On Jan. 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of public comment period in the Federal Register requesting “Public Comment on EPA’s National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives for Fiscal Years 2024-2027.” Though the EPA is charged with the enforcement of many environmental statutes, like any agency with limited resources, it must prioritize enforcement efforts. Every four years, the EPA reviews its priorities and sets new enforcement and compliance initiatives for which it establishes specific goals and a comprehensive strategy.

Over the years, the EPA has used various names for these initiatives. The program started as the National Priorities. In 2010, the program was changed to the National Enforcement Initiatives in response to stakeholder feedback that the term “National Priorities” implied that the EPA’s many other enforcement activities were of lesser significance programmatically or environmentally. From 2010 to 2018, the program was known as the “National Enforcement Initiatives,” but the EPA decided to “evolve the National Enforcement Initiatives program into a National Compliance Initiatives (NCIs) program by providing states and tribes with additional opportunities for meaningful engagement, by developing and applying a broader set of compliance assurance tools, and by aligning the NCIs with the agency strategic plan measures and priorities.”