Compliance

Miniature Beverage Containers

Compliance

In 2023, the number of inspections by DEEP decreased but the number of enforcement actions increased from 2022.

In the 2023 Federal Fiscal Year (FFY 23: October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023), there were 2,267 inspections* performed by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), a decrease of approximately 22 percent compared to the previous year and 25 percent less than the previous ten-year average. In FFY 23, there were also 1,502 enforcement actions, which included 1,371 “Informal Enforcement Actions”, consisting of Notices of Violation (NOV), Notice of Non-Compliance (NON), and warning letters; 120 “Formal Enforcement Actions”; and eleven “Referrals” to the Attorney General/Environmental Protection Agency. The Informal Enforcement Actions are enforcement tools, generally issued whenever DEEP detects one or more violations with a permit at a facility or a permitted use. Informal Enforcement Actions can be issued for minor or major violations; in cases of the latter type, the recipient might also receive an order, which might carry a financial penalty.

As depicted in the Enforcement Actions chart, the Bureau of Materials Management was responsible for 1,135 or approximately 76 percent of the enforcement actions in FFY23. Of this total, the Underground Storage Tank section was responsible for 847 enforcement actions, including 502 “warning letters”. The Bureau of Air Management was responsible for 122 enforcement actions that consisted primarily of 85 NOVs and 33 consent orders. The Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse was responsible for 245 enforcement actions that consisted primarily of 139 NONs and 94 NOVs.¹⁰⁴ The decline in inspections over the last ten years and variations in enforcement actions by Bureaus is likely due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to, enforcement priorities, use of general permits, reduction in staffing, and federal jurisdiction.

_{Technical Note: *FFY 2022 was the first year DEEP reported Emergency Response Unit (ERU) data. To ensure consistency with previous years’ data, the number of inspections attributed to the ERU were subtracted from the total number of inspections reported in FFY 2022 and FFY 2023.} 

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¹⁰⁴ _{DEEP, Department-wide Federal Fiscal Year 2023 Enforcement Statistics (10/01/22 - 09/30/23); (Federal Fiscal Year 2023); portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Enforcement/Reports/Annual-Environmental-Reports.}