of environmental engineering and regulatory compliance management.
Founded in 1990, HAZCLEAN is headquartered in Jackson , and has offices in Birmingham and Ruston , LA. Its staff of engineers, geologists, industrial hygienists, and scientists provide a broad spectrum of services to industrial, commercial, financial, and real estate clients, as well as petroleum marketers.
E. Corbin McGriff, Jr., Ph.D., PE, the firm's president and director of operations, says that serious regulatory efforts began in the 1960's and the requirements are still evolving. “These are the regulations which allow people to operate, and apply to any type of operation which produces emissions,” he states. “Simply put, we help our clients establish compliance, and maintain compliance on an ongoing basis.
“Air quality issues, for example, affect almost every industry, and regulatory agencies continue to mandate increasingly stringent emissions guidelines. HAZCLEAN serves as a liaison with state and federal environmental officials, guiding our clients through those complex permitting and regulatory requirements.”
McGriff's firm also provides complete wastewater services to industrial facilities around the country, assisting them through evaluation and design of treatment programs.
Another service is hazardous and non-hazardous site investigations for industrial and commercial properties. These investigations characterize and assess the presence of toxic and hazardous wastes, determine the degree of contamination, and recommend the proper remediation strategies.
“With a construction project, we come in when it's first sited,” McGriff explains. “We want to make sure it's in the right place, with the right infrastructure.” He adds that one concern in the construction industry is mold growth problems, stemming from the use of moist or wet materials at the outset. “We investigate such problems and help the clients remedy them,” he says.
HAZCLEAN works with a number of industrial clients in the Delta region, McGriff reports. “We've seen an increase in the number of people asking for environmental assessment of property they're considering buying—which itself seems to show some potential for industrial growth in the region. And a real positive is how many of our clients are serious about working to be in compliance.”
He notes a particular concern in the Delta: “It's becoming increasingly clear that groundwater reserves are diminishing. People are going to have to focus more on this, if they plan to extract water for agriculture or industry. It is going to become a big challenge.”
Among other challenging issues, McGriff says, are vulnerability assessments for security of municipal resources such as water and wastewater. “Storm water runoff from construction activities is also a growing problem,” he observes. “If a construction site is larger than one acre, the contractor must develop a storm water management program. We're starting to see cases where contractors are being fined for being unaware or ignoring these requirements.”
HAZCLEAN will be holding seminars addressing this issue, and sending out informational pieces on the topic, he reports. McGriff has developed numerous seminar programs on environmental compliance issues, and is a regular speaker at industry conferences. DBJ
