44992 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 149 / Friday, August 1, 2008 / Notices
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPAHQOECA20070291; FRL87002]
Interim Approach to Applying the Audit Policy to New Owners
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) announces and requests comment on its Interim Approach to Applying the Audit Policy to New Owners (Interim Approach). (EPAs April 11, 2000 policy on Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations, is commonly referred to as the Audit Policy (65 FR 19618).) This Interim Approach offers a detailed description of how EPA will apply its Audit Policy to new owners of
regulated facilities. Under the Interim Approach, EPA will offer certain incentives specifically tailored to new owners that want to make a clean start at their newly acquired facilities by addressing environmental noncompliance that began prior to acquisition. This Interim Approach is designed to motivate new owners to audit newly acquired facilities and use the Audit Policy to disclose, correct, and prevent the recurrence of violations. It is also designed to encourage selfdisclosures of violations that will, once corrected, yield significant pollutant reductions and benefits to the environment. The incentives tailored for new owners include penalty mitigation beyond what is provided in the Audit Policy, as well as the modification of certain Audit policy conditions. Through applying a clear, transparent, and easily administered Interim Approach to resolving disclosures from
new owners, the Agency seeks to use the Audit Policy to leverage its ability to make effective use of scarce government resources. If procedural and transaction costs can be minimized for regulators and self-disclosing new owners, EPA anticipates that the opportunity to work with new owners as they make clean starts at their new facilities can help secure higher quality
environmental improvements more quickly and effectively than might otherwise occur.
On May 14, 2007, EPA published a Federal Register Notice entitled Enhancing Environmental Outcomes From Audit Policy Disclosures Through Tailored Incentives for New Owners (72 FR 27116) (First Notice) seeking public comment on whether and to what extent the Agency should consider offering tailored incentives to encourage new owners of regulated entities to discover, disclose, correct, and prevent the recurrence of environmental violations pursuant to the Audit Policy. The Agency received public comment supportive of the idea of offering tailored incentives to new owners, and decided to develop an Approach to applying the Audit Policy to new owners. The Agency believes the most efficient way to effectively test this
strategy, and learn from practical experience, is to implement it on an interim basis. Accordingly, the Agency has decided to begin applying the Interim Approach, effective upon publication of this Notice. EPA is concurrently seeking public comment
on the Interim Approach for a period of 90 days. EPA will be reviewing public comment as it is received and will continue its dialogue with stakeholders on whether refinements to the Interim Approach are needed. In addition, the Agency will place into the public docket copies of agreements resolving violations disclosed by new owners under the Interim Approach. In any event, EPA intends to assess the effectiveness of the Interim Approach on a continual basis. Based on public comment and after the Agency has gained sufficient experience in implementing the Interim Approach, EPA will decide to finalize, revise or discontinue these tailored incentives for new owners.
DATES: The Interim Approach is effective upon publication of this Notice. EPA urges interested parties to comment on the Interim Approach in writing. Comments must be received by EPA no later than October 30, 2008.
