The U.S. EPA recently provided Ohio EPA with a draft report outlining its review of Ohio's permitting and enforcement programs for clean air, clean water, solid waste, hazardous waste and environmental enforcement in general. U.S. EPA was required to conduct the review in response to petitions filed by several environmental groups that asked the federal agency to take over environmental regulation in Ohio. The review has concluded that Ohio EPA effectively enforces environmental regulations and has one of the country's best criminal environmental enforcement programs. The draft report also dismisses charges by some environmental groups regarding Ohio's Voluntary Action Program for brownfield cleanup and the state's audit privilege law, which encourages companies to report their own environmental regulation violations.

The draft report points to areas for improvement in a few components of Ohio's air pollution control, and Ohio EPA will review those recommendations.

Similar reviews are being conducted in other states, but Ohio's program is the first to undergo an audit of this broad scope. For more information, visit the Ohio web page: www.epa.state.oh.us.