Contractor Compliance

Use the CICA Center as a Starting Point for Your Environmental Program

 

Are you developing an environmental management program for your company? The resources on the AGC-supported online Construction Industry Compliance Assistance (CICA) Center will support you in your efforts and make CICA a great starting point. CICA provides tools on planning for and managing compliance, and it is a clearing house of information on the top federal and state rules that you will need to keep track of through your environmental program.

First off, you will want to explore the “EMS Toolkit” with guidance on developing a basic environmental program and/or a full environmental management system (EMS). The toolkit helps you evaluate your company’s need for an environmental program, how comprehensive that program will need to be, and how to start putting one in place for your company. Use the resources in the toolkit to hone in on the core elements of an environmental program as well as additional considerations that could move your company to an increasingly advanced level of environmental management.

Seven Core Elements of an Environmental Program (See The AGC Contractors Guide to Developing an Environmental Program on CICA's EMS Toolkit.)

  1. Environmental policy- written policy primarily focused on compliance;
  2. Environmental aspects- impacts identified at the project level;
  3. Legal and other requirements- applicable requirements identified at the project level;
  4. Resources, roles, and responsibilities- project level assignment of responsibilities and use of external expertise;
  5. Competence training and awareness- training coordinated at the project level;
  6. Control of documents- documents controlled according to project document control procedures; and
  7. Evaluation of performance- field inspections conducted at the project level.

Secondly, you can look to the CICA Center’s compliance assistance resources to help you identify your company’s environmental aspects (See Core Elements #2), track down legal and other requirements (See Core Elements #3), and provide material for your training and awareness efforts (See Core Elements #5). The CICA Center includes information on the numerous environmental requirements and issues that broadly affect construction operations and would likely find a way into your program, such as —

  • Air emissions (including dust, diesel engines, generators, and open burning);
  • Construction and demolition debris (including recycling);
  • Endangered species;
  • Green building (including energy codes);
  • Hazardous and toxic waste (including lead-based paint);
  • Oil spill prevention and planning;
  • Safety and health;
  • Stormwater; and
  • Wetlands/water bodies.

The CICA Center also provides helpful tools, such as an easily searchable library, a compliance summary tool, an environmental services directory, and the EMS Toolkit. AGC and its partners continue to add information and value to the CICA Center.

For additional information or questions about the CICA Center or environmental management programs and systems, contact Melinda Tomaino at tomainom@agc.org or (703) 837-5415.


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We assist members in their compliance with current environmental, health, and safety regulations and consensus standards such as NFPA, ASTM, ANSI.

It is important to keep up to date with trends and compliance news. We encourage our members to regularly review the resources in this page which include such documents as sample Environmental Management Systems, Mold resources, and Stormwater Compliance aids. You can also find HR and Labor resources. Additional material can be found in the members-only section of our website.

Through a Susan Harwood grant project, the AGC New Mexico and UNM Civil Engineering Department developed a comprehensive Company Safety and Health Management System. This project provides training materials designed to enable and encourage small construction companies to implement an in-house safety program. Learn more>>

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Invite your HR Professionals to take advantage of this free networking benefit by downloading AGC’s Membership Has Its HR Privileges flyer

For details about AGC’s HR Forum, contact Tamika C. Carter, PHR.