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Inspector General Releases Report on Arkansas' Environmental Enforcement

Release Date: 10/1/1997
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

Arkansas is using a federal Inspector General's audit process to improve the state's environmental enforcement program.

In most states, including Arkansas, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delegated permitting and enforcement of the Clean Air Act to state environmental agencies. EPA's Office of the Inspector General has begun audits in a number of states to determine if state agencies are correctly enforcing provisions of these delegated air programs. These audits identify both problems and more effective methods to protect public health and our environment.

"This audit is an excellent example of how the Inspector General's staff works to both effectively pinpoint problems and to work with state agencies in finding constructive solutions," EPA Acting Regional Administrator Jerry Clifford said.

States with a low number of facilities identified as significant violators in relation to their total number of major source facilities were selected to be audited. Significant violators are major source facilities that have violated their air permits. States are required to report significant violators to EPA within one month of the violation. Any facility that emits more than 100 tons a year of at least one of 188 specified pollutants is considered a major source.

The Inspector General's audit found the low number of reported significant violators in Arkansas to be due to miscommunication. Each month, the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology (ADPC&E) manually filed violation reports. However, the audit found there was some misunderstanding about how significant violators were entered into the national computer database, resulting in neither the state nor the federal agency entering the information. These problems have been resolved and ADPC&E is now updating the database electronically.

Additionally, ADPC&E used a slightly different definition of a significant violator. While the state's monthly manual reports described violations, some facilities which should have been identified as significant violators were not.

Within a week of the auditors' arrival at ADPC&E, the state agency was submitting plans to correct problems being found. EPA auditors reviewed 23 facilities and determined ten should be listed as significant violators. ADPC&E added another 14 companies.

"Arkansas is one of a few states which currently meets all national standards for air quality. ADPC&E's quick action to correct the problems the audit found shows how effectively individual states and EPA work together to protect public health and the environment," Mr. Clifford said.