The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) is building a foundation for a national evidence-based enforcement and compliance assurance program. Designed to strengthen compliance with and benefits from the EPA’s regulations and enforcement authorities, the initiative is developing a Compliance Learning Agenda. This Agenda will identify pressing programmatic questions and establish an evaluation plan, with a series of evidence-building research projects developed to answer those questions.
OECA is working through E-Enterprise to partner with states and Tribes to help shape the future of national enforcement and compliance by:
- Developing a Compliance Learning Agenda
- Establishing a community of practice to continue to support ongoing projects and plan for future projects, and
- Encouraging stakeholders to collaborate on research projects.
Difficulty evaluating enforcement approaches that most effectively improve regulatory compliance
For years the environmental enforcement and compliance community has debated which approaches are most effective in improving regulatory compliance. With additional evidence-based research on innovative compliance remedies, agencies will be better equipped to match compliance issues with the most effective solutions.
Partners identified priority research areas to establish and carry out a Compliance Learning Agenda
E-Enterprise is supporting cooperation among the EPA’s OECA, states, Tribes, and other partners to advance the development of a Compliance Learning Agenda. Partners are prioritizing the most pressing programmatic questions, planning evidence-based studies to address these questions, and identifying effective and innovative approaches for improving compliance. OECA is leading this evidence-based approach with support from the E-Enterprise Leadership Council, state and Tribal agencies, and a compliance community of practice. Through this process, OECA has identified a pair of priority areas for initial research: Offsite Compliance Monitoring and Root Causes of Municipal Noncompliance.
In 2022 and 2023, OECA and its partners hosted interest meetings on Offsite Compliance Monitoring and Root Causes of Municipal Noncompliance. Members of the academic community from around the country, along with state and Tribal partners, learned more about the project and asked questions. In 2024, OECA selected a research partner and met with state and Tribal partners to frame the research study.
What’s next?
OECA is working with an academic research partner to develop a multi-year randomized control trial focused on Offsite Compliance Monitoring activities.
Partners are collaborating to identify the most effective and innovative approaches for improving compliance
An evidence-based compliance assurance program, formalized through a learning agenda, will:
- Test new and existing innovative technologies and policies to ensure limited resources have the greatest impact on environmental compliance
- Create an established venue for partners to collaborate on evidence-based studies, and
- Identify effective enforcement and compliance tools through empirical data versus anecdotes.
Key Contacts
Michele McKeever
U.S. EPA Office of Compliance
OECA_CLA@epa.gov
Genevieve Soule
U.S. EPA Office of Compliance
OECA_CLA@epa.gov
