IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: A POUND OF CURE: SCOTT ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH WORKING "A Pound of Cure: Scott Environmental Approach Working"
Context Florida
Sept. 2, 2013
For Full Story Click HERE "...That's precisely what's happened with Florida's Department of Environmental Protection in its efforts to curb environmental violations through outreach and prevention. When evaluating the outcomes of a strategy like this objectively, the natural measure of success would seem to be fewer violations. But remarkably, the agency now finds itself under attack for having fewer cases to file because of increased compliance." "When Scott took office in late 2010, Florida's environmental inspections process had it all backwards. Under former Gov. Charlie Crist, and historically, the focus was on issuing penalties rather than fostering compliance." "Enter Scott and his appointment of Herschel Vinyard as DEP secretary. Vinyard and his Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs, Jeff Littlejohn, didn't think it made sense to just wait for facilities to pollute and then slap them with violations — from an environmental or business perspective." "In mid-2011, Vinyard and Littlejohn started a "Compliance Assistance Initiative" in which they analyzed noncompliance and identified industries and regions of the state with high rates of citation. Using this data, DEP began targeted outreach with facilities, including compliance training events, site visits and guidance." "By educating facilities, DEP has achieved the highest compliance rates in history: 94 percent during the last two years, and 96 percent today. In other words, of all inspections conducted, only 4 percent show significant potential for environmental harm. These figures are a reflection of less pollution, not some sort of permission to create more." | 
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