--- title: Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog | STP | EPA (9) description: EPA | STP's blog giving insight into audit, compliance and risk issues for EHS, business and accounting. (9) --- [![Specialty Technical Publishers](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/STP-logo-white-orange.png)](http://www.stpub.com/) - [My Account](http://stponline.stpub.com) - 1-800-251-0381 # Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog ## [EPA revises regulatory methodology for determining whether source modifications trigger “new” source review](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-revises-regulatory-methodology-for-determining-whether-source-modifications-trigger-new-source-review) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Mon, Nov 02, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/chemist-3836150_1920.jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-revises-regulatory-methodology-for-determining-whether-source-modifications-trigger-new-source-review) When are changes to an existing system so extensive that they produce a “new” system? This question is conceptually important in any evolving organization, and can have important regulatory consequences if requirements for “existing” systems are substantially different than those for “new” systems. Emissions regulations under the Clean Air Act (CAA) contain many such situations, and on October 22 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted changes to the “project emissions accounting” it uses to decide whether modifications to an existing major source are so extensive as to trigger preconstruction New Source Review (NSR) requirements. This revision codifies into regulations a policy changed announced in 2018. [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-revises-regulatory-methodology-for-determining-whether-source-modifications-trigger-new-source-review) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-revises-regulatory-methodology-for-determining-whether-source-modifications-trigger-new-source-review#comments-listing) Tags: [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [CAA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/caa), [Environment](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environment), [PSD](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/psd), [NSR](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/nsr) ## [Study compares environmental enforcement during Trump administration with predecessors](https://blog.stpub.com/study-compares-environmental-enforcement-during-trump-administration-with-predecessors) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Wed, Oct 28, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/environmental-law%20(1).jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/study-compares-environmental-enforcement-during-trump-administration-with-predecessors) I’ve written numerous times in this space about specific efforts by the Trump administration to reduce environmental regulation and enforcement. A new study from the University of Michigan Law School quantifies reductions in the administration’s criminal enforcement levels. The report is part of the school’s “Environmental Crimes Project,” and includes the first two years of the Trump Administration as the latest in a 14-year series of federal environmental enforcement data. Readers should note that federal criminal environmental enforcement is brought by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); EPA and delegated state agencies bring their own civil cases, and most state criminal enforcement is brought by state prosecutors on behalf of state regulatory agencies (I summarized agency enforcement in the first year of the Trump administration [HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/federal-enforcement-falls-in-president-trumps-first-year)). [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/study-compares-environmental-enforcement-during-trump-administration-with-predecessors) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/study-compares-environmental-enforcement-during-trump-administration-with-predecessors#comments-listing) Tags: [OSHA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/osha), [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [RCRA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/rcra), [CAA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/caa), [DOJ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/doj), [CWA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cwa), [Environment](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environment), [ESA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/esa), [SWMA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/swma) ## [Cleaning up after wildfires](https://blog.stpub.com/cleaning-up-after-wildfires) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Tue, Sep 29, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/Wildfire.png) ](https://blog.stpub.com/cleaning-up-after-wildfires) Western North America is suffering from huge wildfires this year. I’ve written pieces discussing ways to protect workplaces from fire ([HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/protecting-your-workplace-from-wildfires)) and to protect workers during wildfires ([HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/protecting-workers-when-wildfires-create-bad-air)). Today’s note discusses worker safety during cleanup after wildfires. I synthesize guidance from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California EPA (CalEPA), and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/cleaning-up-after-wildfires) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/cleaning-up-after-wildfires#comments-listing) Tags: [OSHA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/osha), [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [CDC](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cdc), [workplace safety](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/workplace-safety), [Wildfire](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/wildfire), [Cal-Fire](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cal-fire), [California](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/california), [CalEPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/calepa), [CDPH](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cdph) ## [EPA revises ignitability characteristic of hazardous waste](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-revise-ignitability-characteristic-of-hazardous-waste) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Wed, Aug 12, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/pollution-3075857_1920.jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-revise-ignitability-characteristic-of-hazardous-waste) National waste management laws and regulations provide management requirements to the perceived hazards of each category, under overall regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Effective September 8, 2020, EPA will make extensive technical revisions to its standards for the “ignitability characteristic”, so entities that generate or manage wastes that might be ignitable should now review those wastes and associated management requirements. [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-revise-ignitability-characteristic-of-hazardous-waste) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-revise-ignitability-characteristic-of-hazardous-waste#comments-listing) Tags: [Environmental](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental), [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [Hazardous Waste](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/hazardous-waste), [SWDA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/swda) ## [Supreme Court decision provides Superfund Responsible Parties with some relief](https://blog.stpub.com/supreme-court-decision-provides-superfund-responsible-parties-with-some-relief) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Mon, Jul 27, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/contam.png) ](https://blog.stpub.com/supreme-court-decision-provides-superfund-responsible-parties-with-some-relief) Forty years ago, the federal “Superfund” law -- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) – was enacted to provide legal requirements and procedural methodologies to speed identification and cleanup of contamination. Today, cleanups continue and the requirements and procedures continue to evolve. In April, the United States Supreme Court issued its latest decision interpreting a Superfund provision, this one defining clearer limitations on when the owners of contaminated land can force Responsible Parties for that contamination to pay for cleanup more extensive (and expensive) than cleanup ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The case is *Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian*. [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/supreme-court-decision-provides-superfund-responsible-parties-with-some-relief) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/supreme-court-decision-provides-superfund-responsible-parties-with-some-relief#comments-listing) Tags: [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [RCRA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/rcra), [clean water](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/clean-water), [Supreme Court](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/supreme-court), [Superfund law](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/superfund-law), [CERCLA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cercla), [The Montana Supreme Court](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/the-montana-supreme-court) ## [Remember OSHA’s workplace hygiene requirements](https://blog.stpub.com/remember-oshas-workplace-hygiene-requirements) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Wed, Jun 10, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/cleanliness-2799459_1920.jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/remember-oshas-workplace-hygiene-requirements) Employers considering how to protect their employees from coronavirus infections can look to a growing variety of general and specific guidance. I recently wrote about the latest coronavirus-specific guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (see [HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/protecting-employees-against-coronavirus-at-operating-workplaces)).  [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/remember-oshas-workplace-hygiene-requirements) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/remember-oshas-workplace-hygiene-requirements#comments-listing) Tags: [OSHA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/osha), [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [clean water](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/clean-water), [CDC](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cdc), [Workplace hygiene](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/workplace-hygiene), [sanitation](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/sanitation) ## [Environmental Protection Agency issues administrative inspection rules](https://blog.stpub.com/environmental-protection-agency-issues-administrative-inspection-rules) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Wed, Jun 03, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/landscape-3767198_1920.jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/environmental-protection-agency-issues-administrative-inspection-rules) Effective March 2, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued rules governing the agency’s administrative civil inspection procedures (40 CFR s. 31.1). These new rules meet a requirement created by President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 13892 (“Promoting the Rule of Law Through Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement and Adjudication”), issued October 9, 2019 (I wrote about this EO [HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/president-trump-restricts-agencies-use-of-guidelines)). The new rules apply to on-site civil inspections conducted by EPA personnel, and to federally credentialled contractors and Senior Environmental Employment (SEE) employees conducting inspections on EPA’s behalf; they do not apply to criminal investigations, nor to state and state-credentialled inspections. [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/environmental-protection-agency-issues-administrative-inspection-rules) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/environmental-protection-agency-issues-administrative-inspection-rules#comments-listing) Tags: [Business & Legal](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/business-legal), [Environmental risks](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental-risks), [Environmental](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental), [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [clean water](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/clean-water), [clean air](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/clean-air) ## [Department of Justice Restricts Supplemental Environmental Project Agreements](https://blog.stpub.com/department-of-justice-restricts-supplemental-environmental-project-agreements) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Wed, May 20, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/landscape-4984348_1280.jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/department-of-justice-restricts-supplemental-environmental-project-agreements) Effective March 12, 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) prohibits its US attorneys from entering into settlements in which DOJ lowers penalties for defendants that agree to conduct “supplemental environmental projects (SEPs)”, if the SEP involves payments to a third party. This action is the latest in a series of DOJ moves against SEPs since President Trump took office. The first such step was a June 2017 DOJ management memorandum directing US attorneys NOT to agree to SEPs that include payments to third parties (I wrote about that memo [HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/us-department-of-justice-reining-in-supplemental-environmental-projects)). The second was an August 2019 memorandum restricting use of SEPs in Clean Water Act (CWA) cases against state and local governments, in which DOJ rejected arguments that recent legislation allows them (I wrote about that memo [HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/department-of-justice-reemphasizes-its-disfavor-for-supplemental-environmental-project-agreements-with-state-and-local-governments)). [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/department-of-justice-restricts-supplemental-environmental-project-agreements) 1 Comment [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/department-of-justice-restricts-supplemental-environmental-project-agreements#comments-listing) Tags: [Business & Legal](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/business-legal), [Environmental risks](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental-risks), [Environmental](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental), [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [clean water](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/clean-water), [clean air](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/clean-air), [DOJ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/doj), [SEP](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/sep), [CWA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cwa), [Environmental Projects](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental-projects) ## [Supreme Court provides greater clarity about when discharges to groundwater require Clean Water Act permits](https://blog.stpub.com/supreme-court-provides-greater-clarity-about-when-discharges-to-groundwater-require-clean-water-act-permits) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Wed, Apr 29, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/contamination-4286704_1920.jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/supreme-court-provides-greater-clarity-about-when-discharges-to-groundwater-require-clean-water-act-permits) On April 23, a six-member majority of the United States Supreme Court issued a decision that narrows the uncertainty about when a discharge of water pollutants to groundwater may require a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit (*County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund*). The decision directly vacates the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision it reviews, and effectively over-rules decisions by the Fourth and Sixth Circuits that differed with the Ninth Circuit but are also inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s new analysis. It also overturns guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2019 categorically excluding discharges from point sources to groundwater from regulation under the CWA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program; EPA's policy applied nationwide except in those three judicial circuits. [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/supreme-court-provides-greater-clarity-about-when-discharges-to-groundwater-require-clean-water-act-permits) 1 Comment [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/supreme-court-provides-greater-clarity-about-when-discharges-to-groundwater-require-clean-water-act-permits#comments-listing) Tags: [Business & Legal](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/business-legal), [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [CWA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cwa), [Hawaii Wildlife Fund](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/hawaii-wildlife-fund), [County of Maui](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/county-of-maui), [NPDES](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/npdes), [Supreme Court](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/supreme-court), [Groundwater discharge](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/groundwater-discharge), [water pollutants](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/water-pollutants) ## [EPA Finalizes First List of “Low Priority” Chemicals](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-finalizes-first-list-of-low-priority-chemicals) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Wed, Apr 15, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/lab-217043_1280.jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-finalizes-first-list-of-low-priority-chemicals) The 2016 Amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA; the “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act”) assigned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a variety of new responsibilities and powers to review and regulate chemicals in commerce in the United States. These changes include additional requirements to review chemicals already in use (I summarized this piece of the new TSCA [here](https://blog.stpub.com/the-new-tsca-1-reviewing-more-existing-chemicals)). Despite all the changes to EPA priorities since 2016 (i.e., during the Trump Administration), EPA has marched forward with these chemical reviews. These reviews include formal statutory requirements to identify separate lists of 20 “high priority” – i.e., potentially high risk – chemicals for accelerated reviews, and 20 “low priority” chemicals EPA considers not to need further review. I wrote about EPA’s 2019 proposals for these lists [here](https://blog.stpub.com/epas-new-chemical-review-priorities-should-encourage-user-reviews-too). [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-finalizes-first-list-of-low-priority-chemicals) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/epa-finalizes-first-list-of-low-priority-chemicals#comments-listing) Tags: [Environmental risks](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental-risks), [Environmental](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental), [EPA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa), [Hazcom](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/hazcom), [tsca](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/tsca) [Previous](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa/page/8) [All posts](https://blog.stpub.com/all) [Next](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa/page/10) ### Follow Me ### Subscribe by Email ### Browse by Topic Area - [Accounting & Tax ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/accounting-tax) - [Business & Legal ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/business-legal) - [Corporate Governance  ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/?Tag=Corporate+Governance) - [Environmental ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/?Tag=Environmental) - [Global ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/?Tag=Global) - [Health & Safety ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/health-safety) - [Internet ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/?Tag=Internet) - [Transportation ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/?Tag=Transportation) ### Browse by Tag - [Environmental (344)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental) - [Business & Legal (309)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/business-legal) - [Environmental risks (300)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental-risks) - [Health & Safety (296)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/health-safety) - [EPA (283)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa) - [Terms & Conditions](https://stphub.stpehs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/STP-Terms-of-Use-Dec-20.pdf) - [Privacy Policy](https://stphub.stpehs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/STP-Privacy-Policy.pdf) - [License Agreement](https://stphub.stpehs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/STP-License-Agreement-Dec-20.pdf) - [Sitemap](http://stpub.com/sitemap) - [Support](http://stpub.com/support) © 2021 STP ComplianceEHS - All rights reserved