The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association recently released their annual Regulatory Enforcement Survey Report, which includes trending regulatory compliance areas (such as environmental compliance) and regulatory enforcement actions that are prompting concern within the industry. Keep reading to learn more about the key takeaways from this report!
Each year, the NRMCA sends out a survey for its’ members and compiles the results into a detailed report to give ready-mix concrete businesses insights into regulatory enforcement trends within the industry. This year, the survey results represent responses from 50 companies of varying sizes across all regional areas for the 2021 calendar year.
A reoccurring trend within the industry is the concern for (and resulting cost of) environmental compliance. When participants were asked to rank which regulatory compliance issues concerned them the most, here were the top three responses:
When digging into the responses, it is no wonder that concern for environmental compliance is trending within the industry. With the combination of increasingly complicated environmental regulations and the increase in fines administered by the EPA, it is definitely a risky area that businesses should be taking proactive measures to mitigate.
Because environmental compliance is a reoccurring and overwhelming concern for most respondents, the NRMCA has also inquired about which specific categories cause the most concern. Not surprisingly, water compliance is a top concern for ready-mix businesses. Whether it be from washing out mixer trucks or production, water usage is prevalent and the processes associated with staying compliant can be complicated.
The costs associated with regulatory compliance can include regular preventative measures to maintain compliance or resulting enforcement actions from non-compliance. For the overall costs of maintaining compliance, the majority of survey respondents reported their costs to either stay the same or increase, while companies who had actually been issued citations found the most commonly reported violations were enforced by:
Additionally, while the median individual citation amount was around $5,000, total amounts paid ranged from $0 to over $100,000.
Due to the additional costs associated with violations that go beyond the initial fine amount – whether you have to pay legal fees or purchase special equipment to come back into compliance – there are many ways that a simple citation can turn into an incredibly costly mess.
For these additional costs, once again Environmental and Safety/Health citations came out on top in terms of impact. In particular, environmental citations saw costs up to $20,000 above the original citation amount to come into compliance.
All data from this article was collected from the 2022 NRMCA Regulatory Enforcement Survey. To get deeper insights into the 11-question survey report, NRMCA members can read the full report here . If you’re ready to take a proactive approach to environmental compliance today, check out our solution for the Building Materials industry here .