Lion's office will be closed on Friday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. For help with online training, please contact support@lion.com.
Search

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

2025 Workshops Have Begun!

Lion's compliance training workshops start next week! Sign up for training now or check out Lion's full 2025 training schedule of in-person workshops and live webinars, available now.

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

Find a Post

Compliance Archives

Lion - Quotes

The price was reasonable, the time to complete the course was manageable, and the flexibility the online training allowed made it easy to complete.

Felicia Rutledge

Hazmat Shipping Professional

Lion courses are the standard to which all other workshops should strive for!

Brody Saleen

Registered Environmental Health Specialist

I like Lion's workshops the best because they really dig into the information you need to have when you leave the workshop.

Tom Bush, Jr.

EHS Manager

The instructor does a great job at presenting material in an approachable way. I have been able to save my company about $30,000 in the last year with what I have learned from Lion!

Curtis Ahonen

EHS&S Manager

Lion is at the top of the industry in compliance training. Course content and structure are updated frequently to make annual re-training enjoyable. I like that Lion has experts that I can contact for 1 year after the training.

Caroline Froning

Plant Chemist

My experience with Lion classes has always been good. Lion Technology always covers the EPA requirements I must follow.

Steven Erlandson

Environmental Coordinator

I love that the instructor emphasized the thought process behind the regs.

Rebecca Saxena

Corporate Product Stewardship Specialist

I can take what I learned in this workshop and apply it to everyday work and relate it to my activities.

Shane Hersh

Materials Handler

My experience with Lion training, both online and in the classroom, is that they are far better organized and provide a better sequential explanation of the material.

Robert Roose

Manager, Dangerous Goods Transportation

No comparison. Lion has the best RCRA training ever!!

Matt Sabine

Environmental Specialist

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

Hazardous materials shipment rejections bear a big cost. Use this guide to end operational and logistical disruptions that severely impact your bottom line.

Latest Whitepaper

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.