Permitting, Compliance, and Enforcement

ERG is a national leader in permitting, compliance, and enforcement support to protect human health and the environment. With expertise spanning all environmental media and every major environmental statute, we have conducted detailed compliance analyses and inspections at thousands of facilities throughout the United States, covering every major U.S. industrial and municipal sector. We also provide federal and state agencies with a full range of permitting and litigation services, including support for complex cases involving potentially contentious settlement and litigation activities. In addition to these services, ERG develops compliance assistance tools targeted to the regulated community and regulators, as well as data integration and analysis tools to help clients identify sectors and facilities that pose the greatest threats to human health and the environment.

Permitting
  • Individual and general permit development
  • Special study reviews
  • Watershed-based permitting/trading
  • Public comment/public hearing support
  • Program assessments
  • Guidance/tool development
  • Outreach/training
Compliance Assistance
  • Data analysis and targeting tool development
  • Training programs for the regulated community and regulatory agencies
    • E-learning
    • Classroom training
    • Workshops and webinars
    • In-the-field training
  • Compliance assistance materials development
    • Interactive Web-based assistance
    • Fact sheets
    • Detailed compliance assistance guides
  • Program evaluation
Regulatory Enforcement
  • Development and analysis of information requests
  • Regulatory analysis
  • Inspections and investigations
  • Engineering and scientific evaluation of industrial and municipal processes and releases, pollution prevention options, and pollution control technologies
  • Laboratory analysis to characterize releases and control effectiveness
  • Analysis of economic benefits of noncompliance and ability to implement controls
  • Assessments of human health and environmental impacts of noncompliance
Litigation Support
  • Expert witness support
    • Injunctive relief/remedial measures development and assessment
    • Technical support during settlement negotiations
    • Drafting initial, rebuttal, and supplemental expert reports, affidavits, and exhibits
    • Field activities, including inspections and sampling
  • Process control and infrastructure design and analysis
  • Cost estimating for pollution prevention and control technologies
  • Hydraulic modeling
  • Environmental monitoring program development and analysis
    • Water and air quality impact assessments
    • Ambient water and air quality monitoring programs
  • Aquatic and terrestrial monitoring

Service Area Leads

Paul Buellesbach

I enjoy bringing a practical, engineering approach to solving the complex environmental problems facing our country, from air toxics emissions to hazardous waste issues to industrial and municipal wastewater contamination.

Paul Buellesbach

Wes Ganter

Protecting and restoring water quality has been my career-long mission. I feel so fortunate to have had great mentors, colleagues, and customers, and opportunities to serve throughout the U.S. and abroad. Most importantly, I truly appreciate  the privilege of mentoring a new generation of water quality professionals. Watching my company, PG Environmental, grow, thrive, and ultimately find such a perfect match with ERG has been equally rewarding. Looking forward, I am excited to tackle the water quality issues of the future.

Wes Ganter

Andy Loll

Working in compliance and enforcement, including conducting inspections, has given me an opportunity to see directly how environmental requirements affect regulated facilities—from gas stations to complex chemical plants and refineries. I enjoy providing technical solutions and regulatory assessments to help facilities understand and meet applicable requirements and, ultimately, help make our environment a healthier and safer place to work and live.

Andy Loll

Joe Watson

I find that field work is the best way to understand compliance issues. By seeing process operations firsthand, we can help EPA get to the root of issues and support the agency in determining the best ways to minimize waste generation and disposal across industrial sectors.

Joe Watson