The EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), all ten EPA Regions, the Environmental Council of States (ECOS) Compliance Committee and state representatives have jointly developed a method to assess state performance in the enforcement and compliance assurance program. The purpose of the assessment is to provide a consistent mechanism for EPA Regions, together with their states, to ensure agreed upon minimum performance levels and provide a consistent level of environmental and public health protection across our Nation. In short, the assessment consists of 13 questions comparing actual compliance and enforcement practices with U.S. EPA policies and guidance. The 13 evaluation areas posed by this framework are consistent with evaluation areas delineated in the 1986 guidance memorandum signed by Jim Barnes entitled Revised Policy Framework for State/EPA Enforcement Agreements. Additionally, the framework utilizes existing program guidance, such as our EPA national enforcement response policies, compliance monitoring policies, and civil penalty policies or similar state policies (where in use and consistent with national policy) to evaluate state performance and to help guide our definitions of a minimum level of performance.