EPA Releases Weekly Email Notifications for Violations and Enforcement Actions 

On March 22, 2022, U.S. EPA released a new notification service, ECHO Notify. This new service allows the public to receive weekly emails alerting them of EPA and state environmental enforcement actions and violations occurring in their community or at a specific facility by selecting to be notified based on a specific EPA Facility ID, ZIP code, county, or state.

The user can also select to receive notifications of all violations or specific ones such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (i.e., hazardous waste), Safe Drinking Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (aka Superfund). The types of violations (e.g., high priority violation under the Clean Air Act or an informal enforcement action under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) can also be selected.

EPA’s expectation is that the availability of this information will serve to provide a stronger deterrence and incentive for companies to ensure they are complying with the applicable regulations.  Since this information is now available to the public, all printing operations are encouraged to sign up for notifications regarding their facility. This will allow printing operations to catch errors or inconsistencies attributed to them and provide time to prepare for any questions once the information about a violation or enforcement action is released. In addition, signing up for notifications in the area around your facility may also provide insight into EPA and state compliance and enforcement trends and give you time to prepare if an inspection occurs at your business.

Gary Jones is the Director of EHS Affairs at PRINTING United Alliance, the most comprehensive member-based printing and graphic arts association in the United States, comprised of the vast communities which it represents. The Alliance serves industry professionals across market segments with pertinent education, training, workshops, events, research, government and legislative representation, safety, and environmental sustainability guidance, as well as resources from the leading media company in the industry – NAPCO Media. Now a division of PRINTING United Alliance, Idealliance is the global leader in standards training and certification for printing and graphic arts operations across the entire industry supply chain.

In this article, Gary addresses the EPA’s new notification service, ECHO Notify. More information about environmental, health and safety issues can be found at Business Excellence - Environmental, Health, and Safety or reach out to Gary should you have additional questions specific to how these issues may affect your business: gjones@printing.org.

To become a member of PRINTING United Alliance and learn more about how PRINTING United Alliance subject matter experts can assist your company with services and resources such as those mentioned in this article, please contact the Alliance membership team: 888-385-3588 / membership@printing.org.