*	' U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	12-P-0113
I JUL % Office of Inspector General	December 9,2011
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At a Glance
Why We Did This Review
EPA Must Improve Oversight of State Enforcement
We sought to determine
(1)	whether the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) set clear
national performance
benchmarks for state
enforcement programs, and
(2)	to what extent EPA
headquarters holds regions
accountable and supports them
to ensure that all state
enforcement programs protect
human health and the
environment. The scope of our
review included selected
programs under three statutes:
Clean Water Act, Clean Air
Act, and Resource
Conservation and Recovery
Act.
Background
EPA is the steward of national
environmental protection, but
states serve as the first line of
enforcement in most cases. Past
reviews identified widespread
problems with state
enforcement.
For further information, contact
our Office of Congressional and
Public Affairs at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2012/
20111209-12-P-0113.pdf
What We Found
EPA does not administer a consistent national enforcement program. Despite
efforts by the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) and the
EPA regions to improve state enforcement performance, state enforcement
programs frequently do not meet national goals and states do not always take
necessary enforcement actions. State enforcement programs are underperforming:
EPA data indicate that noncompliance is high and the level of enforcement is
low. EPA does not consistently hold states accountable for meeting enforcement
standards, has not set clear and consistent national benchmarks, and does not act
effectively to curtail weak and inconsistent enforcement by states.
OECA has made efforts to improve state performance and oversight consistency,
but EPA does not manage or allocate enforcement resources nationally to allow it
to intervene in states where practices result in significantly unequal enforcement.
As a result, state performance remains inconsistent across the country, providing
unequal environmental benefits to the public and an unlevel playing field for
regulated industries. By establishing stronger organizational structures, EPA can
directly implement a national enforcement strategy that ensures all citizens have,
and industries adhere to, a baseline level of environmental protection. EPA could
make more effective use of its $372 million in regional enforcement full-time
equivalents by directing a single national workforce instead of 10 inconsistent
regional enforcement programs.
What We Recommend
We recommend that EPA establish clear national lines of authority for
enforcement that include centralized authority over resources; cancel outdated
guidance and policies, and consolidate and clarify remaining enforcement
policies; establish clear benchmarks for state performance; and establish a clear
policy describing when and how EPA will intervene in states, and procedures to
move resources to intervene decisively, when appropriate, under its escalation
policy.
Based on EPA's suggestion in its response to our draft report, we recommend
that EPA develop a state performance scorecard. EPA did not agree with
recommendation 1, agreed with recommendations 2 through 4, and neither agreed
nor disagreed with recommendation 5. All recommendations are unresolved
pending EPA's corrective action plan.

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