1. Writing Effective Findings
EPAS Program Overhaul
November 2017

2. Welcome: EPAS & Finding Writing
Agenda
Be right on the regulations
Tools
Examples

3. Be Right on the Regulations!
Findings needs to be clearly linked to correct citations
Assessors train others on environmental regulations
Incorrect citations erode trust and creates conflict
Trending and tracking is inaccurate if data are inaccurate
Example finding: Hazardous waste training is not provided.
But wait, CESQGs aren’t required to be trained under Federal law or, did the rules just change and I mean VSQGs?
Haz waste training requirement is supported by DoD requirement AR 200-1, para 10-1d(2) so this is a Class III finding
The Haz waste training requirement IS supported by DoD requirement AR 200-1, para 10-1d(2). Talk

4. Be Right on the Regulations!
Regulatory Definitions: helps determine applicability
Applicability: review closely for criteria and potential references to other regulations
Exclusions: is the activity excluded from applicability
Fact Sheets/ Guidance: can provide clear guidance and interpretation (even the TEAM Guide)
Contact the Program Manager: there is a good chance they’ve encountered the issue before
Contact a regulator: it is ok to call but keep the conversation anonymous and only request clarification regarding application of a regulation; document the details (to whom you spoke). Contractors should follow Div (R) specific SOPs and have government approval before contacting external regulators
When in doubt, reach out!
Field staff – when in doubt, reach out. No one knows everything

5. Understand the Site Pre-planning helps
What kind of site am I visiting (Admin, AMSA, OMS, etc.)?
Pre-assessment questionnaire
Stormwater permit?
HW generator status?
Cultural or natural resources?
Enforcement and Compliance History Online (EPA’s ECHO)
State websites
What do you expect to see at different types of facilities?
Have them talk through types of sites and what they would expect to see.
Pre-assessment questionnaire – this is for the assessor to use to prepare for the site visit. May need to make a call to the facility to conduct an interview to complete prior to the site visit.

6. Looking at Plans in Advance/Desktop Review
Allows for assessment of HQ review of plans and policies to ensure HQ level compliance which is critical to field level compliance
Stormwater Plans
Hazardous Waste Hazardous Material Management Plan
SPCC
Compliance Site Inventories
Other?
Know before you go!

7. A Word on Checklists Checklists or protocols can be helpful
Use the checklist; don’t let it use you
Do not stick to only what is on the checklist
Update checklist as required
Review the Checklist before starting
Walkaround
Interview
Review documents and records
Check your progress against the checklist
Continue the assessment

8. Tools for Finding Citations
U.S. TEAM Guide (Federal requirements)
State Supplement
All Army Supplement
U.S. Army Reserve Supplement
Internet Resources (e-CFR and others)
State websites

9. TEAM Guide Air Emissions Management (AE)
Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricant (POL) Management
Cultural Resources Management (CR)
Solid Waste Management (SO)
Hazardous Materials Management (HM)
Storage Tank Management (ST)
Hazardous Waste Management (HW)
Wastewater Management (WA)
Natural Resources Management (NR)
Water Quality Management (WQ)
Other Environmental Issues (O1 – 6)
NEPA (O1)
Environmental Noise (O2)
CERCLA Cleanup Sites (O3)
Pollution Prevention (O4)
Program Management (O5)
Waste Munitions (O6)
Toxic Substances Management (T1 – T4)
PCB Management (T1)
Asbestos Management (T2)
Radon Management (T3)
Lead-Based Paint Management (LBP) (T4)
Pesticide Management (PM)
Environmental Management System (EM)
Toxics – fed and Army. For example, are asbestos plans out of date?

10. Federal TEAM Guide Organization
Applicability. This provides guidance on the major activities and operations and a brief description of the major application.
Federal Legislation. This summarizes legislative issues in Federal laws.
State/Local Requirement. This identifies the typical compliance areas normally addressed in state and local regulations but does not present individual state/local requirements.
Key Compliance Requirements. Summarizes significant compliance requirements associated with the regulations in the checklist.
Key Compliance Definitions. Presents definitions taken from the CFRs for those key terms.
Pull up the Federal TEAM Guide here and walk through it. Spend the most time on the checklist and how to use it.

11. Federal TEAM Guide Organization
Records To Review. Lists documents and records that should be reviewed during the assessment.
Physical Features To Inspect. List of facilities and activities that should be assessed for compliance.
Guidance for Checklist Users. Table of contents for checklist items.
Compliance Assessment Checklists. Checklist of requirements or guidelines that serve as indicators to point out possible compliance problems as well as practices, conditions, and situations that could indicate potential problems.
Pull up the Federal TEAM Guide here and walk through it. Spend the most time on the checklist and how to use it.

12. EPAS Findings
Quality of the finding defines the quality of the EPAS Report
Thoughtful, well-written findings are critical to a facility’s ability to improve environmental compliance
Findings may be viewed by multiple audiences
Prepare findings with sufficient detail so that someone who is not there and/or is not an environmental professional will know what the problem is, where it occurred, what requirement(s) is not being met, and what a possible correction may be
Being consistent in approach is key
Ask audience who might view the findings (attorneys, Executive Management, Command staff, Environmental Protection Specialists, etc.).

13. Finding Priorities
The order citation priority (from highest to lowest) is as follows:
Local Regulations (e.g., city, county) (Class I or Class II)
State Supplement Guide (Class I or Class II)
TEAM Guide (Federal requirements) (Class I or Class II)
All Army Supplement (Class III)
U.S. Army Reserve Supplement (Class III)
Command-specific Plans and SOPs (Class III)
Default to Federal when state or local considerations are not unique or more stringent
This supports trend analysis and helps highlight special regulatory issues at specific state and local areas

14. EPAS Findings
Date. The date should represent the day the observation was seen during your site visit
Summary Statement. A short, one-sentence statement that quickly references of the detailed observation as it relates to the requirement
Building Number. Include the numeric building reference where the detailed observation occurred, or a description of the building type (i.e., ‘Admin Building’)
Reserve Unit Name and Unit Identification Code (UIC). Include the unit name and UIC in the observation and the responsibility section of the database of record

15. EPAS Findings, cont.
Detailed Observation. A description of the criteria the situation is violating (e.g., federal, state, Army regulation, or facility-specific plan or procedure), the current situation, and source for the information
Include as much detail as possible. What is wrong and where? How is the process done compared to how it should be done? How is the facility out of compliance? Document details so someone not present could clearly understand.
Corrected in the Field. If the observed deficiency was corrected immediately, document it as such; if the deficiency was not fully corrected, select ‘No’

16. EPAS Findings, cont.
ID. The ‘ID’ represents the Protocol Code in TEAM Guides and Supplements that matches the regulatory citation (e.g., HM.1.10.R)
Citation. The ‘Citation’ represents the regulation that a deficiency was observed against; the format varies depending on federal, state, local or Army requirement (e.g., AR 200-1, para 9‑1d(1) or 40 CFR 266.1)
Requirement. Requirement is a short description of the compliance action required by the regulatory citation selected (auto-filled)

17. Consistency EPAS Guidance Manual – Style Guide Section
Actions should all match/agree/complement each other.
The Summary Statement is the “headline” of the problem and should answer the question, “What was wrong?”
The first sentence in the finding observation is a clear, active (not passive) description of the issue; the rest of the finding description contains enough detail to identify the location and understand the scope of the problem and non-compliance
Do not simply restate the requirement; it is better to have too much detail than too little in describing the problem

18. Consistency, cont. EPAS Guidance Manual Style Guide
Spell out acronyms the first time you use them
Corrective Actions (projects/equipment buys/contract support) should address the root cause of the finding and list resource requirements (funding/FTE, etc.).
The root cause should not match/agree/complement the Class, Requirement, Summary Condition Statement, Finding Description, or Corrective Action
Root cause is the why not the what!
Rolling up findings. If the multiple findings are of the same nature, are within same organization, or are an RSC-wide problem, they should be consolidated into the EPAS Report for the facility; the EPAS Program Manager should watch for trends across the RSC

19. Group Exercise 1 – Example Finding
Date: October 24, 2017
Building Number: NA
Summary: Stain
Detailed Observation: Stain on pavement
Corrected in the Field: No
ID: PO.20.4.US
Citation: 40 CFR 112.1(b)
Ask Audience to comment: No info on size of stain, where it is, when it got there, material causing the stain, observation doesn’t indicate regulation applicable or what if anything should be done. Also is this even a Finding? Stains aren’t good but if all SPCC processes were followed prior, during and after the spill, is this something to really write up a regulatory issue? Maybe MP

20. Group Exercise 2 - Example Finding
Date: October 20, 2017
Building Number: 1
Summary: Container not labeled
Detailed Observation: A container in the shop is not labeled.
Corrected in the Field: No
ID: PO.20.4.US
Citation: 29 CFR 1910
Ask Audience to comment. It is a horribly written finding. No info on size of tank, material in tanks, observation doesn’t indicate regulation applicable or how it should be handled. Furthermore the citation and ID are completely misaligned.

21. Exercise 3 – Writing Findings
Pretend we are on an assessment and you saw this at my shop….
Interview me
Write up the program area, summary, and detailed observation in your workbook
Accurate citations are not critical for this exercise (but are for actual findings!)
Let’s discuss your write-ups
What do we want others (Command and non-environmental staff) to understand about this?
Facilitators play assessee, audience should conduct an interview and then write up their finding.

22. Exercise 4 – Writing Findings
Pretend we are on an assessment and you saw this at my shop….
Interview me
Write up the program area, summary and detailed observation in your workbook
Accurate citations are not critical for this exercise (but are for actual findings!)
Let’s discuss your write-ups
What do we want others (Command and non-environmental staff) to understand about this?
Facilitators play assessee, audience should conduct an interview and then write up their finding.

23. Common Findings Spreadsheet to help with consistency Summary
Finding Detail
EPAS code
Quickly review spreadsheet with them

24. QA/QC EPAS PM has a key role in quality control
Field staff should avail themselves of the EPAS PM
When in doubt, reach out!

25. Summary Consistency is key
Findings need to offer a lot of data quickly
What else did you learn?
What might you do differently on your next assessment?