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United States Environmental Protection Agency
Civil Enforcement

 

EPA's civil enforcement program helps protect the environment and human health by assuring compliance with federal environmental laws. Civil enforcement encompasses the investigations and cases brought to address the most significant violations, and includes EPA administrative actions and judicial cases referred to the Department of Justice. EPA works closely with states (e.g., in joint development of cases) as well as with tribes and other federal agencies in implementing the enforcement programs. The Agency emphasizes those actions that reduce the most significant risks to human health or the environment, and consults extensively with states and other stakeholders in determining risk-based priorities. For over two decades, EPA's Statutory and Regulatory Enforcement Programs has made a measurable contribution to reducing the amount of pollution that goes into the air we breathe or the water we drink, and by encouraging safer handling of hazardous waste and toxic materials.

 

Clean Air, Pure Water, Better Protected Land Graphic    

Along with civil enforcement, EPA's enforcement programs also specialize in Compliance Assistance, which helps industry prevent violations before they occur; Criminal Enforcement, which prosecutes those intentional or deliberate acts of noncompliance; Federal Facilities Enforcement, which has responsibility for ensuring that federal facilities prevent, control, and abate environmental pollution; Cleanup Enforcement, including Superfund, is responsible for enforcing remediation or cleanups at contaminated sites; and International Enforcement, which helps build enforcement and compliance capacities in other countries and works to fulfill the United States' commitments under international treaties and agreements.

 

Planning & Results | Compliance Assistance | Compliance Incentives & Auditing | Compliance Monitoring
Civil Enforcement | Cleanup Enforcement | Criminal Enforcement | Environmental Justice | NEPA
 
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