The 2010 Environmental Management Seminar will focus on what some are calling a new era of enforcement. Sponsored by U.S. Poultry & Egg Association's Poultry & Egg Institute, this year's conference will be held March 17-18 at the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans. The program will examine an anticipated higher level of regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with the current developments in technology and management techniques for environmental sustainability.
Topics will include a federal policy and regulatory update; a case study of wastewater optimization and associated cost savings, the poultry industry’s impact in the Chesapeake Bay area, and plants that have won clean water awards.
Showing posts with label regulatory issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label regulatory issues. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Newsletter covers policy updates
WATT, in cooperation with Informa Economics, has launched a weekly newsletter delivering the latest in policy and regulatory updates from Washington, DC. Prepared by the staff of Informa Economics and WATT, the newsletter will be e-mailed to subscribers every Monday morning.
You can access the stories from this week's issue by clicking on the headlines to the left. A story with a key next to the headline is locked, and requires subscribing to the newsletter to read. To receive a trial subscription, you must register as a user of WATTAgNet, then select Animal Agribusiness Policy Report in the Manage Subscriptions area. For more detail, see the story, "How to subscribe."
You can access the stories from this week's issue by clicking on the headlines to the left. A story with a key next to the headline is locked, and requires subscribing to the newsletter to read. To receive a trial subscription, you must register as a user of WATTAgNet, then select Animal Agribusiness Policy Report in the Manage Subscriptions area. For more detail, see the story, "How to subscribe."
Friday, January 29, 2010
Treat environmental regulators as stakeholders, expert advises
While environmental management compliance is costly, the investment will pay off – but only if done right, James T. Banks, Hogan & Hartson, told listeners at the Animal Agriculture Environmental Sustainability Summit.
The former EPA regulator, now environmental law attorney, ticked off three reasons why companies must put the necessary culture, resources and systems in place: stewardship, reputation and liability.
“Stakeholders’ views of the company matter a lot,” Banks said. “And environmental compliance can have a lot to do with how a company is perceived by investors, by customers, by communities in which you work and in turn by the employees who work for the company because they live in those communities.”
Regulators are stakeholders, too
Banks advised companies to not forget that regulators are stakeholders along with customers and investors. “Protecting your company’s reputation and image and building a relationship with regulators is critically important,” Banks said.
“Regulators are among your most important stakeholders,” he said. “There are plenty of examples where regulators get the idea that a company doesn’t care about compliance and set out to make an example of a company.”
Self-disclosure
Banks also discussed “self disclosure,” a more recent innovation in the world of enforcement and compliance. EPA has disclosure policy under which companies can self-report non-compliance and get penalty mitigation.
“I have represented dozens and dozens of companies taking them in for self-disclosures and getting penalties reduced from seven to six figures or six to five, and in many cases getting potential fines of $100,000 or $200,000 waived altogether.
“The key to being able to use that type of a tool is self-discovery of the violation and self-reporting. Self discovery of a violation occurs only in those companies that manage compliance effectively and are in a position to know when non-compliance has occurred,” he said.
Banks said doing environmental compliance right requires a systematic to environmental compliance management.
The former EPA regulator, now environmental law attorney, ticked off three reasons why companies must put the necessary culture, resources and systems in place: stewardship, reputation and liability.
“Stakeholders’ views of the company matter a lot,” Banks said. “And environmental compliance can have a lot to do with how a company is perceived by investors, by customers, by communities in which you work and in turn by the employees who work for the company because they live in those communities.”
Regulators are stakeholders, too
Banks advised companies to not forget that regulators are stakeholders along with customers and investors. “Protecting your company’s reputation and image and building a relationship with regulators is critically important,” Banks said.
“Regulators are among your most important stakeholders,” he said. “There are plenty of examples where regulators get the idea that a company doesn’t care about compliance and set out to make an example of a company.”
Self-disclosure
Banks also discussed “self disclosure,” a more recent innovation in the world of enforcement and compliance. EPA has disclosure policy under which companies can self-report non-compliance and get penalty mitigation.
“I have represented dozens and dozens of companies taking them in for self-disclosures and getting penalties reduced from seven to six figures or six to five, and in many cases getting potential fines of $100,000 or $200,000 waived altogether.
“The key to being able to use that type of a tool is self-discovery of the violation and self-reporting. Self discovery of a violation occurs only in those companies that manage compliance effectively and are in a position to know when non-compliance has occurred,” he said.
Banks said doing environmental compliance right requires a systematic to environmental compliance management.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Justice Department, USDA to explore poultry competition
Competition and regulatory issues in agriculture will be examined in a series of Department of Justice (DOJ) and USDA workshops beginning in March 2010.
Poultry production contracts, industry concentration and buyer power will be the focus of a workshop at Alabama A&M University, May 21, Normal, Ala.
Crop, dairy, hog and beef farming issues will be addressed in other workshops scheduled March through December 2010.
Each workshop may feature keynote speakers, expert panels and break-out panels that will address more narrowly focused issues. At each workshop, the public will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.
Written comments in advance of the workshops can be submitted in both paper and electronic form to the Department of Justice, no later than Dec. 31, 2009. Two paper copies should be addressed to the Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 5th Street, NW, Suite 11700, Washington, D.C. 20001.
The May 21 workshop on poultry production issues will be held in the auditorium of Alabama A&M’s James I. Dawson Cooperative Extension Building at 4900 Meridian Street.
Poultry production contracts, industry concentration and buyer power will be the focus of a workshop at Alabama A&M University, May 21, Normal, Ala.
Crop, dairy, hog and beef farming issues will be addressed in other workshops scheduled March through December 2010.
Each workshop may feature keynote speakers, expert panels and break-out panels that will address more narrowly focused issues. At each workshop, the public will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.
Written comments in advance of the workshops can be submitted in both paper and electronic form to the Department of Justice, no later than Dec. 31, 2009. Two paper copies should be addressed to the Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 5th Street, NW, Suite 11700, Washington, D.C. 20001.
The May 21 workshop on poultry production issues will be held in the auditorium of Alabama A&M’s James I. Dawson Cooperative Extension Building at 4900 Meridian Street.
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