New Maximum Civil Penalties for Environmental Violations

Posted on 1/8/2025 by Lion Technology Inc.

Today, January 8, 2025, the US EPA increased its maximum monetary civil penalties for violations of air, water, chemical, and hazardous waste programs. The Agency is required to raise civil penalty maximums by law to keep up with inflation.

Environmental violations do not always result in max penalties. However, these new maximums do guide EPA's enforcement decisions throughout the year.

US EPA's new civil penalties maximums will apply to all civil penalties that are assessed on or after January 8, 2025.

Increased EPA Penalties In Effect As of 1/8/2025

Major US EPA Programs	Before 1/8/25	On or After 1/8/25
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)	$90,702	$93,058
Clean Air Act (CAA)	$121,275	$124,426
Clean Water Act (CWA)	$66,712	$68,445
Superfund and Right-to-Know (CERCLA/EPCRA)	$69,733	$71,545
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)	$69,733	$71,545
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)	$48,512	$49,772
Insecticides, Fungicides, and Rodenticides (FIFRA)	$24,255	$24,885

See the US EPA Final Rule here.

Note: The new maximum penalty listed above for a first-time CERCLA violation is $71,545, The new maximum penalty for a subsequent CERCLA violation is $214,637, up from $209,202.

RCRA Civil Penalties Up 2.6% for 2025

For hazardous waste generators, violations can now be penalized up to $93,058. Common hazardous waste violations include failure to provide initial or annual refresher training, incomplete facility training plans, incomplete or non-existent RCRA training records, employees signing the Hazardous Waste Manifest with no DOT hazmat training, and inadequate contingency planning.

The Regulations List Incorrect (and Correct) Penalty Amounts

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

The text reads, “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.”

Why Do Civil Penalties Go Up Every Year?

Annual civil penalty adjustments began in 2015, when the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 amended Federal law related to civil penalties for regulatory violations. Previously, the DOT and the EPA were required by law to increase penalties only every four years.

See also: New Maximum Hazmat Civil Penalties for 2025

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Tags: environmental penalties, EPA, EPA Enforcement, EPA News, fines and penalties

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