The enforcement actions taken by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management are part of the administrative enforcement process. There are two types of enforcement actions, which may be issued by the Office of Enforcement: informal and formal actions. Informal actions, which can include actions such as warning letters, warnings of noncompliance and violation letters, are those which notify the inspected facility of minor violations found by idem during a record review or facility inspection. The informal action will list the violations discovered. Some informal actions will specify the type of action, which must be taken by the facility to return to compliance. A date by which the facility must return to compliance may be included in the action, as well as the name and telephone number of the Office of Enforcement case manager assigned to the case.

Formal actions, called a notice of violation or (NOV), is issued to a facility or a person (referred to as the "respondent") when a record review or inspection finds significant or serious violations of environmental laws. The NOV informs the respondent of violations that idem believes were present at the time of the record review or inspection. In order to resolve the NOV, the respondent must negotiate an agreed order with idem and comply with the terms of that order. Generally, an agreed order will also include a civil penalty. Upon the respondent’s compliance with all terms of the agreed order, the Office of Enforcement may issue the facility a letter stating that the facility has been returned to compliance for purposes of that particular enforcement action.

Should an agreed order not be negotiated within 60 days of issuance of the NOV, the Office of Enforcement may issue a commissioner’s order. This unilateral order specifies the actions to be taken by the respondent in order to return to compliance. The respondent may request judicial review of a commissioner’s order.

All enforcement actions will contain the name and telephone number of the case manager responsible for that particular enforcement action. Please contact the case manager listed for further information concerning the enforcement action of interest.