For researchers needing access to historical EPA reports, the EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) is an excellent resource. Developed and maintained by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance, ECHO focuses on facility compliance and EPA/state enforcement of environmental regulations. Containing information for approximately 800,000 regulated facilities nationwide, ECHO allows users to find inspection, violation, enforcement action, informal enforcement action, and penalty information about facilities regulated under the Clean Air Act (CAA) Stationary Source Program, the Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Elimination Discharge System (NPDES), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Though the data included within ECHO has been in the public domain through Freedom of Information Act requests, the information was previously not available in a compiled, searchable Web format.
Researchers can find information by a specific facility, by a particular location and by type of regulation. The maps include state level data from the last five years and provide information including the number of completed inspections, types of violations found, enforcement actions taken, and penalties assessed by state. Below is an overview of Clean Water Act regulatory oversight activities in the state of Maryland.
In general, ECHO provides access to data on: (1) the occurrence of a monitoring event, such as an inspection/evaluation or a self-report; (2) the determination of a violation (non-compliance with environmental regulation); (3) the occurrence of a government enforcement action to address violations; and (4) penalties associated with enforcement actions. The time period of data displayed in the different ECHO interfaces and reports varies, generally 3- 5 years, with downloadable datasets offering more years of data for advanced users.
Researchers can find information by a specific facility, by a particular location and by type of regulation. The maps include state level data from the last five years and provide information including the number of completed inspections, types of violations found, enforcement actions taken, and penalties assessed by state. Below is an overview of Clean Water Act regulatory oversight activities in the state of Maryland.
From here, multiple metrics may be monitored and displayed at a summary level, while offering the supporting data at a lower or more granular level.
In general, ECHO provides access to data on: (1) the occurrence of a monitoring event, such as an inspection/evaluation or a self-report; (2) the determination of a violation (non-compliance with environmental regulation); (3) the occurrence of a government enforcement action to address violations; and (4) penalties associated with enforcement actions. The time period of data displayed in the different ECHO interfaces and reports varies, generally 3- 5 years, with downloadable datasets offering more years of data for advanced users.
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