Abstract |
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), all ten U.S. EPA Regions, the Environmental Council of States (ECOS) Compliance Committee, and other state representatives have jointly developed a method to assess state performance in the enforcement and compliance assurance program. This report reflects the review by Region 5 of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) compliance and enforcement program utilizing the State Review Framework. This review has been a collaborative effort between the Region and State and captures both successes of the states program as well as any identified areas that need improvement. Future reviews will look at performance as a comparison to the level documented in this baseline review. The purpose of the State Review Framework assessment is to provide consistency in the level of core enforcement activity across the nation and thus in environmental protection and public health. It provides a consistent tool for Regions to use in overseeing state enforcement programs, and provides the basis for a consistent mechanism for U.S. EPA Regions to provide flexibility to states which can demonstrate an adequate core program. |