Environmental Monitoring

Facility inspections modeled after EPA’s CAFO inspection criteria and weekly/monthly/annual permit compliance inspections

Our most valuable service that GGI offers to our dairy and CAFO clients is the site assessment inspections. This service provides the farmer with an accurate assessment of environmental status of the operation. This assessment allows the farmer to address problems before they become a violation or deficiency in an inspection performed by a government agency. Many of our dairy clients in New Mexico and other states have greatly benefited from our site assessment inspections. GGI also utilizes these inspections to address the multiple documentation requirements for state Discharge Permits and the USEPA CAFO Permits.

Elements of the full-scope site assessment inspection:

• Prior to our site visit, GGI staff will review your case file for your permit at the appropriate regulatory agency. This review will include discussion with agency personnel responsible for administering your permit.

• GGI staff compiles your facility data (laboratory results, crop information, production history, meter readings, inspection records, etc.) and thoroughly analyzes it to determine potential problems and solutions.

• GGI then schedules an appointment to conduct a site visit in the company of a dairy representative who is knows the dairy operation.

• During the site visit, GGI’s experienced scientists tour the entire facility with your representative and discuss their observations of problems or concerns.

• After the tour of the facility, GGI scientists review all on-site record-keeping associated with your permits. We will advise you of the current status and provide recommendations to comply with the terms and conditions of your permit(s).

• GGI provides an inspection report that details our findings, provides recommendations for your facility, and identifies any environmental problems and solutions.

GGI also provides more frequent inspections in New Mexico to record meter readings, lagoon free board levels and evaluate the integrity of pipelines, meters and lagoons. Staff is further available to provide assistance in inspections performed by state or federal representatives.

Environmental compliance sampling and reporting

Proper sampling of manure produced at the dairy, soils used for land application, liquid manure stored in lagoons, and groundwater is critical for obtaining quality data. Quality data is essential for understanding the current status of an operation and for reporting as part of permit requirements. GGI’s staff of trained and experienced technicians strictly conducts the sampling methods as specified in guidelines by the state and federal agencies. We understand the importance of deadlines and accuracy of reporting results are critical to regulatory agencies. We apply strict quality assurance/quality control methods in all of our monitoring activities to ensure a report of the highest quality.

Why choose GGI for your sampling and reporting needs? At GGI, we do not just submit the reports, we follow a process. Our qualified experts analyze the laboratory reports, compare results with past reports, and notify the dairy owner of any issues. We investigate all potential sources to determine a cause for the issue (such as laboratory errors, sampling errors, unusual well conditions) and then advise the dairy owner of the cause. If the problem cannot be addressed by this review process, GGI will discuss with the dairy owner a second sampling of the same location to confirm the initial results. GGI then submits your report to the regulatory agency with the quality data.

Preparation of site maps

GGI provides expert technical services in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for support of mapping and other services related to dairy operations. GGI has the equipment and knowledgeable staff that can handle a variety of GIS applications. Our staff takes special care to ensure every map we produce is georeferenced and has all the desired information in a legible size.

We tailor our GIS products to satisfy the client’s requirements and translate environmental information into a useful GIS form. Our capabilities extend to any GIS application that requires compilation and conversion of data, creation of databases, map development, data analyses and custom design to the client’s needs.

GGI specializes in environmental application of GIS to hydrology, watershed analysis, surface water planning, and water resource management.