Change in Administration? Consider Environmental Compliance

Whereas U.S. nationwide elections are nonetheless three months away and inauguration day isn’t for properly over six months, present nationwide and battleground state polling suggests {that a} change in Administration appears extra doubtless than not. Corporations asking themselves the way to maximize their readiness for a change ought to take into account trying carefully at their environmental compliance efforts.

The challengers’ presumptive nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, has provided expansive concepts on addressing local weather change and on different environmental applications, most of which is able to take months or years to carry to fruition by laws or regulation, if in any respect. One alternative for pursuing enhanced environmental safety and a visual separation from the present Administration obtainable to a brand new President on the day he takes workplace, nonetheless, could be a directive to appearing officers on the U.S. Environmental Safety Company and different federal environmental businesses to ramp up their environmental enforcement efforts beneath present environmental legal guidelines. Quite a few articles have pointed to a slowdown in new enforcement actions and to declining penalties and different enforcement metrics lately. And, certainly, presumptive nominee Biden has particularly criticized sharply declining legal environmental prosecutions beneath the present Administration.

Shifting important environmental laws on the Hill or utilizing the closely procedural rulemaking course of to realize change on environmental issues won’t produce any fast wins for a brand new Administration. Looking for to point out a turnaround in tone beginning on “day one” or some tangible achievements within the “first 100 days,” we will anticipate a brand new Administration to promptly roll again among the present Administration’s government orders on regulation and environmental safety and pause any pending rulemakings, but in addition to put a robust emphasis on utilizing its instantly obtainable enforcement instruments.

Recognizing that a lot may change between now and November, if an enforcement ramp-up starting early within the new 12 months is an actual risk, corporations ought to be asking themselves now the way to maximize their readiness, particularly the place months of pandemic-related headwinds might have compromised the on a regular basis rigor of present administration techniques.

Environmental compliance audits to detect gaps in present efforts, mixed with environmental audit disclosures to EPA or to the related state environmental businesses to resolve enforcement publicity and get rid of penalties, provide an effective way to get forward of enforcement dangers. However planning, mobilizing, finishing, and digesting an environmental compliance audit is a course of that may take many months – particularly if an organization is taking a look at a number of services – and there are probably important benefits to finishing any audit disclosures and shutting out any disclosed findings earlier than a brand new Administration has the chance to launch enhanced enforcement efforts and even probably prohibit the supply and effectiveness of its audit insurance policies. There are additionally essential steps corporations will be taking exterior the context of formal compliance audits to maximise their readiness for potential future info requests, on-site inspections, and enforcement proceedings.