Compliance & Enforcement

Complying with environmental regulations and protecting public health and the environment are almost synonymous. It’s also not a bad place to start when carrying out our responsibilities for enforcing and assuring compliance with environmental laws and regulations in the USVI.

In the past some regulatory agencies took a “demand and control” approach to protecting the environment. While the number of environmental enforcement actions steadily increased, regulatory violations also remained high. Environmental lessons were not being learned as fast or as well as intended.

Using the “demand and control” method might work well if there were environmental engineers and regulatory inspectors permanently stationed at every location and facility in the USVI that uses, manufacturers, stores or transports toxic chemicals and other environmental hazards. But that’s impossible.

We take quite seriously our role and responsibility for compliance and enforcement, and protecting public health and the environment. The DPNR/DEP is learning to work smarter and more efficiently by endeavoring to provide a more balanced, common sense approach to regulating and enforcing environmental protection in our community.

While a major part of our compliance management efforts involve facility and site inspections, permitting, compliance reporting and other environmental monitoring processes, citations and fines, we’ve learned that in many cases, the quickest means to ensuring compliance with environmental laws and regulations is through information, coordination and collaboration.

DPNR Outreach - Community Response

The DPNR/DEP strives to work closely and proactively to assist business and communities with environmental compliance training, guidance, information and other activities that bolster our compliance and enforcement efforts.

Our first notice of an environmental incident often comes directly from the community, individual citizens calling to inform us of hazardous situations.

To augment and expand our environmental compliance and enforcement resources, we also partner and coordinate with other local and national government agencies such as DPNR’s Division of Environmental Enforcement, Coastal Zone Management, VI Police Department, the US EPA, Department of Justice and other organizations.

An environmental crime is still a crime, and there are times when we must “command, demand and control” environmental compliance and enforcement. However, we are also demonstrating that substantial progress can be made in environmental compliance and enforcement through business and community outreach, education and assistance.