OPT: January 2021 - Don't Let Audits Catch You Off Guard in 2021

Most people will agree that 2020 was an unusual year. The COVID-19 pandemic caught us all off guard and it had negative impacts on our health, economy, unemployment rates and many other aspects of our lives. 

But how did it affect your role in the world of air monitoring? Certainly, everyone is afraid of being caught off guard by a surprise audit. ESC Spectrum is looking ahead and we have organized more than a dozen separate outlines to help you not only survive an audit, but emerge with your head held high. This link will take you to the informative documents in our Resource Library designed to help you understand what it takes to overcome an audit.

When was the last time your facility was audited? How much advance notice did you get? It is generally accepted that each facility can expect to be audited about once every five (5) years or more. The single most important tool in your compliance efforts is your Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QAQC) plan developed for the emission sources found at your site. An auditor will use it to evaluate the completeness of your compliance efforts and the thoroughness of your actions.

The Clean Air Market Division (CAMD) has published a series of audit checklists to tell their field auditors how to conduct an audit of how the equipment and people function in an attempt to perform under the Acid Rain regulations. We encourage you to use these checklists to develop your plan to overcome and prepare for an audit.

In today’s world, a facility usually operates under more than one regulatory program. It is not unusual for a facility to strive to generate compliance data and evidence for multiple air quality programs, such as Part 60 (Standards  of Performance for New Stationary Sources), Part 75 (Acid Rain) or Part 63 (Electric Generating Unit  Mercury and Air Toxics Standards – EGU MATS) and Part 98 (Greenhouse Gases). These programs frequently drive competing initiatives, conflicts and confusion. 

Take advantage of these guidance documents and stay ahead of the game to stay in compliance.

For questions, suggestions, or for a general chat, do not hesitate to contact me.

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Jon Konings