Concurrently, operators should evaluate training programs for employees, focusing on permit compliance, risk mitigation, and crisis management. Personnel should be trained on interacting with regulators who inspect facilities. Inspections by EPA or the state should be taken very seriously, and responses should be planned to mitigate enforcement exposure.

Finally, should your company face enforcement, it is critical to understand the extent of the liability and ways that it can be eliminated, managed, or reduced. These EPA actions require a strategic defense that addresses the potential liabilities and combines tough litigation, when needed, with cooperative agency negotiations and community and congressional assistance to produce sound financial resolutions, improve agency relations, and achieve the goals of environmental protection while protecting good jobs and company value.

Henry Chajet is a partner based at Patton Boggs LLP’s Washington, D.C., office. Chajet may be reached via phone at 202-457-6511 or via e-mail at hchajet@pattonboggs.com. Scott Stewart is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. He may be reached via phone at 202-457-6012 or via e-mail at sstewart@pattonboggs.com.