FY 2006 Environmental Enforcement Training Report 

December 2006 

Office of Compliance 

Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (MC 2224-A) 

Washington, D.C. 20460 

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/data/results/training/index.html 
EPA FY 2005 Training Draft Report 1/25/06 

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National Enforcement Training Institute 

Environmental Enforcement Training Report 

FY 2006
EPA FY 2006 Training Final Report 

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FY 2006 Environmental Enforcement Training Report 

Compiled by U.S. EPA’s 

National Enforcement Training Institute 

 This report captures environmental enforcement training activities by the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) both at the Headquarters and Regional level. By 

reporting and coordinating these activities, the National Enforcement Training Institute 

(NETI) recognizes the achievements of those involved and encourages continued efforts to 

provide quality training for environmental enforcement professionals around the country. The 

detail of the report is divided into two sections: Headquarters and Regional Offices. 

In summary, EPA’s enforcement and compliance program trained 11,319 persons in 

fiscal year 2006, through a combination of classroom, computer and videotape training. 

This includes 6,721 by Headquarters’ offices and 4,598 by Regional offices. 

 NETI, created by Congress in 1991, is responsible for training federal, state, local, and 

tribal enforcement professionals, such as lawyers, inspectors, civil and criminal investigators, 

and technical experts, in the enforcement of the nation’s environmental laws. Quality training 

courses are provided for enforcement personnel in a number of areas, such as case support, 

specific statute enforcement, compliance assistance, and environmental criminal enforcement. 

By using traditional classroom training, distance learning, and cooperative agreements with other 

organizations, NETI’s strategy is to promote a balanced training approach to environmental 

enforcement training. 

 NETI is a division within the Office of Compliance (OC) which is in the Office of 

Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). Besides teaching and managing a number of 

its own courses, NETI continues to serve as the coordinating office for enforcement and 

compliance monitoring training that is created, taught or contracted for by OECA offices, and 

reports Regional office activities. 
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at Headquarters

 The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) is located at EPA 

Headquarters and is composed of five program offices and four staff offices. Training resources 

are generally decentralized within the organization; thus each office within OECA is responsible 

for developing and delivering training courses for its areas of expertise and programs for which it 

serves as national manager. 

 

Training Statistics

 The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), as reported 

through NETI, trained 6,721 federal, state, local, tribal and international personnel 

through 202 different course deliveries in FY 2006. Training state and local government 

personnel remained a strong focus, as a combined total of 3,830 students, or 57%, were trained 

from these organizations. A total of 2,539 federal employees received training (38%), 

international and other students numbered 352 (5%), and 88 students from tribal governments 

received training (1%). 

EPA FY 2006 Training Final Report 

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EPA FY 2006 Training Final Report 

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Multi-Year Comparison 

note* State and Local are combined for 2004 thru 2006

Of the 6,721 trainees for this year, 1,818 persons, or 27%, were trained via non-

 classroom courses and products this year. Most of these students used computer-based 

 products such as CD-ROM and web-based training. 

Students Trained By Delivery Method OECA

930

3048 2362 2377 1350 1816 1818

7272

5221

3878 3970 5748

6073 4903

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

FY00 FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06

Classroom

Computer/Distance 

Employer FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 

Federal 2508 2178 2500 2282 2539 

International 138 155 280 453 126 

Local* 552 450 0 0 0 

Other 182 165 97 151 138 

State 2610 2912 2617 4852 3830 

TOTAL 6240 6347 5748 7889 6721 

Tribal 250 487 254 151 88 
Training Highlights

 Various offices within the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), 

including NETI, developed or delivered training this year. Following are highlights of the new 

or unique courses. 

The Office of Civil Enforcement (OCE), formerly the Office of Regulatory Enforcement

Webinar Versions of Computer Model Courses: OCE has developed five computer 

models to assist enforcement personnel in: 

• calculating a violator's economic gain from violating the law (BEN); 

• determining whether the violator has a legitimate inability to pay argument 

(ABEL, INDIPAY and MUNIPAY); and 

• calculating the real out-of-pocket expenses for a supplemental environmental 

project (SEP). 

From 1988 until 2004, all the training provided for these models took place in 

computer laboratories with an instructor on site. In 2004, OCE began experimenting with 

distance learning versions of these courses using a web-based approach. After 

experimenting and improving the webinar versions of these courses, over 20 of these 

courses were presented via the web in FY 2006, most of which were at capacity. 

While the in-person training still gives the best training experience for the student, the 

webinar versions are now a very legitimate alternative. Training can now be provided on 

an “on demand” basis as opposed to waiting until the course can be presented at a 

location convenient to the student. 

The Office of Compliance (OC) 

“Breaking Barriers Workshop”: The Office of Compliance’s Agriculture Branch 

sponsored and coordinated “Breaking Barriers Pesticide Inspector Training (PIRT) 

Workshop” in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Agriculture in August 2006. 

This workshop was designed to teach inspectors about differences in Hispanic and 

mainstream U.S. culture that can affect the interview process, and how to open 

communication channels with Hispanic workers who speak or understand limited or no 

English. This course included intensive Spanish language training specific to inspectors' 

needs as well as interviewing and cultural training. 

Because of the unique nature of this course and limited funding, 21 inspectors were selected from 

numerous states across the country (GA, NE, AZ, OR, NV, MO, WV, WY, KY, DC, TX, ND,

OK, CT, MS, OH, NC, WI) and one inspector from American Samoa who routinely conduct

Worker Protection Standard (WPS) Pesticide use inspections to participate. 

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EPA FY 2006 Training Final Report 

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A pre-test was given to check the student’s knowledge of Spanish. Students were 

provided with a Pesticide Inspectors' Manual for Interviewing Hispanic Agricultural 

Workers, a WPS Screening Interview Flip Chart, and audio CD as tools to assist them in 

interviewing Spanish-speaking farm workers. In the classroom, inspectors were taught 

Spanish through games, scramble exercises and puzzles in which they actually used 

Spanish. Inspectors also practiced speaking in Spanish using the flip chart to interview 

each other. Inspectors also used the flip chart at a mock inspection held at a nearby tree 

farm, where inspectors interviewed Hispanic workers. A post-test was conducted at the 

end of the course to see how much they learned. Students acknowledged that they felt 

more confident in interviewing Hispanic workers as a result of the course, and requested 

a "Breaking Barriers Workshop II.” 

The Office of Federal Activities (OFA)

NEPA Training Courses: Numerous requests for OFA's core National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) training courses, including “Section 309 Clean Air Act Review,” 

“Cumulative Impacts Assessment” and “NEPA and Environmental Cross-Cutters,”

in conjunction with their overwhelming popularity, necessitated that these courses be 

offered more frequently and hosted in expanded venues in FY06. In addition, NEPA 

Training was expanded to include two new course offerings tailored to meet the needs of 

NEPA practitioners: “NEPA and Adaptive Management” and “NEPA and Air 

Impacts.” The results were that over 275 participants received NEPA training in FY 06. 

International Training: Demand for delivery of OFA's international training courses 

has increased exponentially as the environmental cooperation agreements negotiated in 

conjunction with U.S. bilateral free trade agreements provide commitments and resources 

to help strengthen environmental law and enforcement by U.S. trading partners. The 

potential benefits and reach of these courses have been expanded through translation of 

course materials into more languages and training of practitioners in other countries to 

continue to deliver the courses. This year, “Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)”

course materials have been translated into French and Arabic for regional training, and 

train-the-trainer sessions of “Principles of Environmental Impact Assessment” were 

held in Bahrain and Oman to 56 participants from 12 countries. 

Through the EPA Interagency Agreement with USAID, EPA has been able to get a head 

start on capacity building in Central America that will take place as part of the CAFTADR trade agreements. This year, OFA delivered its inspector training course, training 

trainers in the “Conducting Environmental Compliance Inspections” in two regional 

sessions, one in Costa Rica and the other in Panama. OFA also held a train-the-trainer 

session in Puerto Rico with EPA Region 2’s Caribbean Environmental Protection 

Division to increase the cadre of trained Spanish speaking facilitators. 
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EPA Spanish language teams delivered the “Principles of Environmental 

Enforcement” in Paraguay and Colombia this year; the sessions were followed up by 

OFA coaching of the new trainers as they presented the course themselves in subsequent 

deliveries in each country. 

In addition, two training sessions, one in enforcement and one in environmental impact 

assessment review, were held this year for 25 participants from diverse ministries and 

levels of government in Mali under a multi-year work program with USAID. This was 

our first delivery of capacity building in Francophone Subsaharan Africa. In addition, 

NETI and Region 7 concluded their efforts to help establish an internal inspector training 

program for the South African Department of Environment and Tourism. 

OFA has been partnering with the International Network for Environmental Compliance 

and Enforcement, INECE, and the World Bank for several years to deliver capacity 

building activities. This year, we have strengthened EPA partnerships with regional 

development banks and delivered the “EIA Review” course to 20 seasoned Asia 

Development Bank EIA reviewers from its headquarters and country offices in Manila, 

the Philippines. OFA also helped coordinate the Office of Compliance’s participation in 

regional training in Southeast Asia with INECE and the Asian Environmental 

Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN). Training was provided on 

compliance assistance in Thailand and compliance and enforcement indicators in 

Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. 

The delivery of OFA’s international training was carried out with the support of OECA 

headquarters staff and staff in EPA Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10. 

Tribal Training: Through the initiative of EPA Regions, an adaptation of OFA’s 

international EIA training courses was offered to staff from 12 tribal governments in 

conjunction with the Coeur d’Alene Tribes in Region 10 and to 2 tribal governments in 

conjunction with the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Tribes in Region 8. 

Partnerships 

Regional Environmental Enforcement Associations: NETI continued to provide 

funding to four Regional Environmental Enforcement Associations to assist in providing 

training at the state and local levels. These organizations are alliances of regulatory, law 

enforcement, and prosecution agencies and were created by the states to support the 

effective enforcement of environmental statutes, with an emphasis on criminal 

enforcement. In addition to providing training, they offer networking opportunities, 

information support services, and technical assistance to their 47 member states and four 

Canadian provinces. 

In FY 2006, the State Associations trained a combined total of 1,708 students.
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S Midwest Environmental Enforcement Association (MEEA), located in St. 

Charles, IL, trained 167 members 

S Northeast Environmental Enforcement Project (NEEP), located in Trenton, NJ, 

trained 164 members 

S Southern Environmental Enforcement Network (SEEN), located in Montgomery, 

AL, trained 517 members 

S Western States Project (WSP), located in Phoenix, AZ, trained 860 members 

Environmental Enforcement Training Network: As part of our efforts to advance a 

culture of continuing education for EPA’s enforcement and compliance professionals, 

NETI sought to strengthen and renew the relationship between NETI and the rest of the 

enforcement and compliance offices in FY 2006. All enforcement and compliance 

offices, both at Headquarters and in the Regions, re-designated a contact with whom 

NETI can work to implement a training program that enhances the abilities of all to 

perform our jobs. The Network met for the first time via conference call in October 2006 

and will continue to work to provide effective communication and information exchange 

for the training program. 

Training Facilities

 Besides providing training in EPA’s Regional Offices around the country and at other 

state locations, NETI manages two state-of-the-art training sites: 

 

S NETI-Headquarters: over 22,000 people attended various training activities, 

meetings, and video conferences this year in this facility, located in the historic Ariel 

Rios building in downtown Washington, DC. 

S NETI-West: 1,539 people attended training at NETI-West, which is located in 

Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. 

For more information . . .

 NETI’s web site can be found at www.epa.gov/compliance/training/neti. The Catalog 

and Schedule of OECA’s courses, as well as other training information and materials, are 

available on the web site. If you have other questions, please contact NETI at 202-564-2430. 
EPA Regional Offices

 EPA’s Regional Offices provide a number of training opportunities for their staff as well 

as for state, local, and tribal government personnel located within their respective Regions. For 

the purposes of this report, only those training activities related to enforcement and compliance 

monitoring are included. Following are some training highlights for FY 2006: 

Region 6, Dallas:

Each year, Region 6 offers a “Basic Inspector Workshop” for personnel of state, local and 

tribal agencies located within Region 6. Other annual training workshops held this year 

included: 

9th annual “Air Inspector Workshop”: in coordination with the Arkansas Department 

of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Region 6 hosted the workshop on April 25 - 27, 

2006. This course included 29 speakers and was developed for the purpose of increasing 

the inspector's knowledge of the Clean Air Act permits and regulations, field inspection 

capabilities, knowledge of regulated processes and environmental management systems, 

and to improve the exchange of information between the state, tribal, federal and local 

government programs. Approximately 140 inspectors from across the country attended 

the course. 

10th annual “NPDES Inspector Training Workshop”: in coordination with the Texas 

Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Region 6 hosted the workshop on 

March 14-17, 2006, which included a field training session in which EPA conducted, 

with the City of Austin and TCEQ, full storm water field site visits, with site inspection, 

Best Management Practices evaluation, and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan 

record reviews. Approximately 150 inspectors from EPA, state agencies, the Mescalero 

Apache Tribe in New Mexico, and several large municipalities attended the workshop. 

21st annual “RCRA Inspector Workshop”: in coordination with the New Mexico 

Environment Department (NMED), Region 6 hosted the workshop on May 16-18, 2006, 

in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The workshop included 20 speakers and was developed 

for the purpose of increasing the RCRA inspector's knowledge of permits and 

regulations, field inspection capabilities, regulated processes, penalty calculations, and to 

improve the exchange of information between the state, tribal, federal, and local 

government programs. Approximately 90 RCRA inspectors and enforcement officers 

from across the country attended the workshop, including representatives from Vermont, 

Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, the Cherokee Nation, 

EPA – Region 6, and NEIC. 

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EPA FY 2006 Training Final Report 

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Region 8, Denver:

As part of OECA's national priority on financial assurance, Region 8 hosted several 

training events for state and regional staff. The audience included permit writers, inspectors, 

project managers and attorneys who are involved in making compliance determinations 

regarding operator financial assurance demonstrations. Region 8 also worked with Headquarters 

and its contractor to provide training to EPA’s North Dakota field office. The training was well 

received by the participants. 

Region 10, Seattle:

Region 10 made a commitment to increasing inspector training opportunities. Training 

was developed locally to address multiple areas: refresher training, cross training of inspectors, 

and developing and refining skills. 

The largest commitment in time and resources was the institution of a Regional 

Inspector Workshop. It had been eight years since inspectors in the region were brought 

together with the single purpose of addressing inspector issues. The workshop started with an 

all-day training in courtroom strategies and acting as a witness and ended with health and safety 

refresher training. The middle day was for information sharing and discussion of issues 

important to inspectors. The response to the workshop was very positive, resulting in plans to 

make the workshop an annual event. 

Region 10 established a regular inspector training program dubbed Inspector University. 

The goal was to re-acquaint inspectors with basic tasks and enhance skills. Inspector University 

presents topics on a monthly basis in one to two-hour sessions on a variety of subjects. Report 

writing, interviewing, evidence gathering, photography and sample quality assurance were 

among the various topics this year. Cross training in other programs also gave inspectors an 

overview of RCRA, CAA 112(r), and criminal investigations to broaden perspectives. 

Presenters are recruited from Regional staff. 

Several of the training opportunities presented were open to and attended by state and 

local agencies in a cooperative effort to provide training for inspectors and field personnel. EPA 

staff has also attended training sponsored by other agencies. 
EPA FY 2006 Training Final Report 

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Regional Training Statistics

Following are training statistics for FY 2006, as reported by each Region. For the purposes of 

this report, only enforcement and compliance monitoring training activities are included. 

# of Federal 

Students 

# of State & 

Local 

Students 

# of Tribal 

Students 

Total 

Students 

Region 1 62 155 7 224 

Region 2 289 1297 15 1601 

Region 3 9 87 0 96 

Region 4 284 503 1 788 

Region 5 62 299 40 401 

Region 6 63 386 14 463 

Region 7 22 1 0 23 

Region 8 19 38 0 57 

Region 9 10 2 65 77 

Region 10 316 485 67 868 

Totals 1136 3253 209 4598