Each of these options will affect a for-profit violator's operations to some degree. EPA must decide whether to adjust a proposed penalty amount and by how much, taking into account the gravity of the violation and other criteria in medium specific guidance. If ability to pay is at issue, EPA may request from a violator any financial information the Agency needs to evaluate the violator's claim of extreme financial hardship. A violator who raises the issue has the burden of providing information to demonstrate extreme financial hardship. Business services, such as CompuServe, Dun and Bradstreet, or Value Line.
Tax returns are the most complete and in the most consistent form for analysis.
Annual reports are the most difficult to analyze and may require the assistance of a financial analyst. When requesting information informally or through interrogatories or discovery, EPA should ask for three to five years of tax returns along with all other financial information that a violator regularly maintains as business records. If a violator refuses to give EPA the information to evaluate the violator's ability to pay, EPA should seek the full calculated penalty amount under the assumption that the violator can pay. The notice must include a statement that if the violator submits financial information without a confidentiality claim, EPA may release the information without further notice to the violator. The violator can make a claim of confidentiality for financial information in a cover letter accompanying the information.