What is the Gera Environmental Pressure Score (GEPS)?

The GEPS is a 0–100 composite index Gera computes from real EPA ECHO Exporter data for each US county. It combines three metrics: regulated-facility density (log-scaled, 40% weight), recent violation rate (fraction of active facilities in non-compliance in any of the last 12 quarters, 40% weight), and serious non-compliance rate (fraction with at least one EPA programme in Significant Non-Compliance, 20% weight). Higher GEPS = lower environmental pressure. Range across 3177 counties: 36.3–100/100, mean 76.9/100.

Which US county has the highest environmental compliance pressure?

Based on the 2026-06-20 EPA ECHO Exporter snapshot, MINGO County, WV has the lowest GEPS (36.3 / 100, rank 3177 of 3177), indicating the highest environmental pressure. It has 265 active regulated facilities with a recent violation rate of 59.6% and serious non-compliance rate of 30.2%.

How many US counties does the ECHO-1 dataset cover?

The 2026-06-20 ECHO-1 dataset covers 3,177 US counties that have at least 10 active EPA-regulated facilities. Counties with fewer than 10 active facilities are excluded — they have insufficient regulated-facility density for a reliable composite score and are shown as "insufficient data". The underlying EPA ECHO Exporter contains 2,729,145 total regulated facilities across all covered counties.

What does "recent violation" mean in the ECHO data?

In the EPA ECHO Exporter, the column FAC_QTRS_WITH_NC records how many of the last 12 quarters (3 years) a facility had any documented non-compliance across any of its regulated programmes (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, RCRA hazardous waste, Safe Drinking Water Act, etc.). A facility counted as a "recent violator" in the GEPS has FAC_QTRS_WITH_NC > 0, meaning it had at least one quarter of non-compliance in the past three years.

What is Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) in EPA enforcement?

Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) is EPA's formal designation for the most serious environmental violations — facilities that are at the top of the violation severity scale for one or more regulatory programmes (Clean Air Act, NPDES, RCRA, SDWA). In the GEPS, a "serious violator" is an active facility where FAC_PROGRAMS_WITH_SNC > 0, meaning at least one of its EPA programmes has a current SNC designation. SNC carries extra weight in EPA enforcement prioritisation.

What does a high GEPS score mean for my health?

A high GEPS (low environmental pressure) indicates that a county has relatively fewer regulated facilities per its size, lower rates of recent environmental violations, and fewer facilities in Significant Non-Compliance. However, GEPS is a regulatory compliance context indicator — not a direct health-outcome measure. Air pollution health effects are captured in the separate Gera US Air Health Index (GUSAHI) on GeraClinic, which uses EPA AQS actual pollutant concentration data.

How is the GEPS different from the EPA ECHO facility search?

The EPA ECHO website lets users search individual facilities. The GEPS is a county-level aggregate: it rolls up every active regulated facility in a county into three metrics (density, violation rate, SNC rate), normalises each across all 3177 counties in the dataset, and computes a single comparable 0–100 score. This makes it possible to rank and compare counties — something the facility-level search cannot do directly.

US Environmental Compliance Risk by County

Gera Environmental Pressure Score (GEPS/100) for 3,177 US counties, computed from real EPA ECHO Exporter 2026-06-20 data on regulated-facility density, recent environmental violation rates, and Significant Non-Compliance share. Higher score = lower environmental pressure.

Which US counties have the highest and lowest environmental compliance pressure, and what is the national average?

As of 2026-06-20, MINGO County, WV has the highest environmental pressure among 3,177 monitored US counties (Gera Environmental Pressure Score: 36.3 / 100; 59.6% recent violation rate). ARROYO County, PR has the lowest pressure (GEPS 100.0 / 100). National mean GEPS: 76.9/100. Source: EPA ECHO Exporter 2026-06-20.

Source:EPA ECHO Exporter — Full Facility Register with Compliance Data (2026-06-13)·as of 2026-06-20updated monthly (last: 20 June 2026)

Gera Environmental Pressure ScoreNational mean: 76.9 / 100A transparent 0–100 composite of three EPA ECHO metrics: regulated-facility density (log-scaled, 40%), recent violation rate (40%), and Significant Non-Compliance share (20%), each min-max normalised across 3,177 US counties. Higher GEPS = lower environmental pressure. Range: 36.3–100/100.How this index is calculated

Counties with highest and lowest environmental pressure

Top 5 lowest-pressure US counties by GEPS — 2026-06-20
Rank	County	State	GEPS
1	ARROYO	PR	100.0 / 100
2	POQUOSON CITY	VA	98.7 / 100
3	BORDEN COUNTY	TX	98.1 / 100
4	DUNDY	NE	97.7 / 100
5	DANIELS	MT	94.9 / 100

Top 5 highest-pressure US counties by GEPS — 2026-06-20
Rank	County	State	GEPS
1	MINGO	WV	36.3 / 100
2	OROCOVIS	PR	36.6 / 100
3	MCDOWELL	WV	40.6 / 100
4	LOGAN	WV	41.3 / 100
5	HARDIN	IL	43.3 / 100

Environmental profile: highest-pressure county

MINGO County, WV — EPA ECHO 2026-06-20
Metric	Value	Weight in GEPS
Active regulated facilities	265	40% (density)
Recent violation rate	59.6%	40%
Serious (SNC) rate	30.2%	20%
GEPS composite	36.3 / 100	—

Find your county's environmental pressure score

Search any of the 3,177 included counties to see its GEPS, violation rate, and compliance context.

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Search for your county above, or browse the counties with the highest environmental pressure (lowest GEPS):

Counties with the lowest environmental pressure (highest GEPS):

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Frequently asked questions

What is the Gera Environmental Pressure Score (GEPS)?: The GEPS is a 0–100 composite index Gera computes from real EPA ECHO Exporter data for each US county. It combines three metrics: regulated-facility density (log-scaled, 40% weight), recent violation rate (fraction of active facilities in non-compliance in any of the last 12 quarters, 40% weight), and serious non-compliance rate (fraction with at least one EPA programme in Significant Non-Compliance, 20% weight). Higher GEPS = lower environmental pressure. Range across 3177 counties: 36.3–100/100, mean 76.9/100.
Which US county has the highest environmental compliance pressure?: Based on the 2026-06-20 EPA ECHO Exporter snapshot, MINGO County, WV has the lowest GEPS (36.3 / 100, rank 3177 of 3177), indicating the highest environmental pressure. It has 265 active regulated facilities with a recent violation rate of 59.6% and serious non-compliance rate of 30.2%.
How many US counties does the ECHO-1 dataset cover?: The 2026-06-20 ECHO-1 dataset covers 3,177 US counties that have at least 10 active EPA-regulated facilities. Counties with fewer than 10 active facilities are excluded — they have insufficient regulated-facility density for a reliable composite score and are shown as "insufficient data". The underlying EPA ECHO Exporter contains 2,729,145 total regulated facilities across all covered counties.
What does "recent violation" mean in the ECHO data?: In the EPA ECHO Exporter, the column FAC_QTRS_WITH_NC records how many of the last 12 quarters (3 years) a facility had any documented non-compliance across any of its regulated programmes (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, RCRA hazardous waste, Safe Drinking Water Act, etc.). A facility counted as a "recent violator" in the GEPS has FAC_QTRS_WITH_NC > 0, meaning it had at least one quarter of non-compliance in the past three years.
What is Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) in EPA enforcement?: Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) is EPA's formal designation for the most serious environmental violations — facilities that are at the top of the violation severity scale for one or more regulatory programmes (Clean Air Act, NPDES, RCRA, SDWA). In the GEPS, a "serious violator" is an active facility where FAC_PROGRAMS_WITH_SNC > 0, meaning at least one of its EPA programmes has a current SNC designation. SNC carries extra weight in EPA enforcement prioritisation.
What does a high GEPS score mean for my health?: A high GEPS (low environmental pressure) indicates that a county has relatively fewer regulated facilities per its size, lower rates of recent environmental violations, and fewer facilities in Significant Non-Compliance. However, GEPS is a regulatory compliance context indicator — not a direct health-outcome measure. Air pollution health effects are captured in the separate Gera US Air Health Index (GUSAHI) on GeraClinic, which uses EPA AQS actual pollutant concentration data.
How is the GEPS different from the EPA ECHO facility search?: The EPA ECHO website lets users search individual facilities. The GEPS is a county-level aggregate: it rolls up every active regulated facility in a county into three metrics (density, violation rate, SNC rate), normalises each across all 3177 counties in the dataset, and computes a single comparable 0–100 score. This makes it possible to rank and compare counties — something the facility-level search cannot do directly.

Concerned about environmental health where you live?

High regulatory violation rates and Significant Non-Compliance in your county can indicate environmental risks linked to respiratory, cardiovascular, and chronic conditions. A GeraClinic care navigator can help you understand local environmental health context and connect you with specialist care — available online.

Talk to a GeraClinic care navigator How the Gera Environmental Pressure Score works

Contains public sector information published by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and licensed under the U.S. Public Domain (federal government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105). Source: EPA ECHO Exporter — Full Facility Register with Compliance Data (2026-06-13) (2026-06-20, published 2026-06-13 (EPA ECHO Exporter last-modified date)).

Informational/educational only — not a substitute for professional medical advice; a clinician interprets results.