The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two new online tools available to the public that provide additional information on environmental enforcement and compliance in their communities. Through improved transparency, advanced technologies and community participation, these tools empower the public to help EPA assure compliance nationwide and protect public health and the environment.

Environmental Justice metrics integrated with ECHO

Members of the public can use EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website to search for facilities in their community to assess their compliance with environmental regulations. In addition, EPA has now integrated Environmental Justice (EJ) metrics in the basic ECHO facility features, allowing users to:

1. Search for Facilities in Areas with Possible EJ Concerns
2. Investigate Pollution Sources in Areas with Possible EJ Concerns
3. Examine and Create EJ Enforcement-Related Maps
4. Analyze Trends in Compliance & Enforcement EJ Data

A short video tutorial is available to help users get started:  Environmental Justice and ECHO.

See related article: U.S. EPA Launches New Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Office

Benzene Fenceline Monitoring Dashboard

Beginning in 2015, petroleum refineries were required to install air monitors around the perimeter of their facilities.  Petroleum refineries must monitor benzene concentrations and report the results to EPA on a quarterly basis.  Those results are now accessible to the public on EPA’s Benzene Fenceline Monitoring Dashboard.

The Dashboard improves public access to program data concerning benzene emissions along refinery fencelines and allows for a more detailed analysis of that data. Public access to this information advances public transparency and environmental justice.

Source: EPA