Next Generation Compliance: 

Strategic Plan 

2014 – 2017
 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Washington, DC 20460 

October 2014 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US Environmental Protection Agency 

Next Generation Compliance:
 

Strategic Plan 2014-2017
 

Table of Contents 

I Vision..............................................................................................................................................1
 

II. Background...................................................................................................................................2
 

III. Goals and Objectives of Next Generation Compliance...............................................................3
 

More Effective Regulations and Permits........................................................................................3
 

Advanced Monitoring.....................................................................................................................4
 

Electronic Reporting.......................................................................................................................5
 

Expanded Transparency .................................................................................................................6
 

Innovative Enforcement .................................................................................................................7
 

IV. Measures for Goals and Objectives.............................................................................................8
 

V. Research .......................................................................................................................................8
 

VI. Management and Communications.............................................................................................8
 

I Vision 

Protecting clean air and water, and ensuring our communities are safe from pollution, is more 

complex today than ever. Whether it’s pollution that’s not apparent to the naked eye or large 

numbers of small sources that collectively have a big impact on the environment, new challenges 

require us to innovate and improve. 

As a regulatory agency, EPA’s primary way to achieve its mission is by creating and implementing 

effective regulations. Achieving the health and environmental benefits of these rules depends on 

widespread compliance with federal, tribal and state regulations and permits. Today’s challenges 

require a modern approach to compliance with new tools and approaches while strengthening 

vigorous enforcement as the backbone of environmental protection. 

Next Generation Compliance is an integrated strategy, designed to bring together the best thinking 

from inside and outside EPA on how to structure regulations and permits combined with new 

monitoring and information technology, expanded transparency, and innovative enforcement. It 

will enable us to do our job better in the 21st Century. It will better motivate the regulated 

community to comply with environmental laws and inform the public about their performance. 

And, most importantly, it will help ensure that all Americans are protected from significant risks to 

human health and the environment and have access to information that allows them to more fully 

engage in environment protection efforts. 

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II. Background 

Led by EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), Next Generation 

Compliance builds on several innovative efforts like the Clean Water Act Action Plan. Using what 

we have learned about what drives better performance, EPA can write regulations and permits with 

compliance “built in” so we can get better results with less investment of scarce government 

resources. Using existing and emerging monitoring and information technologies, EPA and states, 

and the regulated facilities themselves, will be better able to find and fix pollution problems. The 

increased transparency and real time information that electronic reporting and advanced 

monitoring makes possible will also allow us to experiment with innovative approaches that 

provide opportunities for better results. Next Generation Compliance will assist the EPA, states, 

and tribes to better address large regulated universes with approaches that go beyond traditional 

single facility inspections and enforcement. All of these approaches combined help us to better 

protect public health and the environment, assure a level playing field for businesses that play by 

the rules, engage communities, and reduce regulatory burdens. Budget uncertainties and 

constrained resources only reinforce the imperative to move forward with Next Generation 

Compliance. 

As shown in Figure 1 below, Next Generation Compliance consists of five interconnected 

components, each designed to improve the effectiveness of our compliance program. 

Figure 1: Next Generation Compliance Components 

Regulation and
 

Permit Design
 

Innovative Advanced 

Enforcement Monitoring 

Electronic Transparency Reporting 

Many offices across EPA are implementing Next Generation Compliance ideas today. OECA has 

the lead for many of these activities, and is working across the Agency to help assure coordinated 

implementation. This Plan focuses on OECA-led activities, with the understanding that the 

success of Next Generation Compliance depends on the critical roles played by others in EPA and 

in states and tribes. 

Next Generation Compliance is completely consistent with and complements the Agency’s EEnterprise for the Environment Initiative. E-Enterprise is a joint initiative of states and EPA to 

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improve environmental outcomes and dramatically enhance service to the regulated community 

and the public by maximizing the use of advanced monitoring and information technologies, 

optimizing operations, and increasing transparency. There is significant overlap between EEnterprise and Next Generation Compliance, particularly in expanding electronic reporting, 

advanced monitoring, and transparency. These two efforts will work together on these key goals. 

This Plan sets the strategic direction for OECA’s work on Next Generation Compliance. Since 

this is a Strategic Plan, the details for how we will implement this Plan with specific activities and 

available resources will be set forth elsewhere. 

III. Goals and Objectives of Next Generation Compliance 

Next Generation Compliance is organized around the five interconnected components. We will 

coordinate closely among the goals as we implement this Plan. 

More Effective Regulations and Permits: Design more effective regulations and permits 

with Next Generation Compliance principles and tools so we reduce pollution and achieve higher 

compliance. 

More Effective Regulations and More Effective Regulations and Permits Objectives: Permits will incorporate what we 1: Provide EPA staff with knowledge and tools to make have learned about what regulations and permits more effective, achieve higher encourages better compliance. compliance, and realize the expected benefits. Regulations and permits that are 2: Improve understanding of Next Generation Compliance’s clear, as easy to implement as value with regulatory offices and partners. possible, and that contain self 3: Identify opportunities to apply Next Generation reinforcing drivers for better Compliance in specific regulations and permits. performance help to move us 

toward improved compliance as 

the “default” option. For example, 

regulated facilities can take steps to monitor their own performance to prevent violations. New 

technology can help companies find pollution that was “invisible” and monitors can transmit 

warnings to facility managers so they can fix a problem before a violation occurs. Real time 

information to communities and/or market incentives can help inspire facilities to improve 

compliance. We can build these features into our regulations to improve implementation. 

One way we will accomplish this is to educate EPA staff who write regulations and permits about 

Next Generation Compliance tools that can help them ensure rules and permits achieve their 

intended purpose. We will train staff and managers on the principles and tools they need, offer 

regulation design consultations, and organize “communities of practice” where staff can share 

ideas and work on specific regulations. We also expect to offer training to states and tribes. 

OECA will identify where we can apply Next Generation Compliance features in regulations and 

permits, work to improve the focus on compliance in the regulation development process, and 

develop best practices for using Next Generation Compliance principles and tools. 

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OECA will work with EPA’s program offices, the Office of Policy, and Office of General Counsel 

to achieve this goal and to incorporate Next Generation Compliance principles and tools into 

EPA’s regulations. 

Advanced Monitoring: Make better use of existing pollution monitoring technologies and 

investigate new ones to help government, industry, and the public identify pollution problems and 

help solve them. 

Advanced emissions/pollutant detection Advanced Monitoring Objectives: 

technology can help regulated entities, the 1: Identify advanced monitoring technologies 

government, and the public more easily find EPA already has and connect them with the 

pollutant discharges, environmental conditions, people who can best use them. 

and noncompliance. By making the invisible 2: Collaborate with internal and external 

visible, we can bring more attention to groups to identify and develop new advanced 

important pollution problems. EPA and others monitoring opportunities. 

are starting to use new monitoring equipment 3: Equip EPA to use the most promising new 

that allows air pollution leaks to be seen and advanced monitoring technologies. 

reported, water quality data to be sent using 4: Promote emerging technologies. 

cellphone technology, and near real time data 

to be posted on the internet. For example, EPA 

is now using infrared cameras in inspections to find emissions leaks that would otherwise be very 

difficult to detect. EPA has deployed solar-powered buoys to collect and transmit water quality 

data every 15 minutes in the Charles River and Mystic Watershed. Advanced monitoring 

technologies, especially when linked to information technology systems, can more easily 

identify—and allow faster fixes—to pollution and help communities avoid exposures. EPA is 

exploring specific new technologies and user training to help us monitor compliance with current 

and new regulations. 

OECA will look at what technology is currently being used by EPA and others, the best practices 

for using this technology, and how to expand its use. We will establish communications to ensure 

these technologies are used effectively and determine how we will manage and use data from 

advanced monitoring work. 

Collaboration will be key to ensuring we use advanced monitoring technology most effectively. 

OECA will work with other EPA offices, e.g., the Office of Research and Development, Office of 

Air and Radiation, and Office of Water, to develop short-and long-term projects to test and 

implement advanced monitoring. As OECA develops expertise in using advanced monitoring 

technologies, we will share what we learn with relevant EPA staff to be integrated into their work. 

Outside groups also will be an important part of this effort, both to help us understand more about 

these technologies and to help communities and others understand how to use the information 

these technologies can provide. 

As OECA moves to using advanced monitoring technologies, we need to identify our most 

important needs—those that will help improve regulation and enforcement effectiveness—and set 

priorities for what equipment we should purchase. We need to identify any technical issues, plan 

for data management, and train staff. As with regulation development, we believe “communities 

of practice” will be an important way to help increase our proficiency with advanced monitoring 

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technologies. Over time, we will continue to explore new technologies and evaluate them for their 

potential in improving environmental programs. 

Electronic Reporting: Shift to electronic reporting in regulations and permits so that we have 

more accurate, complete, and timely information on pollution sources, pollution, and compliance, 

enhance communication with regulated entities, and move our programs into the 21st century. 

Electronic Reporting is part of an 

agency wide shift away from outdated Electronic Reporting Objectives: 

paper toward electronic reporting that is 1: Work with partners to develop shared ereporting tools and systems to make e-reporting easier, more efficient, and costs less for 

possible. the facility and for regulatory agencies. 

2: Support states and tribes in building e-reporting Electronic systems are used in the 

modern era for almost every kind of capacity. 

3: Expand e-reporting in EPA programs. transaction. For the user, these systems 

offer speed, convenience, expanded 

information choices and filing 

capabilities. For government, they offer the ability to increase transparency and an opportunity to 

improve our ability to spot pollution and compliance issues and respond quickly to emerging 

problems. EPA policy now states that e-reporting is the default assumption for new regulations. 

E-reporting is not just converting paper to electronic; it is a system that guides the user through the 

reporting process with integrated compliance assistance and data quality checks. From a 

compliance perspective, e-reporting will allow regulated entities, government agencies and the 

public to more quickly identify violations, and then more quickly address them. For example, 

Ohio’s wastewater program mandated electronic reporting for discharge monitoring reports 

(DMRs) and has found that this has significantly reduced violations, reduced data errors, and 

reduced the staff needed to run the program. OECA has proposed a rule to make electronic DMR 

reporting the norm nationwide, thus expanding these benefits across the country. As another 

example, EPA’s eNEPA system allows federal agencies to submit Environmental Impact 

Statements electronically and the public can search and review them on a centralized website, 

saving time and money while improving transparency. Overall, e-reporting will streamline the 

reporting process for regulated entities, improve the ability of government agencies to use the data 

to reduce pollution, and allow EPA, states, and tribes to manage our nation’s environmental 

programs as a more unified environmental protection enterprise. 

As part of the E-Enterprise Initiative, OECA will help the Agency design and develop the smart 

tools needed to implement e-reporting. This includes designing the user interface to help the 

facility understand its regulatory requirements and streamline the reporting process, and then 

develop the tools and policies for how the government will respond to electronically submitted 

information in a timely manner. 

EPA’s regulatory partners—states and tribes—are critical to the success of e-reporting, so OECA 

will work with them to develop their e-reporting capacity. This may include technical support, 

grants, or sharing resources to build e-reporting systems more economically. 

OECA will be working with EPA’s program offices on e-reporting for specific programs. This 

includes helping them write regulations to require e-reporting for each program. 

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Expanded Transparency: Make the information we have today more accessible, and make 

new information obtained from advanced monitoring and electronic reporting publicly available. 

Transparency is closely linked to the ereporting and advanced monitoring goals. By Transparency Objectives: 

expanding transparency we can provide facilities 1: Make meaningful information on facility 

and the public with better information on compliance easier to access and use. 

pollution releases, pollution sources, 2: Create new tools to make pollution and 

environmental conditions, and the performance compliance information more relevant and 

of regulated sources and the government. useful. 

Transparency improves compliance by helping 3: Make information on enforcement and 

facilities understand their environmental impact compliance available to the public through 

and allowing the community to better understand more usable data formats. 

and act on this information to hold facilities 

accountable and advance environmental justice. 

Most facilities want to be good neighbors, and data on facility performance can be used by 

facilities to address community concerns and by community members, neighboring facilities, and 

other agencies to assess impacts. Data tied to geographic information can also provide insights to 

ambient environmental conditions and significant pollutant loadings, sometimes allowing access to 

this data in real time. For example, an EPA settlement requires a water utility to display a warning 

light near its outfall that goes on whenever a sewer overflows into the local river, allowing people 

to avoid water contact when pollution levels are higher. And EPA is testing the Village Green, a 

solar-powered air pollution and meteorological monitoring station integrated into a neighborhood 

park bench, which provides ambient air quality information online and via mobile app. There is 

powerful evidence that well designed transparency programs change behavior and improve results. 

As part of our transparency work, we will promote transparency solutions in regulations and 

permits. 

OECA has been a leader in transparency by operating EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance 

History Online (ECHO) website to provide information about facility performance. Under Next 

Generation Compliance, OECA will enhance ECHO to make it easier to use, more understandable, 

and improve viewing on mobile devices. OECA will provide more information and display it on 

state of the art dashboards. 

OECA will develop new tools to integrate, analyze, and display data. OECA will work toward 

making data easier to obtain and use, making more data fields available to researchers, and 

allowing anyone to develop applications that use OECA data. 

Another aspect of transparency is to let the public know how facilities are doing in complying with 

the requirements of enforcement settlements. This could include making facility environmental 

performance information and real-time monitoring data available on ECHO or a mobile app, or at 

a critical place in the community. 

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Innovative Enforcement: Use Next Generation Compliance principles and tools in our 

enforcement planning and cases. 

Innovative Enforcement uses Next Generation Innovative Enforcement Objectives: 

Compliance principles to strengthen enforcement. 1: Use new data analysis tools to better 

By combining the lessons learned in identify serious threats to human health 

implementing Next Generation Compliance with and the environment. 

new capabilities in analyzing larger data sets, we 2: Develop innovative enforcement 

will be able to better identify serious violators, strategies to reduce pollution and improve 

ensure the integrity of electronic reporting, and compliance. 

more effectively and efficiently track compliance 3: Expand the use of Next Generation 

with settlements, while supporting new Compliance approaches in enforcement 

approaches to improve compliance. settlements and plea agreements. 

Today’s innovative technology and analytical tools are important for identifying both serious 

pollution and violations. Combined with better information from advanced monitoring and 

electronic reporting, these tools will help us focus our civil and criminal monitoring and 

enforcement work where we can make the most difference. Data analysis is also an important part 

of ensuring the integrity of the information on which our environmental programs rely. 

Next Generation Compliance principles will be used to develop innovative enforcement 

approaches that improve compliance. The potential for two-way communication via electronic 

reporting makes new compliance approaches possible. For example, regulatory agencies may be 

able to electronically provide targeted compliance assistance based on information a facility 

provides in its electronic reports. Better information on compliance opens the door to new tactics 

in enforcement and increases the power of individual cases to inspire improvements at other 

facilities. If we have information on compliance through electronic reporting, we are more able to 

experiment with approaches that will improve compliance at facilities beyond just those that 

receive enforcement attention. Transparency strategies, such as innovative ways to inform the 

public of serious violations, can also improve compliance when thoughtfully applied to the right 

problems. As the importance of self-reported data from regulated entities increases, we will use 

new tools, such as data analysis, and enhance existing tools, such as criminal enforcement, to 

provide strong incentives for accurate reporting. Next Generation Compliance provides 

opportunities to be more strategic, so our enforcement dollar goes further and more people are 

better protected from harmful pollution. 

The lessons of Next Generation Compliance are being used now in enforcement cases. Advanced 

monitoring, electronic reporting, and transparency are being incorporated into civil and criminal 

case resolutions, making it easier to know if facilities are complying and the public is protected, 

and providing more information to the communities affected. For example, a recent EPA 

settlement requires the company to operate fence line monitors to report air pollution data in near 

real time and make it available to the public. Other settlements have required third-party 

verification of compliance status. These tools used in case settlements and plea agreements can 

make us more efficient and more effective, so we can accomplish more with existing resources, 

and we will be using them more in the coming years. Enforcement cases can also provide 

opportunities to test new technology and approaches that can provide better protection and, in 

some cases, save money for complying facilities. 

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IV. Measures for Goals and Objectives 

OECA will develop milestones to meet the Agency level measures for Next Generation 

Compliance as presented in the FY 2014–2018 EPA Strategic Plan.1 In addition to these Agency 

level measures, OECA expects to develop an annual work plan with specific activities to 

implement this Next Generation Compliance Strategic Plan. 

V. Research 

EPA looked at research, best practices, and data to develop Next Generation Compliance. We will 

continue research on theories, policies, technology, and best practices to help us refine and 

improve Next Generation Compliance. This includes research on factors that affect environmental 

compliance, the experience of EPA, states, other countries, and other regulatory agencies on ways 

to improve regulation effectiveness, how advances in information and monitoring technology will 

change environmental programs, and how to measure improvements in compliance. In particular, 

EPA will reach out to state and tribal environmental agencies to learn about any Next Generation 

Compliance approaches they have already implemented in their programs and explore how we can 

work together to develop and pilot new approaches. 

VI. Management and Communications 

EPA and OECA senior managers will provide strategic direction, both within the Agency and with 

external stakeholders, to ensure the success of Next Generation Compliance. This will include: 1) 

establishing direction and expectations in annual Program Manager Guidance;2 2) requesting an 

appropriate level of resources in the Agency budget; and 3) including goals and measures for 

implementation of Next Generation Compliance in the 2014-2018 EPA Strategic Plan under Goals 

4 and 5 and as a central component of creating a high-performing organization.3 

OECA will work with headquarters offices and regions to ensure that staff and managers are fully 

engaged in implementing this Strategic Plan. In addition, as appropriate, OECA will conduct 

outreach or training with stakeholder groups and co-regulators, including state, tribal, and local 

government partners, interest groups, the media, and the general public. EPA and some states have 

started to implement Next Generation Compliance approaches. Working collaboratively with 

these partners will help us identify the best approaches and implement more effective 

environmental programs with limited resources, so we can better protect public health and 

environment. Concurrently, OECA will seek to improve internal and public understanding of the 

effort, communicating the many benefits, and encouraging support and adoption of Next 

Generation Compliance practices.4 

1 See FY 2014–2018 EPA Strategic Plan, April 10, 2014, page 71, at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-

2018-strategic-plan.
 2 See FY 2014 Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance National Program Manager Guidance, pages 2 and
 

10-12, at http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=P100H18X.txt.
 3 Ibid. 1, pages 41, 47-51, 64-5, 69-71, and 92.
 4 For example, communications such as Cynthia Giles’ recent article in the September/October 2013 issue of The 

Environmental Forum.
 

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