New York policy on
environmental audits allows
for enforcement leniency
Like the federal government and a number of states, the New York
State has adopted an environmental audit policy that could grant
leniency if a facility self–discloses violations to the authorities.
This Policy encourages facilities to audit their operations and
to adopt measures to prevent violations, such as environmental
management systems and pollution prevention, in order to
improve compliance with environmental laws.
Who qualifies?
The Policy applies to any entity, private
or public, including a federal, state or municipal agency, regulated under New York State
environmental laws and regulations. However, the following facilities are excluded: facilities that received a Notice of Violation, Environmental Conservation Appearance Ticket,
Notice of Hearing and Complaint, an administrative or judicial order or was subject to
a penalty demand; and facilities that were
uncooperative in remedying past violations.
What types of violations
qualify?
As a general rule any violation of the
New York State environmental laws and regulations discovered during an environmental audit, or during a pollution prevention or
compliance assistance program is eligible
under the Policy.
As an exemption from the general applicability of the Policy, certain violations are
excluded. For example: a violation of the
same requirement for which a facility has
received a notice of violation, Environmental
Enhesa Flash Nov/Dec 2013
Conservation Appearance Ticket or Notice
of Hearing and Complaint, administrative or
judicial order or was subject to a penalty demand, within the past five years; a violation
of the same requirement for which a facility
has already received a penalty waiver under
this policy within the past five years or a violation of an administrative or judicial order.
Disclosure period
In order to benefit from the Policy, a facility must disclose a violation expeditiously in writing, consistent with any applicable
time frame prescribed by a law or regulation.
Where no time frame is specified, disclosure
of the violation to the NYS Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) must occur within 30 calendar days after the facility
discovered the violation.
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