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Compliance and Enforcement Annual Results:
FY2007 Federal Facilities
FY2007 Annual Results Topics
In 2007, EPA concluded 35 enforcement actions against federal agencies for alleged violations of environmental laws. Over 700,000 pounds of pollutants will not be put into the environment due to EPA’s enforcement of federal environmental laws. EPA collected $475,000 in penalties and federal agencies committed to spend over $250 million to improve their facilities and operations to remedy past violations and prevent future violations.
In 2007, EPA concentrated on several areas needing special attention, including:
- Underground Storage Tank Compliance
- Federal Laboratories Compliance
- Stormwater Compliance
- Wastewater Compliance
- Veteran's Medical Centers
- Audit Policy Agreement with US Bureau of Prisons
- Fedcenter.gov
Underground Storage Tank Compliance
The 2005 Energy Policy Act required regulatory agencies (states or EPA) to inspect by August 2007 all underground storage tanks (USTs) that had not been inspected since 1998 (when the UST regulations were last updated). EPA worked with other federal agencies and states to complete inspections of all federal agency USTs which had to be inspected. EPA also began delivering a live UST compliance course just for federal agencies. That course will continue into 2008.
EPA took enforcement actions when it found federal facilities violating the UST requirements. The Air Force agreed to pay $115,000 in penalties for UST violations at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
Federal Laboratories Compliance
EPA focused on compliance at federal laboratories in 2007. The Army Corps of Engineers paid $67,000 penalty to settle RCRA violations at a laboratory in Nebraska. The U.S. Department of Agriculture paid $80,000 to settle two RCRA enforcement actions for violations at laboratories in Missouri and Iowa. The USDA also agreed to educate personnel at other USDA labs about compliance requirements.
Stormwater Compliance
For the last couple of years, one of EPA’s enforcement focus areas has been compliance with stormwater requirements. In 2007 EPA concluded enforcement actions against several federal agency contractors for violations related to construction at federal facilities. Contractors for the U.S. Air Force agreed to pay $80,000 to settle two separate enforcement actions related to construction at the Air Force Academy and at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado. Navy contractors agreed to pay $17,000 in penalties for violations at a construction site at the Groton submarine base in Connecticut.
Wastewater Compliance
For several years EPA has worked to improve federal agency compliance with the wastewater requirements under the federal Clean Water Act. In January 2007 the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a new policy that all Defense Department facilities should have no significant violations of wastewater requirements. The policy also required DOD facilities to develop action plans to address existing violations and prevent future ones.
Veterans Medical Centers
An important focus area for EPA has been environmental compliance at Veterans medical centers. EPA settled enforcement actions against several Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities in Vermont, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico and continues to pursue actions in other states. The settlement of the Vermont action requires the VA to implement a comprehensive hazardous waste and chemicals management inventory for all VA facilities in New England and to pay a $50,000 penalty. The VA agreed to pay a $136,000 penalty to settle the Pennsylvania action and $26,000 to settle the Puerto Rico action.
Audit Policy Agreement with U.S. Bureau of Prisons
Under an agreement with EPA, the Bureau of Prisons (a part of the Department of Justice) agreed to audit 16 prisons in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia to determine their compliance with environmental laws and correct any violations within 60 days. This agreement came about because of EPA’s enforcement action against the Bureau for violations found during an inspection of its Lewisburg Federal Prison in West Virginia. The Bureau agreed to pay a $38,000 penalty in 2007 to settle that action.
FedCenter.gov
FedCenter helps federal government agencies comply with environmental laws and to be better environmental stewards. Ninety percent of responders to a 2007 survey said that it improved their knowledge of environmental requirements and over 75 percent said they took one or more actions to improve their environmental practices, such as changing how they handle wastes or emission or obtaining a permit or certificate.(1)
FedCenter responded as new environmental requirements arose. Congress passed the Energy Policy Act requiring all federal facilities to report whether their underground storage tanks were in compliance. FedCenter created an electronic reporting method so that federal facilities could easily meet this new requirement, saving them time and money. FedCenter reorganized much of its information making it easier for federal agencies to meet new environmental and conservation goals set by the President in Executive Order 13423 (PDF) (7 pp, 104 KB, About PDF) in January 2007.
FedCenter is financially supported by many federal agencies, not just EPA. In 2007 the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Health Administration, NASA, the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of the Treasury supported FedCenter financially. Representatives from many of these, and other, agencies serve on FedCenter’s board guiding its operations and making it more useful to federal agencies.
(1) Disclaimer: These measures are not calculated from a representative sample of the regulated entity universe. The percentages are based, in part, on the number of regulated entities that answered affirmatively to these questions on voluntary surveys. The percentages do not account for the number of respondents who chose either not to answer these questions or the survey. (return to text)
Annual Results by Fiscal Year:
FY2007 | FY2006 | FY2005 | FY2004 | FY2003 | FY2002 | FY2001 | FY2000 | FY1999