New EPA Compliance Audit Guidance: New Owner, Voluntary Disclosure, Admission of Liability, Penalty Mitigation
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
The CLE course will address the new guidance clarifying EPA's Audit Policy issued in January 2021 for environmental counsel. The panel will provide an overview of the EPA's incentives to companies that voluntarily discover their own violations and disclose those violations to the federal government. The panel will also address how EPA exercises its enforcement discretion and how the audit policy may dramatically impact enforcement outcomes and businesses subject to these environmental regulations.
Outline
- Environmental compliance auditing
- Privileges available to protect audit-derived information
- Voluntary audit disclosure
- EPA program under Biden administration
- Current state programs
- Audit opportunities for new owners
- Complications for auditing and disclosure arising from recent enforcement trends
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Have there been any significant changes to EPA's audit policies under the Biden administration?
- How can companies and their counsel use environmental audits to improve compliance and soften the impact of a government enforcement action?
- What are the best practices for counsel to advise clients that are considering utilizing environmental compliance audits?
- What are the expected costs and risks of environmental self-audits from a legal standpoint?
Faculty

Andrew R. Stewart
Partner
Sidley Austin
Mr. Stewart counsels clients on a broad range of compliance and enforcement matters. With over 20 years of experience... | Read More
Mr. Stewart counsels clients on a broad range of compliance and enforcement matters. With over 20 years of experience in environmental law, he handles matters arising under all major federal environmental laws as well as state laws, including the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act , and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. Mr. Stewart’s work includes assisting clients in the oil and gas and chemical manufacturing industries on permitting requirements, counseling on critical environmental obligations, and defense of government enforcement and citizen suit actions. He regularly advises companies on making voluntary disclosures under both the U.S. EPA Audit Policy and state voluntary disclosure programs.
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Timothy A. Wilkins
Managing Partner
Bracewell
Ms. Wilkins’ practice is focused on providing strategic environmental permitting assistance, the defense of... | Read More
Ms. Wilkins’ practice is focused on providing strategic environmental permitting assistance, the defense of environmental enforcement actions and assistance with the environmental aspects of major transactions. He has overseen environmental compliance audits involving thousands of locations, handled hundreds of environmental audit disclosures, and pioneered the development and use of U.S. EPA's audit policy for new owners. Mr. Wilkins periodically teaches the course in Corporate Environmental Law at the University of Texas School of Law.
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