Inspector General Faults Oversight Of EPA Oil Spill Prevention Program

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency remains unaware of the identity and compliance status of facilities that it regulates under the Clean Water Act's oil spill prevention and control program, according to the agency's inspector general. Without such information, "EPA cannot assess the success of steps it has taken to improve the quality and consistency of [spill prevention control and countermeasure] plans, [federal response plans], or the oil pollution prevention program as a whole," the inspector general concluded in a report released Feb. 8. The report, EPA Needs to Further Improve How It Manages Its Oil Pollution Prevention Program, recommended that EPA improve oversight by assessing and reporting every two years on the quality and consistency of spill and federal response plans. The report also urged EPA to update guidance and set up a national oil program database with compliance histories for all regulated facilities so it can track compliance trends.