February 11, 2026

EPA Releases New “Compliance First” Policy, Eliminates Supplemental Environmental Projects

EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) announced a new “compliance first” approach to civil enforcement and compliance issues in the memorandum, “Reinforcing a ‘Compliance First’ Orientation for Compliance Assurance and Civil Enforcement Activities,” effective December 5, 2025. In the memo directed toward agency enforcement staff, six factors outline this framework, which assist regulated entities in achieving prompt and sustained compliance:

Compliance assistance toolkit—enforcement personnel should provide proactive outreach, technical assistance, training, and promote self-reporting and voluntary audits.
State partner coordination—federal enforcement personnel should work cooperatively with state regulators to ensure consistency in compliance determinations.
Open communication—collaboration and communication with state regulators help avoid duplicative compliance efforts, build trust, and promote a sustainable self-reporting culture.
Finding of violation—a finding of violation must be clear, unambiguous, and based on the “best reading” of the relevant statute and regulation.
Compliance requirements and injunctive relief—negotiation and litigation should be conducted in the most efficient, economical, and swiftest means possible.
Reasoned decision making—decision making should apply the “LEAPS” factors of law, evidence, analysis, programmatic impact, and stakeholder impact.

Other issues and impacts

The new compliance first policy rescinds the 2021 memo, "Using All Appropriate Injunctive Relief Tools in Civil Enforcement Settlements," citing that guidance as too broad and encouraging regulators to address past harm to communities caused by noncompliance. The OECA states that monitoring and reporting exceeding regulatory parameters are not appropriate, and that using supplemental environmental projects in any settlement is to be discontinued.

Furthermore, the agency intends to “act swiftly” to preempt citizen suits, a tool used by the public and environmental interest groups amid reduced enforcement actions. This preemption stems from diligent prosecution language in environmental statutes, which limit citizen suits in the face of certain agency enforcement actions. For example, the citizen suit provision of CWA Section 505(a)(1) [33 U.S.C. Section 1365(a)(1)] is prempted by CWA Section 309(g)(6) [33 U.S.C. Section 1319(g)(6)].

Finally, when a regulated entity disagrees with how EPA applies a statute or regulation to a potential violation, such questions should not be handled by inspectors or enforcement staff. Rather, such issues should be elevated to the national level. While the intent is to ensure national consistency of federal law, this protocol will likely slow enforcement, potentially allowing a violation to continue.

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Disclaimer

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This document addresses issues of a general nature related to the federal environmental regulations. Persons evaluating specific circumstances dealing with the environmental regulations should review state and local laws and regulations, which may be more stringent than federal requirements. In addition, the assistance of a qualified professional should be enlisted to address any site-specific circumstances.