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Compliance Assistance and Regional Initiatives
General
- Audit Policy
- Voluntary Self-Disclosures - Region 4
- Region 4 Audit Policy Brochure
- Small Business Compliance Policy
- Compliance Assistance
- Compliance Checklists
- Compliance Assistance Listservs
- Environmental Finance Centers
- Financing for Air
- Financing for Waste
- Financing for Water
- Environmental Management Systems
- Guidance Documents: A to Z
- Publications and Newsletters
- Natural Disasters and Weather Emergencies
- Asbestos
- Debris
- Polychlorinated Biphenyls
- Wastes
- Pollution Prevention and Sustainability
- Region 4 Sustainability
- Partnership Programs
Regulations - Small Businesses and Environmental Regulations
- Small Business Gateway
- Small Business Compliance Policy
- Voluntary Self-Disclosures - Region 4
Statutes Specific
- Clean Air Act Compliance
- Green House Gas Reporting Program
- E-GHG Reporting
- Clean Water Act Compliance
- Checkup Program for Small Wastewater Systems (CUPSS)
- Green Infrastructure
- NPDES Permitting Basics
- NPDES Stormwater
- Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule
- Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know
- Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- Hazardous Waste Program
- Hazardous Waste Determination
- RCRA Online
- Safe Drinking Water Act
- Checkup Program for Small Wastewater Systems (CUPSS)
- Toxic Substances Control Act
- Lead Based Paint Program
- Renovation, Repair and Painting (lead) Rule
- Polychorinated Biphenyls
Public Sector
Service Sector
- Agriculture
- Air Conditioning/ Refrigeration
- Auto Recycling
- Auto Repair
- Higher Education
- Colleges & Universities
- The Border Center
- Mexican Border
- Canadian Border
- Import/Export Issues
- Exporting from China
- Port Compliance
- Healthcare
- Hospitals
- Veterinary
- Paints & Coatings
- Prisons
- US Small Business Administration Business Guides by Industry
- Printing
- Printed Wiring Board
- Retail Sector Transportation
Manufacturing Sector Assistance
- Chemical
- Construction
- MYER Guide
- Food Processing
- Metal Finishing
- Printed Wiring Board
- Ready Mixed Concrete, Crushed Stone & Sand & Gravel Industry
- Transportation
Miscellaneous
Emergeny Planning, Reporting Spills and Violations
Environmental Databases
Introduction
Region 4 believes that with awareness, education and reasonable options, both public and private members of the regulated community will choose to be proactive in voluntary efforts to comply with pollution control regulations. There are many environmental requirements that a facility might face through its lifetime.
This webpage is designed to provide a portal to tools which are designed to increase a facility’s understanding of federal environmental regulations.
The four primary tools that EPA uses to assure compliance with environmental laws include:
- Compliance Assistance to increase the understanding of the regulated community to the requirements found in environmental statutes;
- Compliance Incentives (e.g., the Audit Policy), which are used to encourage or motivate regulated entities to voluntarily come into compliance with environmental statutes;
- Compliance Monitoring (e.g., an inspection) to ensure that the laws are obeyed and to identify violations; and
- Enforcement, either civil or criminal, which is used to correct violations.
Regional initiatives based on Compliance Assistance and Compliance Incentives are introduced below.
What's New
EPA Press Releases | EPA Region 4 Press Releases
Upcoming Workshops/Conferences/Webinars/Training
January 7 and 8, 2014: Webinar - Energy Efficiency and Process Optimization at Water and Wastewater Treatment Facilities. The training will be available online via Adobe Connect, accessible using the following links:
Day 1: https://epa.connectsolutions.com/epa-water-energy1
Day 2: https://epa.connectsolutions.com/epa-water-energy2
Region 4 Training
Energy Star Training
Watershed Academy
National Compliance Assistance
Resources and assistance are available from many additional sources. Use the links below to learn more.
National Compliance Assistance
Industry and government sectors, statute-specific assistance, financing for environmental compliance, the compliance assistance centers, and more...
Small Business Programs and Small Business Assistance
Ombudsman, technical assistance...
National Enforcement
National Compliance and Enforcement
National Enforcement Priorities
Enforcement
National Program Managers' (NPM) Guidance
Regional Compliance Assistance and Incentive Initiatives
Colleges and Universities
In 2002, Region 4 began its College and University Compliance Assistance Initiative to assist colleges and universities in complying with environmental laws and regulations. During this initiative, Region 4 in partnership with state environmental agencies conducted 7 compliance assistance workshops for colleges and universities. The workshops were held throughout the southeast and provided an opportunity for all colleges and universities to participate and gain valuable information on the Agency’s environmental expectations of their facilities.
Compliance assistance efforts for colleges and universities ended with a final workshop held in Atlanta on September 20-21, 2006. Over 600 participants attended the 7 compliance assistance workshops.
In February 2007, Region 4 followed its early compliance assistance by launching an initiative encouraging colleges/universities to use EPA’s Audit Policy to voluntarily identify and disclose potential violations. Approximately 200 colleges and universities in the southeast performed voluntary environmental audits and disclosed and corrected potential violations.
Resources
Each assistance workshop covered environmental laws and regulations applicable to the college and university sector. To view the agendas (and some of the presentations) for two of the workshops, please visit the following sites:
South Carolina (PDF) (2 PP, 22 K)
North Carolina (PDF) (3 PP, 57 K)
More College Resources
Environmental Compliance and Best Management Practices.
Guidance Manual for K-12 Schools
Environmental Health & Safety in the Arts: A Guide for K-12 Schools, Colleges and Artisans.
HealthySEAT (Healthy School Environmental Assessment Tool)
EPA College Compliance Assistance Material - Region 2
College and University Compliance Assistance Center Code:
Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange
Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities
In 2005, Region 4 began its Hospital and Healthcare Compliance Assistance Initiative to assist hospitals and healthcare facilities in complying with environmental laws and regulations. During this initiative, Region 4 partnered with state environmental agencies (and when possible, State Hospital Associations) to conduct compliance assistance workshops for hospitals and healthcare facilities. The workshops were held throughout the southeast and provided an opportunity for all hospitals and healthcare facilities to participate and gain valuable information on the Agency’s environmental expectations of their facilities. During this initiative, which ended in 2008, 7 workshops were held reaching approximately 600 participants.
In late 2008, Region 4 followed its early compliance assistance by launching an initiative encouraging the larger hospitals to use EPA’s Audit Policy to voluntarily identify and disclose potential violations. Approximately 40 hospitals in the southeast performed voluntary environmental audits and disclosed and corrected potential violations.
Resources
Each assistance workshop covered environmental laws and regulations applicable to the healthcare sector. To view the agendas (and some of the presentations) for five of the workshops, please visit the following sites:
North Carolina Workshop
Kentucky Workshop
South Carolina Compliance Assistance Workshop (PDF) (1 PP, 34 K)
North Carolina Compliance Assistance Workshop
Tennessee Workshop
More Hospital Resources
EPA Hospital Compliance Assistance Material - Region 2
Compliance Assistance Resources for Hospitals & Healthcare Facilities (PDF) (2 PP, 39 K)
Healthcare Environmental Resource Center (HERC)
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange
Prisons
In 2008, Region 4 identified prisons (state and federal) as a focus for compliance assistance. Prisons are in effect small cities, and potential environmental problem areas at prisons include improper handling, storage and disposal of hazardous waste, including medical wastes; improper wastewater discharge; inadequate underground storage tank management; sewage treatment facilities that are not operating properly; improper abatement of lead-based paint and asbestos. When the initiative ended in 2011, 6 workshops had been held reaching approximately 400 participants.
In 2009, the Federal Bureau of Prisons approached Region 4 about having the federal prisons in the southeast use EPA’s Audit Policy to voluntarily identify and disclose potential violations. Twenty-two federal prisons performed voluntary environmental audits and disclosed and corrected potential violations.
Resources
Each workshop covered environmental laws and regulations applicable to the college and university sector. To view the agendas (and some of the presentations) for five of the workshops, please visit the following sites:
- Environmental Compliance in Corrections, Georgia Workshop
- Corrections Environmental Workshop, Alabama
- Environmental Compliance Training Correctional Facilities, Kentucky
- Environmental Compliance Training Correctional Facilities, Florida
- Environmental Compliance Assistance, Tennessee Workshop
- Environmental Compliance in Corrections, North Carolina Workshop
More Prison Resources
Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange Port of Huntington Tri-State Facilities - Kentucky, Ohio, West Viriginia
On Tuesday, April 27, 2010, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Regions 3, 4 and 5, in partnership with the Huntington District Waterways Association, hosted a Compliance Assistance Workshop for regulated entities located in the Port of Huntington Tri-State area. The Port of Huntington Tri-State covers 200 river miles along Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, and is the largest inland port in the United States. This workshop, held in the Student Memorial Center at Marshall University, is part of the integrated strategy the regions are pursuing to address noncompliance issues in this geographic area. Speakers covered all of the main environmental statutes and included EPA employees from each of the regions.
View the agenda from the Port of Huntington Tri-State Workshop. Click on links within the agenda to view presentations.
Key Documents for EPA Compliance Assistance Providers
- Compliance Assistance Measurement (including sample tools)
- Guide for Measuring Compliance Assistance Outcomes
- Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) measures for Compliance Assistance
- Compliance Assistance Conclusion Data Sheet (CACDS)
- Integrated Strategies Guide (PDF) (115pp, 5.3M)
Region 4 Compliance Assistance Contact
Shelia Hollimon
Phone: (404) 562-9609
e-mail: Shelia Hollimon (hollimon.shelia@epa.gov )