On Monday January 28, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or "Agency") published in the Federal Register a request for public comments on the Agency’s proposed national enforcement initiatives for the 2014-2016 fiscal years. EPA’s national enforcement initiatives are reviewed and selected every three years with the goal to "focus federal resources on the most important environmental problems where noncompliance is a significant contributing factor and where federal enforcement attention can make a difference." (78 Fed. Reg. 5799). EPA’s announcement of these initiatives provides the regulated community with helpful insight into the Agency’s priorities for the next three years.

For fiscal years 2011-2013, EPA had six national enforcement initiatives:

• Addressing sewerage discharges from combined sewer systems, sanitary sewer systems and municipal storm water systems.
• Addressing hazardous waste at phosphoric acid facilities and high risk mineral processing sites.
• Controlling emissions from the coal fired utility sector, cement plants, glass plants and acid production plants.
• Addressing toxic emissions from high risk facilities by addressing leak detection and repair (LDAR).
• Addressing land-based natural gas extraction facilities.
• Addressing animal waste discharges from large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Based on these enforcement initiatives, EPA issued frequent information requests to businesses falling into these categories pursuant to authority under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act. The Agency also initiated a substantial number of enforcement actions against such companies by issuance of Notices of Violation, Administrative Consent Orders and/or filing complaints in federal court. In EPA’s view, these efforts were a success.

EPA is now requesting public comment on whether it should extend these six current enforcement initiatives through 2016, or whether the Agency should consider new industry sectors on which to focus its enforcement resources. Extending these initiatives will result in continued enforcement attention being directed to the six industry sectors listed above. Public comments must be received by EPA by February 27, 2013.