EPA Environmental Risk - Free Compliance API

Access EPA environmental compliance intelligence from two free federal data systems — ECHO (Enforcement and Compliance History Online) and Envirofacts (Toxic Release Inventory) — in a single Actor with no API keys and no sign-up required. EPA Environmental Risk transforms raw regulatory data into structured risk assessments, compliance timelines, and enforcement histories ready for ESG analysis, supply chain due diligence, and corporate sustainability reporting. Replaces commercial ESG data providers like S&P Trucost ($10K+/yr) for EPA-specific environmental compliance data.

What does EPA Environmental Risk do?

EPA Environmental Risk queries free EPA government APIs and returns structured, analyzed results through five distinct modes. Each mode targets a specific environmental intelligence need: facility discovery across EPA programs, compliance history and violation timelines, formal enforcement actions and penalty tracking, company-wide risk profiling with aggregated scores, and toxic chemical release data from the TRI national database.

The Actor handles the ECHO API's two-step query process (search then retrieve), XML-to-JSON conversion for Envirofacts data, rate limiting, and multi-facility aggregation automatically. Raw EPA registry records become formatted compliance assessments with risk scores. Raw TRI XML becomes structured release inventories with chemical breakdowns. You get actionable environmental intelligence, not data dumps.

Key features

• Five analysis modes covering facility search, compliance checks, enforcement actions, company risk profiles, and toxic release inventory data
• ECHO facility search by name, state, or ZIP code returning compliance status across four EPA programs (CAA, CWA, RCRA, SDWA) with violation flags and inspection history
• Detailed compliance history from ECHO Detailed Facility Reports including inspection timelines, violation records, and program-level compliance summaries
• Enforcement action tracking with formal action types, settlement details, penalty amounts, and statute classifications
• Company risk profile mode that aggregates violations across ALL facilities for a company, calculates a weighted risk score (0-100 with CRITICAL/HIGH/MODERATE/LOW/MINIMAL ratings), and identifies the worst sites
• Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data from EPA Envirofacts showing chemical releases by facility, with breakdowns by release type (fugitive air, stack air, water discharge, land disposal)
• Automatic rate limiting and retry logic for EPA API endpoints

Use cases

• ESG investors and portfolio managers: Screen companies for environmental compliance risk before investment decisions using real EPA enforcement data instead of estimated scores from commercial ESG rating providers
• Supply chain compliance teams: Verify that suppliers and manufacturing partners maintain clean EPA compliance records across all regulated facilities before onboarding or contract renewal
• Insurance underwriters: Assess environmental liability exposure for commercial property and casualty policies by reviewing facility-level violation histories and penalty records
• Environmental consultants: Build comprehensive environmental compliance reports for clients using authoritative EPA data, combining ECHO compliance records with TRI toxic release data
• Corporate sustainability teams: Monitor your own facilities across EPA programs, track compliance trends, and identify sites requiring attention before they escalate to formal enforcement
• Real estate due diligence: Screen properties and surrounding facilities for environmental compliance issues, toxic releases, and enforcement actions before acquisition or development

How to use EPA Environmental Risk

1. Configure input -- Select a mode and provide a company/facility name, state code, or EPA Registry ID depending on the mode
2. Run the actor -- Click "Start" on the Apify platform or call via the Apify API; most modes complete in under 30 seconds
3. Get structured results -- Download JSON from the dataset or connect via the Apify API for downstream processing

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
mode	enum	No	facility_search	Analysis mode: facility_search, compliance_check, enforcement_actions, company_risk_profile, toxic_releases
query	string	No	Chevron	Facility or company name for search
facilityId	string	No	-	EPA Registry ID for direct facility lookup (compliance_check, enforcement_actions)
state	string	No	-	Two-letter US state code to filter results (e.g., CA, TX)
zipCode	string	No	-	ZIP code to filter facility_search results
chemical	string	No	-	Chemical name for toxic_releases mode (e.g., BENZENE, LEAD)
limit	integer	No	50	Maximum results to return (5-200)

Output example

{
  "mode": "company_risk_profile",
  "company": "Chevron",
  "riskScore": {
    "score": 42,
    "level": "MODERATE",
    "factors": [
      { "factor": "Non-compliance quarters", "count": 8, "points": 20 },
      { "factor": "Penalties assessed", "count": 3, "points": 15 },
      { "factor": "Regulated facility count", "count": 47, "points": 7 }
    ],
    "interpretation": "Some compliance concerns identified. Monitoring recommended to prevent escalation."
  },
  "facilitySummary": {
    "totalFacilities": 12614,
    "analyzedFacilities": 50,
    "activeFacilities": 38
  },
  "complianceAggregation": {
    "complianceRate": "82.4%",
    "totalInspections": 24,
    "totalPenalties": 3,
    "statusBreakdown": {
      "No Violation Identified": 28,
      "Unknown": 15,
      "Violation Identified": 7
    }
  },
  "worstSites": [
    {
      "name": "CHEVRON RICHMOND REFINERY",
      "location": "RICHMOND, CA 94801",
      "complianceStatus": "Violation Identified",
      "quartersNonCompliant": 4,
      "programs": ["CAA", "CWA", "RCRA"]
    }
  ]
}

Cost of usage

Pay-per-event at $0.05 per scan. Each mode execution counts as one scan -- no charge on failure.

Usage	Cost
1 scan	$0.05
100 scans	$5.00
1,000 scans	$50.00

New Apify users get $5 in free credits -- enough for 100 scans.

Data sources

Source	Agency	Description
EPA ECHO	Environmental Protection Agency	Enforcement and Compliance History Online -- facility search, compliance status, enforcement actions, penalties across CAA, CWA, RCRA, SDWA programs
EPA Envirofacts	Environmental Protection Agency	Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) -- chemical release data reported by industrial facilities under EPCRA Section 313

Both sources are free EPA APIs. No authentication or API keys are required.

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FAQ

What is ECHO?

ECHO (Enforcement and Compliance History Online) is the EPA's public database that tracks environmental compliance and enforcement across four major federal programs: the Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). ECHO contains inspection records, violation histories, enforcement actions, and penalty data for over 800,000 EPA-regulated facilities nationwide.

How current is the data?

ECHO data is updated weekly from EPA's national compliance databases (ICIS-Air, ICIS-NPDES, and RCRAInfo). Enforcement actions and formal compliance determinations typically appear within 1-2 weeks of the action date. TRI data in Envirofacts is updated annually -- facilities report releases from the prior calendar year, with data typically available by October of the following year.

What does the risk score measure?

The company risk profile mode calculates a weighted risk score (0-100) based on five factors across all analyzed facilities: non-compliance quarters (max 30 points), penalty counts (max 25 points), facilities currently in violation (max 25 points), uninspected facilities (max 10 points), and total regulated facility count (max 10 points). Scores map to five levels: CRITICAL (70+), HIGH (50-69), MODERATE (30-49), LOW (10-29), and MINIMAL (0-9).

Is an API key required?

No. EPA ECHO and Envirofacts are free public APIs with no authentication required. The Actor handles rate limiting automatically to stay within EPA's acceptable use policies.

Can I look up a specific facility by EPA Registry ID?

Yes. Use the compliance_check or enforcement_actions mode with the facilityId parameter set to the EPA Registry ID. Registry IDs can be found using facility_search mode or from the EPA ECHO website.

What chemicals are tracked in TRI?

The Toxic Release Inventory tracks approximately 770 chemicals and chemical categories. Facilities in covered industries that manufacture, process, or use these chemicals above threshold quantities must report annual releases to air, water, and land, as well as transfers for disposal or recycling. Common tracked chemicals include benzene, toluene, lead, mercury, and formaldehyde.

Limitations

• ECHO API returns a maximum of 100 facilities per paginated request; the Actor fetches up to 4 pages (100 facilities) per search
• Envirofacts TRI data returns XML format which is parsed on the fly; very large result sets may take longer
• Detailed Facility Reports (DFR) are fetched individually per facility; company risk profiles fetch DFRs for the top 3 worst sites only to avoid rate limiting
• EPA data covers federally regulated facilities only; state-only environmental programs may not be represented
• TRI data is self-reported by facilities and may not capture all releases, particularly for facilities below reporting thresholds
• Historical penalty dollar amounts are nominal values (not adjusted for inflation)