Many businesses and their compliance officers were ill-equipped to contend with increased federal environmental and safety oversight starting in the ’70s. Firms often viewed EHS as an afterthought, forcing managers to fight to convey their value to the business. Plus, the fledgling EHS field was a volatile one, with companies quickly increasing and reducing EHS staff based on the latest enforcement actions or lack thereof.
Recent regulatory activity by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) serves as a reminder of the burden placed on EHS managers. Since 1994, the EPA has published more than 40,000 regulatory-related items. Comparably, the Department of Agriculture published approximately 25,000; the Department of Labor, 21,000; and the Department of Justice, 18,000.