Action Please By: January 28, 1997
To: Members & Subscribers From: National Office Date: January 16, 1997 Re: RA 97-1 Notice of Public Meeting on the National Performance Measure Strategy for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
In the January 13th Federal Register, the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) announced a public meeting focusing on the National Performance Measures Strategy for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. The meeting, on February 3, 1997, will include presentations and statements from a wide-range of stakeholders about innovative approaches to measuring enforcement and compliance assurance program performance. The February public meeting is the first in a series of meetings with regulatory partners and stakeholders in order to develop and implement an enhanced set of performance measures for the enforcement and compliance assurance program. The National Office is currently preparing a letter to Steve Herman, EPA's Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, requesting that AMSA and its committee leadership hold regular meetings with his office.
EPA currently counts annual enforcement outputs (e.g., number of civil and criminal cases, penalties assessed) as the predominate measure of performance for the enforcement and compliance assurance program. EPA is now seeking additional measures to assess the status and trends of regulatory compliance, as well as environmental improvements resulting from enforcement and compliance assurance activities. The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has already taken several steps to enhance performance measures. Specifically, OECA is now implementing new measures including: 1) actions taken by violators to return to compliance; 2) quantitative environmental impact and qualitative environmental benefit of those actions; 3) types, amounts, and impact of compliance assistance activities; and, 4) industry-specific compliance rates. Fiscal Year 96 marked the first time these measures were implemented and the results are being compiled into a national accomplishments report.
EPA is soliciting comments and ideas on the state of compliance and additional ways to measure the performance of EPA's enforcement and compliance assurance program. The Agency wants to focus on identifying and implementing new approaches rather than on the limitations of its current approach. EPA would like comments on the following issues:
1. What innovative approaches are being used (or could be used) by other environmental agencies, other regulatory agencies, and law enforcement agencies to measure the effects of their enforcement and compliance assurance programs?
2. What innovative approaches are being used by regulated facilities, companies, or trade groups and associations to measure the effect of their efforts to achieve and maintain compliance and protect the environment?
3. What can EPA use to measure the impact of its enforcement and compliance assurance program in low-income/minority population communities?
4. How can EPA measure industry performance in complying with environmental laws and regulations?
5. How can EPA measure the deterrent effect of its enforcement-related activities, including conducting inspections, taking enforcement actions, and publicizing those actions?
6. How can EPA measure the impact of compliance assistance activities and compliance incentives, such as its audit and self-disclosure policy?
AMSA members are encouraged to attend the public meeting. Persons interested in speaking, presenting information, or otherwise expressing comments at this meeting should send or fax their name, affiliation, phone number, topic and a brief statement describing their presentation to Michelle Angelich, Science Applications International Corporation, 1710 Goodridge Drive, MS 1-11-8, McLean, Virginia, 22102; telephone 703-821-4432, fax 703-903-1373 by January 24, 1997. Persons wishing to submit pre-filed testimony may also send or fax such materials to Ms. Angelich. Copies of materials as well as member comments should also be sent to Sam Hadeed via fax at 202-833-4657 by January 28, 1997.
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