DOJ Restricts Use of Supplemental Environmental Projects in Municipal Settlements

The Justice Department issued a memorandum on August 21, 2019, significantly curtailing the use of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in environmental enforcement actions against municipalities. The Environmental Protection Agency has been allowing the use of SEPs since 1984, under several different versions of its SEP policy. The most recent revised policy was issued in 2015. Historically, EPA and state environmental authorities have offered SEPs as an option for partial settlement of violations of environmental regulations, which allows the regulated entity to develop an environmentally beneficial project in lieu of all or part of its penalty.