Supplemental Environmental Projects

In settling environmental enforcement cases, the Department will require violators to achieve and maintain compliance with environmental laws and regulations and, as appropriate, to pay civil penalties. In certain instances, environmentally beneficial projects, known as Supplemental Environmental Projects ("SEPs"), may be included in the settlement to further the goals of protecting and enhancing both public health and the environment.

What is a Supplemental Environmental Project?

Virginia Code § 10.1-1186.2 defines SEPs and authorizes their use in administrative and judicial orders. The statute defines a SEP as "an environmentally beneficial project undertaken as partial settlement of a civil enforcement action and not otherwise required by law." Enforcement Guidance Memorandum No. 3-2006 provides guidance of the use and applicability of SEPs.

The statute requires that SEPs have a "reasonable geographic nexus to the violation."

If no such project is available, then the statute requires that "the project shall advance at least one of the declared objectives of the environmental law or regulation that is the basis of the enforcement action."

The types of projects eligible to be a SEP under the statute include: public health, pollution prevention, pollution reduction, environmental restoration and protection, environmental compliance promotion, and emergency planning and preparedness.

For information on SEPs implemented by EPA Region 3 see:  Index of Supplemental Projects