The mission of the EPA has changed substantially from when it was signed into law 53+ years ago by President Nixon. This article discusses how so—and what it means to executives, managers, supervisors, and others who must generate, store, transport, and/or dispose of hazardous materials in the course of business. Q&As include:
- How has the mission of the EPA changed since its inception?
- What is the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)?
- How does the EPA’s evolving culture impact hazmat handlers?
- What are the legal ramifications?
1. How has the mission of the EPA changed since its inception?
Recently on its website, the EPA suggests that its work during fiscal 2022 effectively “reduced, treated or eliminated 95 million pounds of pollutants (while requiring) violators to pay over $300 million in penalties, fines, and restitution.”
We’re told this is commensurate with the agency’s continuing “mission to target the most serious water, air, land, and chemical violations and hazards that impact communities across the country.”
Such zeal is undoubtedly laudable vis-à-vis the agency’s mission, which was articulated within the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). But then the agency goes further by saying, “Our primary focus (in 2022) was advancing environmental justice (EJ), rebuilding EPA’s national inspector corps, and working to mitigate the effects of climate change, particularly in communities overburdened by pollution.”
This is significant. Because while empirical terms such as “characteristic waste,” “listed waste,” or even “universal waste” are intellectually palpable, social constructs like “environmental justice,” “mitigating the effects of climate change,” and “communities burdened by overpopulation” are not.
In terms of your compliance liabilities, the concern here is that the parties empowered to interpret such nebulous constructs won’t be professionals who understand the workaday realities of hazardous waste management. Instead, they’ll be the aforementioned inspector corps, along with an entity called the “Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance” (see Q.2)
2. What is the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)?
The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) is an arm of the EPA that “goes after pollution problems that impact communities through vigorous civil and criminal enforcement (see source).”
OECA, we’re informed, intends to increase its percentage of annual onsite inspections in communities with potential “EJ” concerns from 30 percent to 55 percent by 2026 “using the full range of compliance monitoring and enforcement tools, including inspections, technical assistance supported by advanced technologies, and early actions and innovative remedies to ensure high levels of compliance with federal environmental laws and regulations.”
3. How does the EPA’s evolving culture impact hazmat handlers?
The EPA nowadays isn’t a force solely concerned with the nuts and bolts of regulating hazardous waste and keeping it out of the environment.
Instead, it has morphed into a bureaucracy for upholding environmental justice, which means that much of what you do (or don’t do) in matters of hazardous waste management can be open to ad hoc and post hoc interpretations by officials who (in many cases) view hazmat generation as indicative of environmental carelessness.
4. What are the legal ramifications?
Laws and regulations concerning hazardous waste management grow in number and complexity from year to year, along with the attendant pitfalls and consequences of noncompliance.
Complicating matters. Per the agency’s reporting, the EPA has broadened its purview such that your compliance efforts will be viewed through the lens of “environmental justice,” as well as other constructs that are not objectively quantifiable. Two examples:
- How and by whom is it decided that your entity’s economic benefit doesn’t “justify” the environmental impact upon that community?
- Does the pursuit of “environmental justice” mean that your entity is culpable even if you’ve historically complied with the prevailing environmental law?
It’s imperative that you not only obey the myriad of changing federal, state, and local rules that impact hazmat management but also that you document your efforts to do so.
You need to have systems in place that can accurately track the generation, storage, transportation, and eventual disposal of your hazardous waste. Given the dynamic volume of information demanded by the EPA, DOT, OSHA, and other environmental authorities, this demands a comprehensive software solution.
You can find out more about the PegEx Platform or contact us to connect with a waste management technology expert today.
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