Regulatory Compliance Auditing of Forest Products Facilities - The Potlatch Experience with Mixed Team Auditors, 1995 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Phillip M. Baker

Potlatch Corporation

Laurel A. Murphy

EMCON

The goal of environmental compliance audits is to thoroughly assess compliance with all applicable environmental regulations, permit conditions, and company policies. In order to achieve this goal, an appropriate amount of resources is required. The most important resource is the auditors themselves. It is critical that there be enough of them, that they be knowledgeable in environmental regulations and facility operations, that they be well prepared and organized, and that they be objective and credible. Potlatch Corporation, which has had an internal auditing program for several years, desired to strengthen its auditing program. Given limited internal resources, Potlatch elected to utilize personnel from EMCON, an environmental consulting company, on its audit teams. Potlatch conducted five audits at pulp and paper facilities using a mixed team approach. The audits were multi-media in scope covering up to eighteen regulatory areas. The key steps in the mixed team audits were the same as those for internal audits; however, some changes in preparation and organization were made to accommodate the mixed teams. This effort resulted in thorough and objective audits. An additional benefit was the training of company personnel as they worked with consultant experts on the audit teams. The mixed team approach was successful and is a viable alternative to strengthen an environmental auditing program when internal resources are limited.