INTEGRATED ENFORCEMENT
   APPROACHES FOR EPA
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EPA
 ENFORCEMENT REORGANIZATION
         TASK FORCE

         September 1,1993
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Executive Summary
The Charge to Consolidite Enforcement
On July 22,i993 , EPA AdministratorCarol M. Browner announced her
intention to consolidate the Agency’s Headquarters enforcement components. She
called for an organization capable of undertaking effective enforcement targeting,
multi-media inspections and case development, settlements that foster pollution
prevention and environmental audits, and a strong program for enforcing EPA’s core
statutory authorities and ensuring environmental justice. She stated that the new
organization should speak to the public, the States, Tribes, local governments, and the
regulated community with one clear and consistent voice and be compatible with
“...a new era of environmental protection--one that recognizes both the maturity of
the nation’s environmental programs and the complexities of environmental concerns.”
To develop and evaluate approaches for the consolidation, the Administrator
established a 40-member Enforcement Reorganization Task Force (Task Force)
composed of employees with a wide range of concerns and perspectives from across
the Agency. To balance the need to work quickly, but deliberately, the Task Force
formed five committees.
Focus of the Committees
The Public Outreach Committee aggressively sought the perspectives of
individuals and groups outside the Agency. Approximately 290 interested parties
were invited to provide their views. Oral and written comments were received from
more than 130 parties representing environmental, citizen, ‘abor, and environmental
justice groups; industry; State, Tribal and local governments and associations;
Congressional staff; the Department of Justice and other Federal agencies; former
EPA officials; private law practitioners; and academia.
The Agency Outreach Committee offered Agency employees the opportunity
to provide and receive information about the Task Force’s work. The Committee held
several all-hands meetings and used other mechanisms ( e.g. , telephone, fax, and
electronic mail) to gather both oral and written employee comments.
The Inventory Committee provided the Task Force with a current snapshot of
Where EPA Headquarters’ enforcement-related functions and resources reside. Once
the ultimate organizational approach is known, the Committee will conduct more
tailored resource reviews to aid the implementation efforts.

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The Straw Design Committee gathered and reviewed information on
enforcement structures of selected State, foreign, and Federal organizations and
reviewed the work of the other Task Force Committees. It then developed and refined
several organizational and conceptual approaches, and presented the four most viable
ones to the full Task Force for review and consideration.
The Transition Enforcement Committee identified the major steps the Agency
needs to take to maintain enforcement momentum -during-the transition to a new
enforcement organization.
Listening to Emotovees and Stakeholders
Commenters from inside and outside the Agency were extremely supportive of
the decision to consolidate enforcement. They raised a number of issues that the
Task Force considered in its deliberations. The concerns included developing better
ways to measure enforcement effectiveness; utilizing a broader concept of the
enforcement mission; targeting enforcement actrvities more effectively; using flexible
and innovative enforcement approaches; maintaining relationships between
enforcement and media programs; defining roles and responsibilities, streamlining the
structure; addressing Regional impacts; recognizing roles of States, Tribes, and
localities; addressing implementation and personnel concerns; and assuring firm, fair,
and consistent enforcement.
Vision for Enforcement
An important step in laying the groundwork for designing organizational
approaches was to develop a vision for a successful enforcement program. EPA’s
vision for enforcement as developed by the Task Force, includes a program that
reduces risk and accomplishes the nation’s goals of protecting health and the
environment; delivers full compliance; inspires pollution prevention and drives
innovative and comprehensive solutions; ensures equal environmental and health
protection for all Americans; and employs culturally diverse, skilled, and motivated
people. Underpinning the entire effort is a need to address violations of law in a swift
and effective manner.
Defining Enforcement
To focus its efforts, the Task Force also defined the “enforcement activities”
at EPA. The definition specifies the point along the continuum of programmatic work
where “enforcement” begins. The definition states that “..as a general rule, the
enforcement continuum begins after environmental requirements have been
established by rule or permit. Generally, the starting point for the continuum is
inspection and other monitoring obligations. Once a violation is identified, the
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Agency’s response to that violation--whether that be a formal enforcement action, a
warning, or compliance assistance--is also in the nature of enforcement because it
necessarily reflects the exercise of the Agency’s enforcement discretion. Such a
matter remains in the enforcement continuum until the violator achieves compliance
through a court order, a settlement, or otherwise.”
Organizational ADnroaches
The Task Force began with the premise that EPA’s enforcement program is
strong and the goal of reorganization is to improve it by increasing efficiencies in the
core enforcement programs and removing organizational impediments to effective
targeting and integrated, multi-media approaches.
The Task Force presented four basic approaches for the Administrator’s review.
Each approach reflects a primary organizational theme: environmental media (“Media
Approach”); economic sectors (“Sector Approach”); critical natural and human
resources (“Bio-Resource Approach”); and enforcement functions (“Functional
Approach”). Organizational charts are attached.
Although each of the four approaches has a different organizing theme, a
number of elements are common to all. First, there is a staff office of Resource
Management and Administrative Support to handle administration, budget, extramural
resources management, career development training, and related matters. Second,
there is a staff office for Enforcement Capacity that would include the National
Enforcement Training Institute (NETI) and liaison with national organizations of State,
Tribal, and local officials. Third, all approaches include a separate office for Criminal
Investigations, in keeping with the requirements of the Pollution Prosecution Act.
Fourth, all approaches, except for Functional, maintain the National Enforcement
Investigations Center (NEIC) at the office level. Likewise, all approaches have a Site
Remediation office to handle the major cleanup work included under Superfund,
RCRA, LUST, and OPA, with a slight variation in the Bio-Resource Approach. Finally,
there is an intergovernmental office within each approach to deal primarily with
Federal facilities enforcement; Federal activities; States, Tribes, and localities; and
international matters. Although there are some slight changes from one approach to
the next, these basic elements remain essentially intact across all four organizational
approaches.
In addition, questions have been raised about whether several program elements
with enforcement activities should be consolidated into the new enforcement
organization. These programs are: (1) the remedial programs (Superfund, RCRA
corrective action, Leaking Underground Storage Tanks, and Oil Pollution Act) currently
in the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER); (2) elements of the
wetlands, Underground Injection Control, and ocean dumping programs currently in
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the Office of Water; and’(3) enforcement elements of the Office of Mobile Sources in
the Office of Air and Radiation. Some commenters maintained that several programs
currently in the Office of Enforcement are not entirely enforcement activities (e.g ,.
elements of the NEPA, Indian, and contractor listing programs) and therefore should
be moved out of the Office of Enforcement. The Task Force did not attempt to reach
a final conclusion on the appropriate location for these programs, but it identified key
issues regarding their placement.
The Media Approach
The main objective of the Media Approach is to consolidate the expertise and
enhance the working relationships of the current single-media enforcement programs
and to provide a mechanism for applying that expertise to multi-media, sector or
ecosystem-oriented “whole-facility” approaches to compliance and enforcement.
The key features of the Media Approach are that it creates media offices to
provide continuity and national consistency for single-media enforcement and
compliance assurance activities in air, water, waste, and toxics; creates a multi-media
office with operational responsibility for developing and managing multi-media
initiatives, strategies and cases focused on ecosystems and sectors of the regulated
community; and establishes a distinct organizational unit to resolve cross-cutting
enforcement policy issues that affect single-media and multi-media enforcement.
The Sector Approach
The main objective of the Sector Approach is to develop an integrated approach
to enforcement for key economic sectors, including more sophisticated targeting,
compliance measurement and pollution prevention, while providing a mechanism for
preserving important national programs and single-media expertise.
The key features of the Sector Approach are that it specifically designates
offices responsible for targeting, compliance assistance, and case
development/support for sectors of the regulated community (possible sectors include
Energy and Transportation, and Manufacturing); provides a National Programs office
to handle national enforcement guidance and interpretation for individual media, and
targeting, compliance assistance, measurement, case development and support for
any activity not covered by sector offices; and provides the flexibility to add additional
sectors over time.
The Bio-Resource Approach
The main objective of the Bio-Resource Approach is to focus on related bio-
resource issues around the country and the critical ecosystems within them.
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The key features of the Bio-Resourca Approach are that it has as its primary
organizing principle major bio-resources, based on identification of related
environmental impacts and activities. It provides a Coastal Areas office to focus on
activities occurring on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts, and the Great Lakes;
provides a Land Resources and Watersheds office to focus on activities occurring in
forested areas, mountain ranges, deserts, prairies, farm land, and watersheds within
them; and provides an Urban Areas office to focus on activities occurring in large
urban centers, where human exposure issues are significant. •lt allows each bio-
resource office to be organized by media to maintain expertise and align with the
program offices; provides a Media Programs office responsible for legislative and
regulatory development, policy and guidance, measurements of success, applicability
determinations, outreach and oversight with States, Tribes and localities, compliance
assistance, and Regional oversight and coordination. It combines national targeting
and priority setting, measures of success, and data management into one office
responsible for developing enforcement strategies.
The Functional Approach
The main objective of the Functional Approach is to achieve organizational
efficiencies and develop a multi-media “purpose” by organizing around established
areas of enforcement activity.
The key features of the Functional Approach are that it organizes traditional civil
enforcement work around current functional work performed by enforcement and
program compliance offices. It organizes around three principal functions: (1) a
Compliance Assurance and Evaluation office to focus on the full range of activities
associated with compliance monitoring, strategic planning and targeting to address
non-compliance, ecosystem and environmental justice concerns, enforcement data
management and integration, and outreach and compliance assistance to the regulated
community; (2) a Litigation and Administrative Action office to focus all enforcement
activities associated with bringing cases, including legal and technical case support,
civil investigation, coordination with the Department of Justice, taking of
administrative appeals, and litigation support by the National Enforcement
Investigations Center; and (3) an Enforcement Policy office to focus on participation
in the legislative and regulatory development processes, making applicability
determinations, and developing single-media and cross-program policy and guidance.
Transition to a New Organization
The Task Force is firmly committed to maintaining a strong enforcement
program while the Agency goes through the enforcement reorganization. The Task
Force recommends close monitoring and coordination of enforcement activities during
the transition period.
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Implementation considerations for the new organization will follow the
Administrator’s decision, and will involve many key issues and decisions, including
those dealing with sub-level organizational structures 1 personnel actions, space and.
moves, resources and budget, delegations of authority, computer and
telecommunications connections, and information management systems. During the
period of the Administrator’s review, it will be necessary to lay the groundwork for
the implementation steps.
Attachment
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Attachment.
Objective
To consolidate the expertise and enhance the working relationships of the
current single-media enforcement programs and provide a mechanism for applying that
expertise to multi-media, sector or ecosystem oriented, “whole-facility” approaches
to compliance and enforcement.
Key Features
• Creates media offices which provide continuity and national consistency for
single media enforcement and compliance assurance activities in air, water,
waste, and toxics.
• Creates a multi-media office with operational responsibility for developing and
managing multi-media initiatives, strategies and cases focused on ecosystems
and sectors of the regulated community. These strategies would be developed
by multi-disciplinary teams with representatives from media enforcement
offices, program offices, Regions and States. 1
• Establishes a distinct organizational unit to resolve cross-cutting enforcement
policy issues that affect single-media and multi-media enforcement.
• Regional office interface would occur via the media offices for media-specific
issues and via the multi-media office for cross-program issues.
‘The strategies, which would also be a feature of other approaches, would include: (a)
identification of risk reduction opportunities and compliance problems; (b) development of multi-
media initiatives and cases focused on sectors and ecosystem protection; (c) development of
voluntary compliance approaches including regulatory education and promoting audits or other
types of responsible environmental behavior; (d) development of improved measures of compliance
success and/or enforcement effectiveness; and (e) integration of a wide range of data on
compliance patterns and environmental risks.

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-SIRMO
-SRO.
-NETI
- National SIate-Organizatlon
Outreach
MEDIA APPROACH
Resource
Management
dmInIstrative
Support
Entorcemeni
I
1 Enforcement
Capacity
I._________
and
Compliance
Assurancej
Criminal
Inve tlgat lon
Counsel
Investigation
Gov’menta l
Activities
NEIC
- Planning
&Mgmt
- Laboratory
Services
- Operations
I
Water
Sub-Prog 1
Sub-Prog 2
•Sub-Frog n
Toxics &
Pesticides
Air
Multi-Media
Strategies &
Coordination
• Waste
Sub-Prog 1
federal
Facilities
•Sub-Prog n
• Federal
Activities,
Liaison, &
Eni. Policy
(Including
Tribal
Activities)
• International
Sub-Prog 1
Sub-Prog 2
•Sub-Prog n..
•Sub-Prog I
Sub-Prog 2
Sub-Prog n
• Cross-Media
Policy
• Sector&
Ecosystem
Strategies
[ Precise organizational names to be determined I
I

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Attachment
Objective
To develop -more integrated ápproaches -to enforcement for key economic
sectors, including more sophisticated targeting, compliance measurement and
pollution prevention; provide a mechanism for preserving important national programs
and single-media expertise.
Key Features
• Specifically designates offices responsible for targeting, compliance assistance,
and case development/support for sectors of the regulated community.
Examples of sectors could include “Energy and Transportation” and
“Manufacturing.” -
• Possible energy and transportation sector could include petroleum refining,
mobile sources (if transferred), automobile manufacturing, and pipelines. Could
also include market systems such as acid rain emissions trading.
• Possible manufacturing sector could either include all manufacturing or focus
initially on a smaller number of key industries.
• National Programs office would handle targeting, compliance assistance and
measurement, and case development and support for any activity not covered
by sector offices ( e.a. , targeting based on ecosystem and environmental justice
concerns). This office would include national programs not easily subdivided
into sectors.
• National Programs office also would be responsible for providing national
enforcement guidance and interpretation for individual media, and serve as lead
contact for Regions and Department of Justice.
• National Programs office would be organized by media divisions, while sector
offices could be organized by function ( e.q. , compliance assurance or case
development and support).
• Overtime, additional sectors ( e.g. , commercial services) could evolve either as
divisions within National Programs office, as separate offices, or as new units
in the sector offices.

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Attachment
• Cross-cutting functions ( g. geographic targeting, environmental justice> could
be housed in a separate staff oftice, or handled by a unit in the National
Programs office.
• Regional interface would occur through the National Programs office and the
sector offices.

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SECTOR APPROACH
J :: :j: : :I
Case
Development
& Support
(with media
branches)
Case
Development
& Support
(with media
branches)
r Th;T kI;; has e;rmIn; e;rt;;n sectors
[ or dMdlng the regulated community Into two
SIRMO
-SRO
-NEll
- National State-Organization
Outreach
Counsel
Investigation
Planning
& Mgmt
Laboratory
Seivices
SFEnI
RCRA
Corrective
Action
Other
Remedial
Programs
Operations
Sector
Targeting &
Development
Fed Facilities
Enforcement
Fed Activities
(Including
Tribal
Activities)
Sector
Targeting &
Development
Precise organizational names to be determined
Water
Waste
Jr
Toxics
Multi-Media
International
I

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Attachment
The BioResource Approach
Objective
To focus enforcement activity on related bia-resource issues around the country
and the critical ecosystems within them. This approach seeks to channel the
enforcement and compliance activity of the Agency toward the areas of the country
most at risk from pollution.
Key Features
• The primary organizing principle is major bio-resources, based on the
identification of related environmental impacts and activities. Bio-resource
offices have the capability to target distinct ecosystems within each bio-
resource area.
• The Coastal Areas office would focus on activities occurring on the Atlantic,
Pacific, and Gulf coasts, and the Great Lakes. Examples of activities
characterizing these areas may include activities such as ocean dumping, harbor
dredging, NPDES activity, regulation of discharges from boats in port, air
deposition, Wetlands, and critical pollutants (toxics and pesticides).
• The Land Resources and Watersheds office would focus on activities occurring
in forested areas, mountain ranges, deserts, prairies, farm land, and watersheds
within them. Examples of activities characterizing these areas may include acid
deposition, mining, timber, prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) issues,
visibility ( e.g. , national parks), endangered species, pesticides, feed lots,
grazing, non-point source issues, agriculture, oil and gas, and wetlands.
• The Urban Areas office would focus on activities occurring in large urban
centers, where human exposure issues are significant. Examples of activities
characterizing urban areas include mobile sources, ozone non-attainment, lead
common to urban pollution, pretreatment, sediments, point-source discharges,
brownfields , asbestos, storm water, and combined sewer overflows.
• The divisions within each bio-resource office would be organized by media to
maintain expertise and align with program offices.

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Attachment
• The Intergovernmental Activities office includes Federal facility enforcement,
Federal activities, international activities, local government relations/policy, and
environmental justice.
• The Remediation, Response, and Emergency Planning office includes Superfund
enforcement programs, RCRA corrective action, LUST, SPCC and OPA, and
EPCRA.
• The Media Programs office Would be responsible for legislative and regulatory
development, policy and guidance, measurements of success, applicability
determinations, coordination with Department of Justice, outreach and
oversight with States, compliance assistance, and Regional oversight and
coordinatton.
• Combines data management/integration, national targeting and priority setting,
and measures of success into one office to develop enforcement strategies.
Regional interface would occur primarily through the three bioresource offices.

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J
BlO-RESOURCE APPROACH
-SIRMO
-SRO
Resource
Management
Administrative
Support
I
[ iorcement1
I and I JEnforcement
I Compliance J Capacity
Assurance - -- _______
Criminal
Investigat’ns
•NETI
- National State-Organization
Outreach
intergov’tal
Activities
NE 1C
- Planning
& Mgmt
- Laboratory
Services
- Operations
I I I
Counsel
investigation
Land
Resources
and
Watersheds
Coastal
• Areas
Medial
• Media 2
• Media n
• Multi-Media
Urban
Media
Areas
Programs
Site
Remediatlon
Emergenc
Planning
• SF
- RCRA
Corrective
Action
- Other
Remedial
Programs
-Medial
-Media 2
- Media n
- Multi-Media
- Federal
Facilities
Enforcement
-. Federal
Activities
(including
Tribal
Actvitles)
- International
- Local GoVt
Relations
& Policy
- Media I
- Media 2
-Median
• MuitI-Medi
- Water
• Waste
• Toxics
•PJr
• Multi-Media
Precise organizational names to be determined
I

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Attachment
Objective
To achieve organizational efficiencies and developmulti-media “purpose” by
organizing around established areas of enforcement activity.
Key Features
• Traditional civil (non-Superfund) enforcement work is organized by office
around current functional work performed by Office of Enforcement and the
program compliance offices.
• The core functions are divided into essentially four offices: Compliance
Assurance and Evaluation, Litigation and Administrative Action, Enforcement
Policy, and a smaller staff office focusing on enforcement capacity building.
• Compliance Assurance and Evaluation would focus on the full range of
activities associated with compliance monitoring, strategic planning and
targeting to address non-compliance, ecosystem and environmental justice
concerns, and enforcement data management and integration. This office also
would look for opportunities to improve compliance through compliance
assistance and outreach to the regulated community. Divisions under this.
office could be organized on either a media (with a multi-media component) or
sectoral basis.
• Litigation and Administrative Action would include all enforcement activities
associated with the bringing of cases, including legal and technical case
support, civil investigations, coordination with the Department of Justice, and
the taking of administrative appeals. In light of its litigation support role, the
National Enforcement Investigations Center (NEIC) would be folded into this
operation. Divisions would be organized by media (with a multi-media
component) or on a geographic basis.
• Enforcement Policy would serve as the vehicle for maintaining an appropriate
single media focus and for developing cross-program policy. The office’s
responsibilities would include participating in the legislative and regulatory
development processes, making applicability determinations, and developing
single media and cross-program policy and guidance. Divisions would be
organized by media, with a multi-media component. In essence, the single

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Attachment
media leads in the enforcement policy office would serve as the “national
program managers” for the media enforcement programs.
• Criminal Enforcement, Federal Sector work, and Remedial Programs would be
separate functional areas under this approach.

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: j J
FUNCTIONAL APPROACH
-SIRMO
-SRO
::I Q
-NEll
- National State-Organization
Outreach
Investigation
Counsel
Superfund
RCRA
Corrective
Action
Federal
Facilities
Enforcement
Federal
Activities
(Including
Tribal
Activities)
Media 1
MedIa 2
Media n
Multi-Media
Other
Remedial
Media 1
Media 2
Media n
Multi-Media
International
Programs
NEIC
Media 1
Media 2
Media n
Multi-Media
Alternative
Substructure:
Geographic
_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.I Alignment
Precise organizational names to be determined ! with Regions
and DOJ
Alternative
Substructure:
Sectors
1•

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