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Enforcement in Pacific Northwest drives major cleanups, pollution reductions in 2006

Release Date: 11/15/2006
Contact Information: Deborah Flood, 206-553-2722, [email protected] Mark MacIntyre, 206-553-7302, [email protected]

Agency touts enforcement gains as ‘Protecting citizens where they live’

(Seattle, Wash – November 15, 2006) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement program in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska saw across-the-board increases in every category for 2006. According to additional Agency calculations, the program helped prevent 26.4 million pounds of pollution in the region. Together, the latest EPA enforcement data reveal an estimated $115.2 million in federal compliance actions; $657,000 in Supplementary Environmental Projects (SEPs); and just over $3.5 million in judicial and administrative penalties collected in the latest fiscal year.

According to Elin D. Miller, EPA’s regional administrator in Seattle, the Agency’s impressive enforcement numbers are about more than just pounds, dollars and cents.

“This is about protecting people where they live,” said Miller. “It’s easy to draw the connection between EPA’s enforcement and compliance program and improvements in the health and vitality of the region’s air, water and land. We’ve found that diligent enforcement not only inspires compliance, but also levels the economic playing field for those companies who are doing the right thing environmentally.”

Here’s a snapshot of the EPA region-wide enforcement record for the past three years:

	FY04	FY05	FY06
Total InspectionsConducted	1217	1221	1299
Total Pounds of pollutants reduced/treated	21,344,444	13,954,601	26,429,316
Total Penalties Assessed	$1,703,040	$1,778,908	$3,567,324
Total Enforcement Actions Concluded (Compliance Orders, Penalty Settlements & Consent Decrees)	192	196	345*

(*Includes 109 special pesticide labeling cases)

National Press Release on Enforcement Results (yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/hq_2006-11-15_enforcement_cuts)
Region 10 Enforcement and Compliance (yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ENFORCE.NSF/Homepage/OCE+Main+Page)
Region 10 Enforcement Numbers at a Glance and Case Histories (yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ENFORCE.NSF/Program+Management/2006+Report)