EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives for 2014 – 2016
The EPA recently released its new National Enforcement Initiatives for fiscal years 2014 – 2016. Reviewed and updated every three years, the National Enforcement Initiatives have also been incorporated into the EPA’s fiscal year 2014 Guidance to National Program Managers, i.e., EPA Regional Offices, states, and Indian Tribes implementing EPA-approved inspection and enforcement programs. The National Enforcement Initiatives are available at the following website: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/data/planning/initiatives/2014-2016-nei-announcement.pdf
EPA decided that the current set of fiscal year 2011 – 2013 Enforcement Initiatives will continue for the next three year period. However, new strategies such as Next Generation Compliance will be implemented to achieve EPA’s goals. The Enforcement Initiatives will be implemented to target noncompliance within the following areas:
- Toxic air pollution. EPA will target and reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants in three areas where the Agency believes there is a high rate of noncompliance: leak detection and repair; reduction of the volume of waste gas to flares and improvements in flare combustion efficiency; and excess emissions, including those associated with startup, shut down and malfunction.
- Pollution from coal-fired utilities, cement, glass and acid sectors (because of the failure to comply with NSR). EPA will continue to bring enforcement actions against coal-fired power plants, cement manufacturing facilities, sulfuric and nitric acid manufacturing facilities, and glass manufacturing facilities.
- Animal Waste. EPA will closely monitor concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), focusing enforcement investigations primarily on existing large and medium operations that discharge without a permit to waters of the U.S. EPA reiterated its position that CAFOs that discharge to U.S. wasters but do not have a NPDES permit “are in violation” of the CWA. EPA also announced that it will continue to monitor CAFOs that already have permits to ensure compliance with those permits.
- Raw sewage pollution from CSOs, SSOs, and MS4s. EPA will direct enforcement activities at raw sewage discharges and contaminated stormwater discharges by CSOs, SSOs and MS4s. EPA will seek to obtain commitments from municipalities, likely through the use of consent orders, to achieve its goals of reducing those discharges.
- Energy extraction sector compliance with environmental laws. With the rise of shale gas extraction, EPA’s will continue to focus on this high-profile area. Building on its 2011 Energy Extraction Enforcement Initiative, EPA’s recent Initiative will use a wide range of authorities including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act to monitor the natural gas industry.
- Mines and mining processing (especially from “fish kills” near mines). EPA believes that there is significant non-compliance with hazardous waste and other environmental laws in the mining industry. EPA will continue its enforcement initiative to bring those facilities into compliance.
The 2014 – 2016 Enforcement Initiatives build on EPA’s prior initiatives with an emphasis on new strategies to reach the same goal. They shed as much light on Next Generation Compliance, a new program with little track record, as they do on the next term of enforcement. Next Generation Compliance is a 2012 program by EPA that has five components: design regulations and permits that build in compliance; use advanced pollutant detection technology; require electronic reporting by regulated entities; expand transparency; and use innovative enforcement.