What is an EPA Notice or Direction?

If waste or pollution is present during an EPA inspection, or some kind of non-compliance is detected, EPA officers can issue a ‘notice or direction’. What is an EPA notice? 

Although these are technically not sanctions, they do form part of the compliance and enforcement framework. A sanction may often follow, if your business does not adhere to a notice or direction.  

The EPA Compliance and Enforcement policy (p11) describes notices as “a formal record that EPA has required action by a duty holder to remedy a risk of harm”.

There are a different types of ‘notices or directions’, such as:

– An improvement notice requires a person to take action to remedy non-compliance, such as adopt new processes or procedures.

– A Prohibition notice requires a person to stop an activity that involves an immediate risk of harm. This could force you to stop your business operations for a period of time.

– A notice to investigate requires a person to investigate potential contamination or harm, for example conduct monitoring or a risk assessment.

– An environmental action notice requires a person to take action to clean-up contamination at your site.

– A waste abatement notice requires a person to remove, dispose or restore a place affected by litter or waste.    

Notices can impose strict timeframes and costly action on your business. If you fail to comply, a sanction or prosecution may follow.    

It is important to understand the obligations and costs that a notice or direction imposes on your business.  

You also have rights to negotiate the notice’s content and timing of actions, or request a review of the notice or direction.  

GEDedge has experience negotiating notices and directions with EPA to help your business decide what to do next.

Contact GEDedge for more information.