Insights
J.S. Held Acquires Shechter & Everett to Expand Forensic Accounting Capabilities for Family Law Disputes in Florida
Read More
Publication Date: March 25, 2026
An environmental compliance audit can feel like just another box to check, until it turns up something unexpected. Maybe there are old hazardous materials that no one remembered, air permits that no longer reflect how the facility operates, or indoor air quality issues that explain the complaints about headaches and musty smells. Moments like that can be stressful, but they can also be a turning point.
The real purpose of an environmental compliance audit is simple: find gaps in compliance, risk management, and documentation before a regulator, a tenant, or an incident does. When an audit uncovers surprises, it is shining a light on blind spots that were already there. That light can help reduce liability, protect people in the building, and support cleaner operations.
Surprises are chances to make the whole program stronger. With the right guidance, organizations can interpret findings, set smart priorities, and turn one uncomfortable audit into long-term gains for safety, health, and the environment.
Even motivated teams struggle to stay fully current with environmental, health, and safety rules. There are layers of federal, state, and local requirements, and they evolve. Internal environmental, health, and safety (EHS) staff are often stretched thin and focused on day-to-day needs rather than tracking every code change or guidance update.
That is why audits so often reveal things no one expected. Common reasons include:
Organizational shifts play a big role, too. When operations grow, move, or add new processes, written permits and procedures do not always keep up. Staff turnover can also leave gaps in knowledge about what was done years ago and why.
A thorough environmental compliance audit looks at three main pieces together: documentation, field conditions, and actual daily practices. That mix is powerful. It often finds issues that routine internal inspections miss, especially where habits have slowly drifted away from what the paperwork says.
Certain findings recur across different types of facilities. They might seem small at first, but they can pose a real risk if left unaddressed.
On the chemical and hazardous materials side, experts often see:
Older properties or older buildings often have hidden materials that now raise concern. These can include asbestos-containing materials, lead-based paint, and building components that were installed long before current regulations. If they are disturbed during repairs or upgrades, they can affect both workers and occupants.
Indoor environmental quality is another common surprise. Even in warm climates, where HVAC systems often run much of the day, it is typical to find issues like:
Equipment that supports health and safety is often overlooked once it is installed. For example, eyewash stations might not be tested and maintained, spill-response supplies may be missing or expired, or air permits may not reflect current operating conditions following process changes.
Each of these findings can create regulatory, financial, and reputational risk. Problems tend to grow when regulators, tenants, or employees start asking questions, and there is no clear, current answer.
The moment after an audit can feel overwhelming if the list of findings is long. The key is to turn that list into a clear, practical plan.
A helpful first step is triage. Findings can be sorted into groups, such as:
Once the issues are sorted, it is important to ask why each one happened. Root-cause analysis does not need to be complicated. Many problems trace back to one or more of the following:
From there, a corrective action plan can be built with clear tasks, timelines, responsible people, and milestones. That plan is not just for internal use. It can also show leadership, building owners, and regulators that the organization is taking findings seriously and making steady progress.
Good communication matters here. Technical language needs to be translated into plain, useful information for supervisors, frontline workers, and building occupants, so each person knows what will change and what their role is.
The best way to handle audit surprises is to reduce the frequency with which they occur. That means shifting from a reactive mindset to one in which environmental, health, and safety performance is part of normal business, not an extra task.
Practical habits that help include:
Written programs and standard operating procedures should match what happens in the field. When those documents are up to date, they guide staff and make future audits smoother. Accurate inventories of chemicals, waste, and key building systems also help keep everything aligned.
Experienced EHS consultants can support this culture by providing ongoing guidance, sharing regulatory updates, and offering external verification that programs are working as intended. That outside view often catches blind spots that are easy to miss from the inside.
An environmental compliance audit can be a tool you use to purposefully manage risk, protect people, and support your business goals.
A smart next step is to look honestly at your current compliance posture. Where does your organization lack clear, current information? Hazardous materials, waste handling, indoor environmental quality, and mechanical spaces are often good starting points. From there, a baseline audit or gap assessment can show where attention is needed and help shape a realistic roadmap for remediation and improvement.
J.S. Held thanks Jeff Bannon and Bill Clarke for providing insight and expertise that greatly assisted this research.
Jeff Bannon, PG, joined J.S. Held in May of 2026 as part of J.S. Held's acquisition of Clark Seif Clark, Inc. Jeff brings over 35 years of diversified environmental consulting experience for a wide range of clients, including state and local municipalities and governmental agencies, the federal government (EPA, DOE, US Air Force, US Navy, Army COE, US Forest Service, BLM), and many commercial/industrial clients. He joined CSC in 2015 after a successful 28-year career with a large engineering firm, where he developed his skills, starting as a field geologist, ending as the Southern California office manager and lead technical manager.
Jeff leads large, complex field efforts for a wide variety of projects and oversees all phases of project coordination, from scoping and budgeting to technical review, quality assurance, and client service. He has achieved site closure agreements from DTSC, RWQCB, and local CUPAs on a wide variety of projects from UST removal projects to complex, multi-media remediation programs involving facility decontamination and demolition, soil and soil-vapor remediation, and groundwater remediation.
Jeff can be reached at [email protected] or +1 747 330 2829.
Donald "Bill" Clarke, PG, joined J.S. Held in May of 2026 as part of J.S. Held's acquisition of Clark Seif Clark, Inc. Bill brings over 30 years of diversified environmental consulting experience for a wide range of clients, including State and local municipalities and governmental agencies, the federal government (EPA, DOD, USDA), and numerous commercial/industrial clients. As Project Manager, he has completed an array of projects, including assessments, removals, facility decontamination, and site closures, and is responsible for all phases of project coordination, including project scoping and costing, budget tracking, technical review, and client service.
Bill can be reached at [email protected] or +1 747 330 2920.
“Geographic Information System” (GIS) describes any computer system that incorporates data related to location. GIS can present several different data points in a single map, which allows users to view and analyze trends and relationships...
On November 1, 2021, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) revised the standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs). The goal of an ASTM Phase I ESA is to identify the...
The exact number of brownfield sites in the United States is not known. Some sources estimate the number at more than 450,000, amounting to more than five million total acres of land. One report estimated...