EPA's Audit and Small Business Compliance Policies Revised

摘要

In an effort to promote regulatory compliance, EPA has established policies that provide enforcement relief for companies that voluntarily discover, and promptly disclose and correct, environmental violations. The agency's so-called "audit policy" provides that gravity-based penalties may be waived or reduced for violations that are voluntarily discovered, disclosed, and corrected. In addition, companies that voluntarily discover violations will generally not be recommended for criminal prosecution. EPA reports that, as of October 1, 1999, approximately 670 organizations have disclosed actual or potential violations at more than 2,700 facilities under the audit policy. The number of disclosures has increased each of the four years the policy has been in effect.