Colleges & Universities

In 1999, EPA Region 2 began focusing its attention on colleges and universities because we found that many such institutions were not aware of their responsibilities under various environmental laws. In some cases, this lack of awareness put their staff and students at risk. For example, at one university we found two jars of crystallized picric acid  in a chemical storage room. At another, an art student's hands and forearms were covered with blue paint, as were his clothes. The student was unaware that the paint he was using contained a metal compound to produce the brilliant blue color, or that this compound might be dangerous and toxic. 

In response to these concerns, EPA Region 2 sent out letters to colleges/universities in New York, New Jersey, and the Caribbean informing them of our intent to target our enforcement resources on academic institutions, providing them with information on available compliance assistance resources, and encouraging them to perform voluntary self-audits of their campuses and to enter into audit agreements. We also held 20 environmental compliance and pollution prevention workshops in partnership with state environmental agencies and trade/ professional associations which reached more than 900 people. Presentations from these seminars can be downloaded from this site and a fact sheet on frequently asked questions from these seminars has been developed.

So far, 129 colleges and universities in Region 2 (covering 185 facilities) have voluntarily come forward to disclose more than 1600 violations to EPA. Most of them have been granted a 100% waiver of certain penalties totaling more than $21 million. Those academic institutions that chose not to participate in our voluntary audit program are, of course, being targeted for inspections. To date, we have conducted 71 inspections, issued 25 penalty actions and assessed $3.8 million in penalties.

So what does this mean for the environment? Although we are in the process of conducting a formal survey to determine the effectiveness of our initiative, preliminary findings are positive. We estimate that more than 35,000 lbs/year of hazardous waste, 975,000 gallons of oil and 80 class V wells are now being managed properly as a direct result of our efforts.

Several universities are going "beyond compliance" and reducing their environmental footprint through the introduction of miniscale chemistry in laboratories, high efficiency painting techniques/equipment, chemical tracking systems, and environmental management systems. Furthermore, several New York universities agreed to help high schools meet their environmental requirements by developing compliance manuals and holding workshops.

Environmental Assistance

• Protecting Health and the Environment On and Off Campus, a fact sheet on the initiative and environmental laws that may apply to your college or university.
• Compliance Assistance Internet Sites for Colleges and Universities
• Web-Based technical and regulatory tools for colleges and universities
• Pollution Prevention Opportunities for collegs and universities
• Environmental Management Systems
• EPA Region 2 contacts for compliance and pollution prevention issues