Civil Enforcement Case Report Help

The Civil Enforcement Case Report contains data from EPA's Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS). A Case Report summarizes federal administrative or judicial enforcement actions taken by the U.S. EPA, as well as state formal enforcement actions taken pursuant to delegated authority to implement the Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program.

Federal enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) are included.

The Civil Enforcement Case Report provides a summary of information about the enforcement action, but does not include full text of the actual order or settlement document(s). Copies of the actual settlement documents may be obtained from the EPA headquarters or regional office that initiated the enforcement action, from the Department of Justice (for civil judicial settlements), Federal Register notices, or from commercial services such as Westlaw or Lexis-Nexis. The EPA Civil Cases and Settlements page provides links to significant headquarters cases and settlements involving the U.S. EPA from 1998.

General Overview

The Case Report is divided into two general sections:

case-level, and
final order-level.

The case-level section provides detailed information about the nature and status of the case: the what, who, when, and where details of taking the enforcement action (commonly referred to as the complaint).

The final order-level section provides detailed information about the result(s) of the case, where that result is an order, consent decree, or other legally binding settlement agreement.

This division is provided because a single formal enforcement action may result in multiple final orders. Most enforcement actions tend to follow a one-case, one-final order scenario; however, in particular with judicial actions involving multiple defendants, more than one final order may result.

Accessing the Case Report

From the Enforcement Case Search Results

Case Numbers are listed in the Case Identifier column of the Results table. Clicking a Case number opens the Civil Enforcement Case Report in a new tab.
Clicking on a row in the Results table will display the Case Summary panel to the right of the table, below the Search Statistics Panel. The "More Case Details" link at the bottom of the Case Summary panel opens the Civil Enforcement Case Report in a new tab.

From Facility Search Results

Facilities with Civil Enforcement Case Reports have an "I" or "I+" icon in the Reports column of the Results table.

Clicking the "I" icon opens the Enforcement Case Report page for the selected facility in a new tab.
Clicking the "I+" icon provides a list of all available civil enforcement cases for the selected facility. Click on a case number to access the selected Civil Enforcement Case Report.

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Navigating the Case Report

The Case Report is organized into two general sections: case-level and final order-level, the latter controlled by expandable/collapsible sections.

In addition, links to access related functionality are provided for the following:

Data Dictionary – Opens the Civil Enforcement Case Report data dictionary to assist you in understanding the information presented.
Print – Opens the Civil Enforcement Case Report in a printer-friendly format.
Help – Provides access to this page.

Data Organization

The Case-level report section is organized into seven sections:

Basic Information – contains information that identifies the action and some key descriptive variables, such as case type, case status, outcome, and total penalties assessed or agreed to.
Laws and Sections – lists the statute(s) and section(s) cited as violated.
Facilities – provides information about facilities that are subject to regulation and named in the compliant.
Defendants – lists individuals, companies, and other entities identified as being party to the enforcement action.
Case Milestones – provides information about the status of the case by listing major milestone events and the dates they occurred.
Pollutants – lists information about the pollutants that were involved in the case.
Related Activities – provides a description and date for other ICIS activities (e.g., inspections, or compliance assistance) that are linked to the case.

The Final Order-level report section is organized into the following sections:

Basic Information - provides identifying information, final order-specific milestone dates, and dollar amounts for civil penalties, cost recovery, and the value of complying actions and supplemental environmental projects.
Complying Actions – lists complying actions identified in the final order.
Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) – provides a description and value for each SEP if included in the settlement.
Estimated Pollutant Reductions – provides an estimate of the environmental impact of the settlement on specific pollutants, whether they result from complying actions or SEPs.
Facilities – provides information about facilities that are listed in each final order.
NPDES Violation - provides National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) violation information linked to the final order.

See the Data Dictionary for descriptions of the data elements that are presented in the Civil Enforcement Case Report.

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Reporting Data Errors

If you believe that some of the information in the Civil Enforcement Case Report is in error, you may report your findings from the report page. Select the "Report Data Error" button at the top of the page.

The error reporting form will ask for your contact information, in order to keep you informed of progress in addressing your report, and a description of the problem. Please include enough information to allow EPA to identify the data in question and to evaluate your comment.

Once you submit the report, it will be entered into EPA's Integrated Error Correction Process. You will receive an immediate acknowledgement on the webpage, and status updates as EPA determines how to address the report (see Error Correction Performance Standards).