ABSTRACT
Regulations and permits establish the conditions that activities must meet to be in compliance with the law. Monitoring and inspections assist in identifying whether compliance occurs. However, they are not the only means by which to identify non-compliance. For example, the public can identify cases of non-compliance (or suspected non-compliance), such as suspicious emissions or illegally discarded waste. The public can report these instances to an environmental enforcement authority so that it can investigate and take action. In many countries there are also opportunities for the public to take direct legal action against companies (and indeed against an environmental enforcement authority if they consider that it is acting in a negligent manner). It is also possible for an environmental enforcement authority to encourage companies to report on instances of non-compliance themselves.
