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Compliance Assistance

Compliance assistance efforts include workbooks and workshops for each sector that clearly explain all of a facility's applicable environmental obligations. ERP sector workbooks and workshops feature regulatory compliance requirements and sound environmental practices. They also include information about the environment, worker, and public health impacts of a facility's operations. The components of the compliance assistance strategy are:

Compliance Assistance Workbooks

Although compliance assistance workbooks are a fairly common compliance assurance tool, what makes ERP workbooks unique is that they are designed as a basis for self-certification. As such, they provide a single document presenting all covered compliance standards for all media. In addition, the workbooks are written from the facility operator's point of view, often based on day-to-day standard operations for business in that sector. These approaches enable the workbooks to be stand-alone documents, which means they are an easy and accessible reference for facility operators rather than requiring a facility operator to locate, assemble and interpret the wide variety of applicable regulations.

The workbooks present environmental requirements in plain language that is understandable to the regulated community rather than as a verbatim recitation of regulatory requirements. States implementing ERP work with facility operators and trade organizations in each sector to translate regulatory language into statements understandable to facility owners and operators. In addition, states make a special effort to ensure the workbooks are useful for facilities operated by non-English -speaking managers by translating the workbooks to overcome possible language barriers. The suggestions alongside the standard compliance practices for each requirement. Providing such information helps facility operators see why meeting, and even exceeding, the requirements is important.

Compliance Assistance Workshops

In conjunction with the ERP kick-off for each ERP sector. States implementing ERP conduct workshops to review the ERP compliance assistance workbooks with facility managers. States work closely with trade associations to determine how many, an in what locations, workshops should be held to reach the greatest number of facilities. After the initial workshops, states meet annually with trade association representatives to plan follow-up strategies for communicating sector-wide problem areas and accomplishments to individual facility operators. Workshops are held as needed- based on problem areas identified from inspections, certification reviews, and data analyses- to update the regulated community or any changes in requirements. This such approach relies on an objective analysis of compliance status data to determine the content and frequency of workshops rather than just holding general workshops on a regular schedule.

Return to Compliance Plans

If a facility is not in compliance with regulatory standards at the time of self-certification, a facility official must complete a Return to Compliance (RTC) plan indicating how and when the facility will come back into compliance. This RTC plan is submitted along with a certification statement indicating the compliance status for all applicable certification questions. States review all RTC plans and follow up on each one e.g. by inspecting the facility or by telephone, as appropriate to ensure that the facility officials follow through with the actions described in the plan. Facilities that submit RTC plans may be subject to enforcement action but, except for egregious violations, regulating agencies do not generally take enforcement action against facilities that self-certify and agree to correct violations in an appropriate and timely manager.

Certification Statements

While compliance assistance workbooks and self certification forms provide the information needed to certify compliance, the certification statement is the legal mechanism ensuring accurate and truthful compliance reports. In the certification statement, the highest ranking official at the facility (generally the facility owner or manager) indicates the facility's compliance status with all the requirements described in the self certification work book and certifies that the facility has systems in place to maintain compliance. The responsible facility official signs the certification statement with notice that false, inaccurate, or misleading statements constitute regulatory violations, which are subject to penalties.

Through this mechanism, the legal obligation for accurate certification (and thus for compliance) is placed firmly on the certifying individual. States target facilities that fail to submit a certification with inspections and enforcement, as appropriate. Likewise, states also target facilities whose self certifications show inconsistencies either within an individual certification form or from one year to the next, or patterns of non compliance by multiple facilities under common ownership or control. Facilities that have submitted false information on their self certification forms or avoided the self certification requirement also may receive penalties for violations.

Environmental Results Program | What is ERP? | States | Businesses | Publications

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