 In June, EPA’s Office of Enforcement & Compliance Enforcement (OECA) met with representatives of states, tribes, and media associations to share information on its National Targeting Center (NTC), and to discuss options for further engagement. Established in April 2020, the NTC’s mission is to facilitate and coordinate the targeting of activities across air, water, and waste programs and to serve as a resource to EPA headquarter and regional offices, states, tribes, and local compliance and enforcement programs.
Through a survey and interviews with regions, EPA heard that all regions: have best practices; use resources outside of EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online website; and want to learn about how other regions prioritize. EPA plans to develop or modify tools to improve prioritizing activities and promote best practices and technology transfer through communities of practice. Four tools under NTC development are the PFAS Analytic Tools, the Lead Occurrence and Source Map, Resource Conservation & Recovery Act Predictive Analytics, and Discharge Monitoring Report Integrity Screening.
States noted that the NTC provides a forum to shape policy for mutual benefit and seeks to prioritize resources for the most problematic areas, prioritizing resources rather than facilities. John Dombrowski, OECA’s representative on the E-Enterprise Leadership Council (EELC), noted that EELC’s development of a Compliance Learning Agenda with states and tribes will complement the efforts of the NTC, as both focus on developing innovative compliance and enforcement remedies. OECA plans further tribal engagement and individual kickoff meetings for air, water, hazardous waste, and drinking water this winter and spring 2022.
In related work, OECA shared information on its development of predictive analytics for Resource Conservation & Recovery Act Large Quantity Generators during an E-Enterprise July 2020 webinar.
For more information on the NTC, contact Mike Barrette and Rusty Wasem of EPA. |
