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Carceral-Ecologies / Carceral-ECHO-data

In this repo we are building tools to assess environmental compliance and enforcement in US prisons, jails and detention centers
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Inspections: contextual information needed from EPA #4

Open shapironick opened 4 years ago

shapironick commented 4 years ago

Here is a growing list of questions: Please add some or try to help answer them!

shapironick commented 4 years ago

From EDGI : "EPA currently performs enforcement actions only if an entity is found to be out of compliance for six months continuously" Needs verification. This is a breadcrumb towards understanding what triggers an inspection.

shapironick commented 4 years ago

Here is recent testimony of the head of EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance. Apparently in here full testimony she discusses the limitations of ECHO data.

shapironick commented 4 years ago

I just sent the following email to ECHO: Dear ECHO,

I'm doing some statistical analyses of ECHO data with my students and have some contextual questions.

We were wondering what triggers an inspection? Is it just complaint-based or is there an inspection calendar and regular rotation?

What is an off-site inspection? What triggers an on-site vs off-site inspection? When an on-site inspection occurs is every regulation inspected for?

What are the different routes to non-compliance? and is it correct that EPA currently performs enforcement actions only if an entity is found to be out of compliance for six months continuously?

My apologies for the naive questions but I could not find the answers to them in supporting documentation. Many thanks for your work!

Kind regards, Nick Shapiro

shapironick commented 4 years ago

Their very quick response, much of it is available from a set of labyrinthine FAQ sections across the EPA website but they very helpfully aggregated them here.

  1. We were wondering what triggers an inspection? Is it just complaint-based or is there an inspection calendar and regular rotation?

EPA and states consider several factors in determining what facilities to inspect, such as facility size, potential for environmental harm, citizen tips, geographic initiatives, statutory requirements, protection of sensitive ecosystems, demographics, industry type, and violation history. It is not possible to inspect every regulated facility every five years. Smaller facilities may receive inspections less frequently than every five years. In addition, inspections conducted at smaller facilities may be tracked only in the state database and not be entered into the federal database.

The criteria used to select facilities for inspection may be different between different states and EPA Regions. You may find the ECHO FAQ page helpful (https://echo.epa.gov/resources/general-info/echo-faq#enforcement). We also recommend viewing EPA's How We Monitor Compliance page (https://www.epa.gov/compliance/how-we-monitor-compliance).

  1. What is an off-site inspection? What triggers an on-site vs off-site inspection? When an on-site inspection occurs is every regulation inspected for?

Off-site compliance monitoring activities generally include activities that do not require site visits. This includes, but is not limited to, reviews of facility data and records/documents submitted to EPA. The decision to conduct an on-site vs. an off-site inspection is largely up to the discretion of the environmental agency, and may be different between different states and EPA Regions (see response to Question 1).

There are many different types of inspections for each environmental media type (water, hazardous waste, air, etc.). You may find more information about different types of inspections in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary (https://echo.epa.gov/help/reports/dfr-data-dictionary#comphistory).

  1. What are the different routes to non-compliance? and is it correct that EPA currently performs enforcement actions only if an entity is found to be out of compliance for six months continuously?

The "route" to noncompliance is complex and is different for each environmental program (water, air, etc.). Some violations may be the result of findings during an inspection, and others can be triggered automatically in program databases (e.g., if a Discharge Monitoring Report is not received by the due date). "Enforcement actions" are also a broad universe of actions, and different types of enforcement are applied in different situations.

You may find the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary helpful (https://echo.epa.gov/help/reports/dfr-data-dictionary#compbyqtr). We also recommend reviewing the Enforcement section of the FAQ page (https://echo.epa.gov/resources/general-info/echo-faq#enforcement). The ECHO team is unaware of any six month requirement for the issuance of an enforcement action.