EPA Compliance Toolkit 
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OH&S Environmental Management System
UAB prepares for environmental audit
Recently, the EPA has directed enforcement initiatives at colleges and universities and the result has been
significant fines and penalties on schools in the northeastern and mid‐west EPA regions. Larger fines have
ranged from $500,000 to more than $2 million in recent multi‐media inspections (a joint approach to several
environmental media, such as air, water, and land).
Now the EPA has focused its attention on the Southeast. In an effort to both comply with regulations and avoid potentially significant fines, UAB is participating in a new cooperative program with EPA and other colleges and universities in the southeast. Referred to as the EPA Compliance Incentive Initiative , it allows participating schools in the region to essentially inspect each other using their own trained auditors and expert consultants. Then, the college or university self-reports to the EPA any issues found and a plan to correct the problems, with the understanding that this may mitigate EPA imposed fines.
UAB is scheduled for our first in-depth peer audit in the spring of 2009 and will include campus laboratories, maintenance areas and equipment, art departments, as well as areas where we generate, manage or store regulated waste. Faculty and staff will be asked questions and be asked to produce training records or other
documentation related to an EPA audit. However, we do have a little time to prepare before the inspection team arrives.
To help with preparation, UAB Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) began meeting with departments all over campus, offering training programs and distributing a “toolkit” of information to help affected departments prepare for the inspection and maintain ongoing compliance with EPA regulations.
If you have questions concerning the EPA Peer Audit Program and would like to know how it might impact you or your department, please read the toolkit, call 934-2487, or send an email to safety@uab.edu.
The audit is currently scheduled for March 30th through April 3, 2009.
