The Kentucky Division of Enforcement (DENF) is pleased to announce the release of the annual report for the 2014 state fiscal year. The mission of the division is to promote a fair, firm and consistent approach to gaining compliance through the resolution of enforcement cases through:
- Conducting administrative conferences;
- Issuing Notices of Violation and Letters of Warning;
- Negotiating civil penalties and Supplemental Environmental Projects;
- Issuing Agreements in Principle, Demand Letters, and Agreed Orders;
- Where agreements cannot be reached, referral to Cabinet legal representatives for formal hearings and legal action; and
- Monitoring compliance with these agreements and orders including collection of penalties.
The DENF receives case referrals from all 12 regional offices, the department’s central office programs, and the division’s Compliance and Operations Branch. The annual report highlights the activities of the division and reports on successes with resolving enforcement cases during the fiscal year.
The division reached its 10th year anniversary and summarized accomplishments for the last 10 years:
- Development and implementation of standard operating procedures to ensure consistent resolution of enforcement cases across all program media;
- Issuance of over 4,500 Notices of Violation and Letters of Warning;
- Execution of approximately 1,800 case settlements;
- Implementation of action on over 3,800 new case referrals;
- Closure of approximately 3,700 enforcement cases;
- Elimination of a significant backlog of unresolved cases in the Underground Storage Tank program;
- Collection of approximately $20 million in civil penalties.
Some additional highlights from 2014 include:
- In FY2014, DENF negotiated 153 agreements-in-principle;
- DENF executed 52 demand letters for resolution of an enforcement case;
- DENF received 83 agreed orders signed by a responsible party and executed 98 agreed orders for resolution of an enforcement case; and
- The DENF received a total of 347 new cases.
The 2014 report and all previous annual reports can be found at: http://dep-enforcement.ky.gov/Documents/Annual%20Report%20FY2014.pdf
Naturally Connected 