EPA Revises 40 CFR to Clarify Penalty Amounts

EPA is adding language to several sections of regulations in 40 CFR to clarify the price of civil penalties assessed for environmental violations.

To subparagraphs of regulations that address enforcement and/or civil penalties, EPA is adding new text that reads as follows: 

“The civil monetary penalty amount listed in this section may not reflect recent inflation adjustments EPA is required to make. The current maximum and minimum statutory civil penalty amounts are located in §19.4.”

For example: Under 40 CFR Part 372—Toxic Chemical Release Reporting, also known as TRI reporting and required by EPCRA—subparagraph 372.18 is titled “Compliance and enforcement.” 

In this subparagraph, EPA states that a penalty for violating this section is “not to exceed $25,000 per day, per violation.” If we look at 40 CFR 19.4—where the newly added text tells us to look—we see the current civil penalty amount actually exceeds $25,000 by a lot. In reality, EPCRA penalties assessed after December 27, 2023, can be as high as $69,733 per day, per violation.

Why Do the Regs Say $25,000? 

Throughout the regulations that implement US environmental programs are paragraphs that provide a minimum and/or maximum dollar amount a person can be made to pay for violating a rule. Typically, the maximum amount is $25,000. 

The $25,000 figure is called the “statutory” penalty amount, meaning it comes directly from a law (or “statute”) passed by Congress. Some of these laws—the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, EPCRA, CERCLA/Superfund, TSCA—were first passed in the 1970s and '80s. 

While Congress later amended many of these laws, the original statutory penalty amounts did not change. In 1990 and again in 2015, however, Congress passed laws directing regulatory agencies to update their maximum and minimum penalty amounts on a regular basis to keep pace with inflation. Today, agencies including US EPA, US DOT, and OSHA increase maximum and minimum civil penalties for violations on an annual basis.

Next EPA Penalty Increase Imminent 

Current law requires EPA (and other regulatory agencies) to increase civil penalties annually, based on inflation, before January 15 of each new year. Industry stakeholders should expect penalties to increase again later this month, or in early January. 

EPA's last penalty hike occurred in late December 2023.