EPA 305-F-09-001
Increasing Understanding of
Environmental Requirements is the Heart
of EPA Assistance (FY 2008)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) provides assistance to help educate
businesses and governments on how to
comply with new environmental requirements
that apply to them. When widespread areas of
non-compliance or misunderstandings of
existing requirements occur within a business
or government sector, EPA may also offer
sector-focused compliance assistance (CA).
EPA reached 2.6 million regulated entities
and assistance providers in Fiscal Year
(FY) 2008. EPA reached schools, hospitals,
colleges and universities, construction sites,
auto body shops, dry cleaners, ports, municipal
wastewater treatment plants, industrial
facilities, and many others with compliance
guides, fact sheets, checklists, and other
helpful materials designed to increase
understanding of environmental requirements,
improve environmental management practices
and help facilities reduce, treat or eliminate
pollution in their operations.
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
Entities Reached with EPA Assistance
FY2006 - FY2008
(in thousands)
2 186
2,757
2,581
FY2006 FY2007 FY 2008
Total Entities Reached
In FY 2008, EPA workshops, assistance visits,
and presentations helped regulated entities on
a person-to-person basis. EPA conducted over
four hundred compliance assistance
workshops, i educational Webinars in FY08.
Workshops can help EPA to reach a broad
range of facilities within a particular sector.
For example, in just one year, EPA's Collision
Repair Campaign Team trained over 1,000
people, representing over
500 repair shops, in how to reduce emissions of
hazardous air pollutants from paint stripping
and coating operations. Of the shops that
participated in the trainings, EPA estimates that
50 percent have adopted best practices. This
has saved an estimated 59 tons of material,
which translates to a $1.1 million cost savings
for these small businesses; and reduced
hazardous air emissions by an estimated 40 tons
of harmful particulate matter and 31 tons of
volatile organic compounds.
EPA Person-to-Person
Compliance Assistance in FY 2008
28,176
D Workshops
D Presentations
D Assistance Visits
D Responses to Inquiries
EPA helped owners and operators to comply,
during nearly fifteen hundred compliance
assistance visits in FY 2008. Through these
on-site visits, facilities are often able to improve
the environmental impact of their operations.
For example, EPA Region 8 successfly removed
over 24,000 pounds of hazardous chemicals from
thirty-five Indian country schools, making these
schools safer for 7,620 Native American school
children, teachers, and administrators.
EPA staff also offered over 900 compliance
assistance presentations, and responded to
more than 28,000 individual telephone and
e-mail inquiries about how to comply with EPA
requirements.
In addition, in FY 2008 EPA provided compliance
assistance information to regulated facilities
during more than 13,500 compliance
inspections/evaluations under federal clean air,
clean water, pesticides, toxic substances and
hazardous waste laws.
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EPA extends its reach through sector-specific
Web-based Centers.
ConnplianceAssistance
Sixteen Centers represent unique partnerships
between EPA, industry and third party, non-
profit organizations. They provide web-based
compliance information and educational
opportunities tailored to the operations of
specific sectors such as auto repair, auto
recycling, chemical, healthcare, printing,
transportation, metal finishing, printed wiring
boards, local and tribal governments, and
others. The Colleges and Universities Center
came on-line in FY 2008, and a new Food
Processing Center will come on-line in
FY2009. (http://www.assistancecenters.net/)
Feedback in FY 2008 indicates that EPA
compliance assistance helps recipients. a
Surveys are one way EPA gets feedback about
how helpful our compliance assistance is.
Consistent with prior years' survey questions,
82% of respondents reported that they
improved their environmental management
practices (EMPs). Actions included
conducting a self -audit of their environmental
performance, complying with a new or existing
environmental requirement, improving a
material or waste recycling system, or
installing new process equipment, e.g.,
pollution control/waste treatment system.
Recipients Report that EPA Assistance Helps
100%
80% -
60% -
40% -
20% -
0%
82%
49%
Increased Improved Env Reduced
Understanding Mngmt Practices Pollution
FY 2008 Outcome Questions
EPA integrates assistance with inspections
and enforcement to improve compliance and
environmental performance.
For any given compliance strategy, EPA
considers which tool or combination of tools
will best address the non-compliance issues.
By integrating and combining compliance
assistance with incentives, inspections and
other enforcement approaches, we maximize the
effectiveness of our reach because we have
planned for which approaches best suit the
particular problem at hand. The goal is to
identify the best tool or combination of tools that
will address the environmental problem and
influence behavior change so that the
businesses return to compliance.
EPA's Guide for Addressing
Environmental Problems: Using
an Integrated Strategic Approach
provides advice and clear, step-by-
step guidelines for developing an
integrated strategy to address
environmental problems.
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resou
rces/policies/assistance/strategicguide.
rjdf.
E3153 ==~
For example, EPA Region 4 previously partnered
with Florida and North Carolina in a multi-year
initiative at auto salvage facilities using a
combination of compliance assistance,
inspections and enforcement by EPA and the
states. As a result, more recyclers are aware of
the requirements related to stormwater and
know how to use best practices to manage oil,
refrigerants, tires, mercury, batteries, and other
wastes. See Auto Recycling Initiatives:
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/new
sletters/assistance/cacompassvol4nol.pdf
Compliance and Enforcement Annual Results:
FY 2008 Compliance Assistance Highlights.
describes other EPA Regional initiatives.
http://www.epa. goy/compliance/resources/repo
rts/endofvear/eov2008/2008comDliancehiahliaht
s.htrnl
For more information, contact: Ms. Rebecca A. (Becky)
Barclay, Program Analyst, U.S. EPA, Office of Enforcement
and Compliance Assurance (OECA), Office of Compliance
(OC), 202 564-7063, barclav.rebeccaf&eDa.aov.
1 Who responded to surveys? EPA did not collect these outcome data
from a representative sample of the regulated entity universe.
Rather, the percentages are based, in part on the number of regulated
entities that answered "Yes" to EPA questions on voluntary surveys.
The percentages do not account for the number of survey respondents
who either chose not to answer these questions or did not respond to
the survey.
February 2009
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