About Compliance Assistance

EPA is committed to helping entities comply with regulatory requirements and improve environmental performance through compliance assistance (CA). Compliance assistance is defined by EPA to include activities, tools or technical assistance which provide clear and consistent information for:

1. Helping the regulated community understand and meet its obligations under environmental laws and regulations; or
2. Compliance assistance providers to aid the regulated community in complying with environmental regulations.

Compliance assistance must be related to achieving or advancing regulatory compliance. Compliance assistance may also help the regulated community find cost-effective ways to comply with regulations and/or go "beyond compliance" thus improving environmental performance through the use of

• pollution prevention,
• environmental management practices, and
• innovative technologies.

Compliance assistance is provided by a variety of government and non-government entities. Although EPA and other Federal Agencies provide direct compliance assistance, the states are the primary providers. In addition, many trade associations provide compliance assistance directly to their members; and universities and the consulting industry are a growing source of compliance assistance information.

Background

Goal 9 of EPA's Strategic Plan states that EPA will ensure full compliance with laws intended to protect human health and the environment. Compliance assistance is one of four tools that EPA uses for promoting or addressing compliance with environmental laws and regulations. The others are compliance monitoring, compliance incentives, and civil and criminal enforcement.

EPA develops and implements CA activities to meet the needs of the regulated community, other CA providers, and the public. CA may help providers and the regulated community implement new regulations; address problems with existing regulations; or address national, regional, geographical, local or facility-specific environmental issues.

There are also some targeted regulatory requirements for compliance assistance. Section 507 of the Clean Air Act and The Small Business Regulatory Fairness Act (SBREFA) mandate specific services to small businesses and communities. Small businesses and small entities are often not as well equipped to comply with environmental laws as large, sophisticated corporations. SBREFA requires EPA to develop compliance guides to accompany new regulations that have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. In addition, as a matter of policy, EPA will develop either a compliance guide or a self-audit checklist for federal regulations with an "economically significant" impact of $100 million or more on companies and/or government facilities.

Within EPA, many organizations provide compliance assistance. The Office of Compliance, within EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), and regions facilitate compliance assistance communications among Agency program offices, compliance assistance providers, individual businesses and trade associations. OC has established an agency-wide compliance assistance work group comprised of contacts in each EPA program office and Regional CA Coordinators to assist in developing EPA's annual Compliance Assistance Activity Plan (the Plan) and to share ideas on effective compliance assistance efforts. The Plan identifies both Headquarters and Regional compliance assistance activities. It is intended to help EPA use its CA resources most effectively, and to assist states and other CA providers in deciding how to focus their resources, avoid duplication, and complement EPA's efforts. In addition, the Plan enables members of the regulated community to learn what compliance assistance activities or tools EPA plans to undertake in a given year. Other mechanisms that OC has developed to facilitate information sharing on compliance assistance include the National Compliance Assistance Clearinghouse, a Web-based repository of information on Federal, State, local and other compliance assistance providers, their Web sites and the products/services they have developed.

Other EPA Headquarters Offices also provide compliance assistance. Typical activities include developing and distributing regulatory guidance materials, developing and conducting workshops and training courses, developing web-based tools, operating telephone "hotlines" and responding to regulatory questions from the regulated community and trade associations. EPA's Headquarters media offices (e.g., air, water, pesticides and toxics) also develop the compliance guides required by SBREFA or Agency policy to accompany certain new rules.

Regional compliance assistance activities include developing and conducting workshops and training sessions, responding to questions from the regulated community, developing and distributing guidance materials, and providing direct on-site compliance assistance. Each Region has designated a central Compliance Assistance Coordinator.

To find out more about compliance assistance, use the navigational links on the left side of the page.

.

More information about our offices.