Advantages of Self-Reporting

The EPA often assists a company that self-reports in ways that would not be possible if it does not learn of the violation. If a company learns that a chemical it has manufactured for distribution in commerce is not on the 

For example, permits for industrial discharges to local water treatment works require disclosing violations to prevent harm to the biological treatment systems. 

The primary disadvantage of self-reporting is that a company may pay a penalty for a violation that the EPA would never discover on its own. Even if the Audit Policy applies to reduce the penalties to zero, the company will have to spend considerable time in making the report and justifying complete penalty mitigation. Another disadvantage is that a self-reported violation will count as a prior violation that may increase the penalty assessed on a future violation. 

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