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Advice Letter: Final Report from NACEPT Advisory Council for the second Compliance Assistance Advisory Committee (CAAC) July 14, 2004
National Advisory Council for
Environmental Policy & Technology
July 14, 2004
Administrator Michael O. Leavitt
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Dear Administrator Leavitt:
On behalf of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT), I am pleased to submit the final report of the second Compliance Assistance Advisory Committee (CAAC). The NACEPT fully endorses the recommendations of the CAAC in the enclosed report, "Recommendations for Enhancing EPA’s Compliance Assistance Program," June 2004.
The first CAAC was established in 2000 under the auspices of NACEPT. Its final report "Maximizing Compliance Assistance: Recommendations for Enhancing Compliance Assistance Opportunities at EPA and Through Other Providers," was submitted to Administrator Whitman in August 2001. A copy of that report is enclosed for your reference.
The second CAAC was established in 2002 to advance the work done by the first CAAC. The second CAAC focused on the implementation aspects of three areas critical to compliance assistance: (1) integration of compliance assistance into the Agency’s mission, goals and activities; (2) development of parameters which will successfully measure the results of compliance assistance activities; and (3) optimization of the compliance assistance network across EPA and other environmental assistance providers.
The NACEPT asks that EPA contemplate the following as it considers the CAAC’s recommendations:
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All forms of environmental assistance generally, and compliance assistance in particular, are essential complements to the enforcement tools that form the traditional core of EPA’s regulatory programs. Assistance and enforcement should not be viewed as mutually exclusive. Rather, EPA should continue to strive to find and employ the most effective mix of these tools to achieve the Agency’s goal of protecting human health and the environment. The potential for EPA’s assistance programs to prevent violations of environmental laws cannot be overstated.
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The CAAC’s report emphasizes performance outcomes and environmental impacts of EPA’s compliance assistance activities. While work has been done in this arena, more work needs to be done, and the NACEPT encourages EPA to fully explore this arena with the goal of establishing credible measures of success, beyond enforcement actions and fines, for all of its compliance assurance-related activities. At a minimum, these measures should reflect the compliance rates and trends for regulated entities with regard to environmental regulations.
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EPA has invested substantially in developing goals and performance measures for all of its activities, as reflected in the Agency’s new Strategic Plan. To the extent attainable, these goals and measures need to speak to actual environmental endpoints.
Ideally, the regulated community would be in full compliance with environmental regulations, and enforcement would not be necessary. Even then, the need for compliance assistance would not disappear. EPA’s own definition of compliance assistance properly includes assistance activities that can move entities beyond compliance. The Agency needs to keep this in mind, and to plan for and support compliance assistance as a fundamental component of its mission to protect human health and the environment.
We truly appreciate the opportunity to provide these recommendations to you. We would also like to acknowledge EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance for supporting the work of the CAAC. In particular, we wish to recognize Joanne Berman for her dedication and commitment as the Designated Federal Officer.
On behalf of the NACEPT Council and the Compliance Assistance Advisory Committee, we look forward to your response to the recommendations.
Yours very truly,
Dorothy Bowers
NACEPT Chair
Enclosures
cc: Richard Sustich, Co-Chair, CAAC
La Ronda Bowen, Co-Chair, CAAC
Thomas V. Skinner, Acting Assistant Administrator, OECA
Phyllis Harris, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, OECA
Michael Stahl, Director, Office of Compliance, OECA
Lisa Lund, Deputy Director, Office of Compliance, OECA
Joanne Berman, CAAC Designated Federal Officer, OECA
Daiva Balkus, Director, Office of Cooperative Environmental Management