Transcript Moving from Tool-Based to Problem

Doing What’s Important
A Problem-Based Approach for Setting
Priorities
The Regulatory Craft in Nova Scotia
Halifax, Nova Scotia
November 20-21, 2007
Michael M. Stahl
Director, Office of Compliance
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Presentation Outline
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Moving from Tool-Based to ProblemBased
What Is a Priority?
EPA’s Priority-Setting Process
EPA’s National Compliance and
Enforcement Priorities
Conclusion
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Tool-Based to Problem-Based
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Challenges facing environmental
compliance and enforcement (ECE)
programs
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Broad mission, multiple statutes, many
regulations
Numerous sources and forms of pollution
Diversity of industry sectors
Vast number of regulated entities
Reduced reach due to resource limitations
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Tool-Based to Problem-Based
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Traditional approach
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Goal – Maintain enforcement presence
across regulated universe
Tools serve as organizing principle
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Organization structured around tools
(assistance, incentives, monitoring and
enforcement) and statutes (air, water,
waste)
Goals, objectives, measures and budget
organized by tools
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Tool-Based to Problem-Based
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Traditional approach
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Challenges
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Impossible to ensure compliance in all
areas due to resource constraints
Looking for opportunities to use specific
tools and statutes may miss important
problems
Linking activities to environmental results
can be difficult
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Tool-Based to Problem-Based
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Alternative: Use Sparrow’s “problemsolving” approach to establish priorities
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Identify important problems (i.e., risk,
noncompliance pattern)
Create strategies tailored to the problems
Goals, objectives and measures are framed in
terms of environmental outcomes
Result
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Focuses resources on the most important
problems
Performance measures reflect the program’s
impact on problems
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What Is a Priority?
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Definition: “the fact or condition of
being prior; precedence in time,
order, importance, urgency…”
Setting priorities:
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Helps make triage decisions
Improves focus on most important
problems
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What Is a Priority?
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Problem defined precisely
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Strategy using appropriate mix of tools
tailored to the problem
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Analyze causes and influences
May require cross-functional collaboration,
use of networks
Problem-specific goals, objectives,
performance measures
Resource commitments
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EPA’s Priority-Setting Process
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Identifying potential problems
Evaluating candidate problems for
priority status
Selecting priorities
Implementing and managing
priorities
Monitoring and adjusting
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EPA’s Priority-Setting Process
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Identifying Potential Priorities
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Consulted stakeholders about emerging
problems, hazards, noncompliance patterns
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Field staff
Regulatory partners
Regulated entities
Others
Reviewed data systems
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Patterns in violations and enforcement actions
Compliance history of facilities and companies
Emission trends
Public health issues
Geographic “hot spots”
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EPA’s Priority-Setting Process
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Evaluating Candidate Priorities
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Is the problem national in scope?
Does it merit dedicated resources?
What would success look like? How
would we measure it?
Can we create an intervention strategy
that would produce success?
Are there potential partners who would
join us to address the problem?
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EPA’s Priority-Setting Process
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Selecting Priorities
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Selection criteria transparent and
understandable to all stakeholders
EPA’s criteria
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Identifiable environmental or health
problem national in scope
Significant environmental or health
benefits to be gained
Appropriate for federal-level attention
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EPA’s Priority-Setting Process
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Implementing and Managing
Priorities
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Develop an implementation strategy
with goals, objectives, measures
Establish implementation team with
multi-functional representation
Establish senior council to monitor and
guide priorities
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EPA’s Priority-Setting Process
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Implementing and Managing
Priorities
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Periodically review and assess
priorities, individually and as a set
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Evaluate progress
Refine problem statements if needed
Reevaluate goals and measures
Adjust strategies
Add/delete priorities
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EPA’s National Compliance and
Enforcement Priorities
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NSR/PSD
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Failure of industrial facilities to obtain
permits for plant modifications that
increase air pollution emissions
Air Toxics
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Toxic air pollutants are known to cause
cancer or other serious health effects
such as reproductive or birth defects,
or adverse environmental impacts
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EPA’s National Compliance and
Enforcement Priorities
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Mineral Processing
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Wastes from mineral processing can
cause environmental damage to
ground water and surface water when
placed in piles or ponds due to
corrosivity or high levels of toxic
metals (e.g., lead)
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EPA’s National Compliance and
Enforcement Priorities
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Financial Assurance
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Costs of clean-up and closure are
borne by taxpayers when facility
operators default
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Requiring adequate resources for clean-up
promotes proper handling of hazardous
materials and waste
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Indian Country
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Public and environmental health threats
in Indian Country posed by:
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Unsafe drinking water
Illegal and open dumping of solid and
hazardous wastes
Facility operation and maintenance issues at
schools, dormitories and campus housing,
such as presence of asbestos, improperly
stored chemicals, vehicle maintenance
operations and fuel storage
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EPA’s National Compliance and
Enforcement Priorities
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Stormwater
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Stormwater runoff from large urban areas
transports contaminants directly over land
and into waterways
CAFO
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Water discharges and runoff from
concentrated animal feeding operations
(during wet weather events) transport
nutrients, bacteria, pesticides, antibiotics and
hormones to local waterways
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EPA’s National Compliance and
Enforcement Priorities
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CSO/SSO
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Combined sewer overflows (CSO) and
sanitary sewer overflows (SSO)
discharge untreated sewage, industrial
wastewater, and other pollutants into
rivers, lakes, and oceans when wet
weather events exceed the storage
capacity of pipes and treatment plants
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Conclusion
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Problem-solving and priority-setting
approaches hold promise for focusing ECE
programs on important problems
Problem-solving approach requires:
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“Open-minded search” for problems and
intervention strategies
Ability to work across functional and
organizational lines
Measurement and fact-based analysis
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Contact Information
Michael M. Stahl
Director, Office of Compliance (MC-2221A)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460
202-564-2280 (phone)
202-564-0027 (fax)
[email protected]
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