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Abstract

RegTech (short for Regulatory technology or regulation technology) simply put, is the use of technology to enhance compliance with regulations. As RegTech has developed, some have been quick to define RegTech as something for the financial sector, because it gained prominence with its use in the financial industry. It is true that RegTech gained prominence when it found success in the financial industry and became an important part of FinTech. However, RegTech is its own separate field within technology, which is simply the extrapolation of the ideas around automating compliance and providing insight, and can be applied to many different areas of compliance. Essentially, as long as you have regulations or rules, you can use regulation technology to streamline and ensure compliance. RegTech, or regulation/regulatory technology is simply using technology to apply the vast sets of rules and regulations that an area of law imposes, to company practices, creating checks and balances. RegTech can therefore be applied to many different areas of compliance with regulations. This article explores RegTech as a stand-alone field, and then explores possibilities of how RegTech can intersect with regulatory compliance specifically for environmental regulation and compliance, applying RegTech to environmental compliance, permitting, within the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I am proposing that RegTech should be adopted, based on the requirement for agencies to use the Best Available Technology, including the EPA. Finally, I believe for this to be implemented, it must be a concerted effort between industry, the legislature, and agencies like the EPA. Organizations who educate congress on the importance of technology like this also play an important role.

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