[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2848-2851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-01548]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OECA-2018-0843; FRL-9988-78-OECA]


Public Comment on EPA's National Compliance Initiatives for 
Fiscal Years 2020-2023

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting public 
comment and recommendations on the National Compliance Initiatives 
(NCIs) to be undertaken in fiscal years 2020-2023. The EPA focuses 
enforcement and compliance resources on the most serious environmental 
violations by developing and implementing national program priorities, 
previously called National Enforcement Initiatives. The NCIs currently 
underway, as well as potential modifications to these NCIs under 
consideration, are described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
of this document, with additional descriptions and data on the current 
NCIs available on our website: http://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national-compliance-initiatives.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 11, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OECA-2018-0843; to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this notice. Comments received will be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional 
information on the notice process, see the ``Written Comments'' heading 
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele McKeever, Chief, National 
Planning and Measures Branch, Office of Enforcement and Compliance 
Assurance, Mail Code: M2221A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-
3688; fax number: 202-564-0027; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Written Comments
II. What are EPA's National Compliance Initiatives?
III. On what is the EPA Requesting Comment?
IV. What are the current FY 2017-2019 National Compliance 
Initiatives?
V. What Are the potential initiatives under consideration for FY 
2020-2023?
    A. Extensions of Initiatives
    B. Modifications of Initiatives
    C. Return of Initiatives to the Core Program
    D. New NCIs
    E. Public Comments
VI. Can the deadline for comments be extended?

I. Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2018-
0843; at https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

II. What are EPA's National Compliance Initiatives?

    The EPA is soliciting public comment and recommendations on the 
NCIs to be undertaken by EPA over the four-year period of fiscal years 
2020-2023. This notice is an agency planning document and does not 
impose any legally binding requirements on any outside parties.
    The EPA focuses enforcement and compliance resources on the most 
serious environmental violations by developing and implementing 
national

[[Page 2849]]

enforcement and compliance program priorities, previously called 
National Enforcement Initiatives (NEIs). As part of EPA's ongoing 
efforts to increase the environmental law compliance rate and reduce 
the average time from violation identification to correction, EPA 
recently has adjusted and renamed the NEIs program to the NCIs program 
to better convey the overarching goal of increased compliance and the 
use of not only enforcement actions, but the full range of compliance 
assurance tools. These tools include helping regulated entities 
understand their compliance obligations, helping facilities return to 
compliance through informal actions, building state capacity, 
supporting state actions, bringing Federal civil administrative 
actions, and bringing Federal civil or criminal judicial enforcement 
actions.

III. On what is the EPA requesting comment?

    The EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance is 
collecting comment on which of the current national initiatives should 
continue, be modified, or returned to the standard (``core'') 
enforcement program. Current initiatives may be carried forward into 
the FY 2020-2023 NCI cycle, as is or modified, or an NCI may be 
concluded at the end of FY 2019. The public also is invited to propose 
other areas for consideration as an NCI, keeping in mind resource 
constraints.
    For this upcoming NCI cycle, the EPA has provided new opportunities 
for early and meaningful input from the states and federally-recognized 
Indian tribes regarding the identification and development of the NCIs. 
In Fall 2018, EPA Regional offices solicited input from the states and 
federally-recognized Indian tribes. The EPA also reached out to a 
number of state and tribal associations for early input into the NCI 
program. EPA looks forward to considering the state and tribal input on 
the current initiatives--such as whether to continue, modify, or 
conclude them--as well as suggestions for new NCIs. The EPA welcomes 
active state and tribal participation in implementing the NCI if the 
state or tribe is authorized for the particular program.

IV. What are the current FY 2017-2019 National Compliance Initiatives?

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Enforcement and 
Compliance Assurance, has seven initiatives underway from the FY 2017-
2019 cycle (with modified implementation in FY 2019, described 
below).\1\ These initiatives are:
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    \1\ There were originally eight initiatives in the FY 2017-2019 
cycle. The initiative to ``Prevent Animal Waste from Contaminating 
Surface and Ground Water'' was moved to the core program by the EPA 
Memorandum, ``Transition from National Enforcement Initiatives to 
National Compliance Initiatives,'' August 21, 2018.

1. Cutting Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)
2. Reducing Toxic Air Emissions from Hazardous Waste Facilities
3. Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical 
Facilities
4. Keeping Industrial Pollutants Out of the Nation's Waters
5. Ensuring Energy Extraction Activities Comply with Environmental Laws
6. Keeping Raw Sewage and Contaminated Stormwater Out of Our Nation's 
Waters
7. Reducing Air Pollution from the Largest Sources

    Additional descriptions and data on these initiatives are available 
online at: http://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national-compliance-initiatives.

V. What are the potential initiatives under consideration for FY 2020-
2023?

    For the seven active initiatives from the FY 2017-2019 cycle, EPA 
is soliciting input on whether we should continue, modify, or conclude 
the initiative and return it to the ``core'' or standard enforcement 
program. For all initiatives, EPA intends to focus on environmental and 
public health risks, not specific industry sectors.

A. Extensions of Initiatives

    The EPA is seeking comment on plans to extend the following three 
current initiatives into the FY 2020-2023 cycle:
    Cutting Hazardous Air Pollutants. Leaks, flares, and excess 
emissions from refineries, chemical plants and other industries emit 
hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), or air toxics, that are known or 
suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, and seriously impact the 
environment. Recent monitoring shows that facilities still often emit 
more HAP emissions than they actually report. Leaking equipment and 
improperly operated flares remain some of the largest sources of HAP 
emissions from petroleum refineries and chemical manufacturing 
facilities. Improper operation of an industrial flare can result in 
hundreds of tons of excess HAP emissions. The EPA has worked to 
identify and address illegal and excess emissions of toxic air 
pollutants from leaks and flares at facilities that have a significant 
impact on air quality and health in communities since this initiative 
began in 2004. The Agency believes that continuing this NCI will help 
to achieve EPA Strategic Plan objectives of addressing vulnerable 
populations, addressing Clean Air Act (CAA) non-attainment areas. The 
Agency also believes that EPA expertise will help improve compliance 
and facilitate a timely return to compliance where noncompliance is 
found.
    Reducing Toxic Air Emissions from Hazardous Waste Facilities. EPA 
has found that air emission violations associated with the improper 
management of hazardous waste remain widespread. The Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act requires effective monitoring to identify 
and repair leaks from certain hazardous waste storage tanks, 
containers, pipes, valves, and other equipment. Releases from hazardous 
waste facilities can include releases of constituents known or 
suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, or that seriously impact the 
environment. The Agency began this initiative in 2017 and believes that 
continuing this initiative will help to achieve EPA Strategic Plan 
objectives of addressing vulnerable populations and reducing non-
attainment areas. The Agency also believes that its expertise will help 
improve compliance rates and facilitate a timely return to compliance 
where noncompliance is found. Accordingly, we plan to continue our 
work, including efforts to build state capacity in this program.
    Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical 
Facilities. Thousands of facilities nationwide, many of which are in 
low income or minority communities, make, use and store extremely 
hazardous substances. Catastrophic accidents at these facilities--
historically about 150 each year--can result in fatalities and serious 
injuries, evacuations, and harm to human health and the environment. 
EPA regulates these facilities under section 112(r) of the CAA and 
through the Chemical Accident Prevention regulations, also known as the 
Risk Management Program (RMP). The regulations apply to stationary 
sources that have a listed chemical in a process at or above an 
established threshold quantity. A broader statutory obligation under 
CAA section 112(r)(1), the General Duty Clause (GDC), applies to all 
stationary sources with regulated substances or other extremely 
hazardous substances, regardless of the quantity of chemical involved. 
This has been an NCI since 2016, and EPA has found that many regulated 
facilities are not adequately managing the risks they pose or ensuring 
the safety of their facilities to protect surrounding communities.

[[Page 2850]]

Therefore, the EPA plans to continue this NCI with a focus on the most 
serious situations of non-compliance and attention to the EPA Strategic 
Plan objective of addressing vulnerable populations. The Agency 
believes that its expertise will help improve compliance rates and 
facilitate a timely return to compliance where noncompliance is found. 
The EPA also plans to enhance the use of compliance assistance and 
expedited settlement agreements to address smaller sources.

B. Modifications of Initiatives

    The EPA is seeking comment on plans to transition two current 
initiatives into new initiatives for FY 2020-2023. A brief description 
of the proposed changes is provided below.
    Transitioning ``Keeping Industrial Pollutants Out of the Nation's 
Waters'' NCI to ``National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(NPDES) Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) Reduction'': In FY 2018, the 
EPA initiated a new NCI focused on achieving the goal established in 
EPA's FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan: ``By September 30, 2022, increase 
the environmental law compliance rate.'' As described in the Strategic 
Plan, this concept is first being piloted by focusing, through the new 
NCI, on reducing the rate of significant noncompliance in the Clean 
Water Act (CWA) NPDES program by 50 percent by the end of FY 2022. The 
NCI has incorporated the existing ``Industrial Pollutants'' NCI with a 
broader focus of increasing the percentage of all NPDES permittees in 
compliance with their permit (as measured by reducing the rate of 
permittees in SNC). This effort could establish a model for improving 
environmental program compliance rates that could be used in other 
programs. EPA is seeking comment on how to best pursue and achieve this 
goal of reducing NPDES SNC in the FY 2020-2023 NCI cycle.
    Transitioning the ``Ensuring Energy Extraction Activities Comply 
with Environmental Laws'': Beginning in 2011, this initiative focused 
on one industrial sector, natural gas extraction, implying that the EPA 
considers all problems in this sector--large or small--to be a 
priority. Rather than focus on any single sector, the EPA proposes to 
focus on significant public health and environmental problems without 
regard to sector. Specifically, for the FY 2020-2023 NCI cycle the EPA 
is proposing to transition this NCI to an initiative that will focus on 
significant sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have a 
substantial impact on air quality (without regard to sector), and that 
may adversely affect vulnerable populations or an area's CAA attainment 
status. We also will evaluate the idea of merging this work into the 
``Cutting Hazardous Air Pollutants'' NCI.

C. Return of Initiatives to the Core Program

    The EPA expects to return the following two current initiatives to 
the standard ``core'' enforcement program having largely achieved EPA's 
goals for these NCIs:
    Reducing Air Pollution from the Largest Sources. The New Source 
Review (NSR) and Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) 
requirements of the CAA require certain large industrial facilities to 
install state-of-the-art air pollution controls when they build new 
facilities or make significant modifications to existing facilities. 
The EPA began this initiative as it relates to the power sector in 
1998, after EPA investigations revealed that many facilities had failed 
to install pollution controls after modifications, causing them to emit 
pollutants that can impact air quality and public health. The EPA and 
state regulatory approaches and enforcement efforts in this sector have 
resulted in a 90 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions and an 
83 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions since 1997, while 
gross generation has increased by 10 percent. The EPA has required 
controls or commenced investigations at 91 percent, 96 percent, and 90 
percent of facilities in the glass, cement, and acid manufacturing 
sectors, respectively. Accordingly, the Agency believes that this NCI 
no longer presents a significant opportunity to affect nonattainment 
areas or vulnerable populations nationwide. The EPA proposes to return 
work in these areas to the core program in FY 2020. EPA will continue 
to monitor the progress of existing settlement agreements to ensure 
actions required under those settlements are implemented and air 
pollution reduction targets are met.
    Keeping Raw Sewage and Contaminated Stormwater Out of Our Nation's 
Waters. Since this NCI began in 2000, the EPA, in conjunction with 
state co-plaintiffs, has taken enforcement actions at the largest 
municipal sewer systems with CWA violations to reduce pollution and to 
reduce unlawful discharges of raw sewage that degrade water quality in 
communities. The EPA has obtained significant improvement in compliance 
and major reductions in water pollution. Under this initiative, 97 
percent of large combined sewer systems, 92 percent of large sanitary 
sewer systems and 79 percent of Phase 1 municipal separate stormwater 
systems are now either in compliance or are on an agreed-upon schedule 
to come into compliance. Accordingly, the Agency believes that this NCI 
no longer presents a significant opportunity to correct water quality 
impairment nationwide. The EPA proposes to return work in this area to 
the core program in FY 2020. EPA and states will continue to monitor 
implementation of these long-term agreements, and to adapt them to 
changing circumstances and new information, such as the increasing 
commitment of cities to implement green infrastructure, changes in 
financial capability, or technological advances.

D. New NCIs

    The EPA specifically invites comment on two new NCIs under 
consideration:
    a. NCI to increase compliance with drinking water standards. Each 
year thousands of community water systems (CWSs) violate one or more 
health-based drinking water standards promulgated under the Safe 
Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which exposes millions of people to 
potential health risks. Thousands more CWSs repeatedly fail to collect 
water samples or report test results making difficult to know if the 
drinking water is safe. CWSs exceeding action levels or other 
regulatory triggers may not complete required follow-up actions. In 
addition to these known violations, significant deficiencies in the 
design, operation or maintenance of the CWS may go unreported and 
uncorrected. Recent events at a few large CWSs indicate that current 
practices and use of existing data, tools, and policies have not always 
proved sufficient to prevent CWSs from moving toward serious 
noncompliance that may threaten human health. This potential NCI would 
focus on EPA working jointly with states to identify how we can 
collaborate to use our resources more effectively and efficiently to 
focus efforts where they can make the biggest difference as we work 
together to increase compliance with primary drinking water standards 
thus improving public health protection at CWSs most at risk. This NCI 
would support the Agency's Strategic Plan objective to reduce the 
number of community water systems out of compliance with health-based 
standards.
    b. NCI to reduce children's exposure to lead. A potential lead NCI 
would support various agency efforts to tackle lead contamination in 
all environmental media and could present an opportunity to use 
consumer education to increase compliance. This NCI would support

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the Agency's Strategic Plan focus on vulnerable populations, as well as 
the interagency Federal Lead Action Plan.
    Finally, the public is invited to propose any other areas for 
consideration as new NCIs.

E. Public Comments

    The EPA will consider all comments to these proposals as it moves 
forward in the decision-making process. NCIs will be incorporated into 
the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance FY 2020-2021 
National Program Guidance (NPG) that provides national program 
direction for all EPA regional offices. Information in support of this 
Notice of Public Comment is available online at: http://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national-compliance-initiatives.

VI. Can the deadline for comments be extended?

    The EPA will include NCIs in the Office of Enforcement and 
Compliance Assurance (OECA) draft NPG that will be released for public 
comment to allow the EPA regions, as well as states and federally-
recognized tribes with approved programs, to consider the guidance 
fully in their annual planning processes that direct the use of 
resources according to the fiscal calendar. As a result, EPA must 
receive public comments on potential NCIs by March 11, 2019 in order to 
complete consideration of NCIs before the NPG is released for public 
comment. However, the public will have a second opportunity to provide 
comments on the NCIs when commenting on OECA's draft NPG.

    Dated: December 20, 2018.
Susan Parker Bodine,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance 
Assurance.
[FR Doc. 2019-01548 Filed 2-7-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P