2025 EPA Enforcement by the Numbers

The US EPA recently released its annual summary of environmental enforcement activity for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, which ran from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. The Agency’s report demonstrates the results of its civil, criminal, and Superfund cleanup enforcement efforts.

A quick glance shows that, compared to FY 2024, US EPA's FY 2025 efforts resulted in more closed civil enforcement cases, more dollars committed for injunctive relief, and more defendants charged in criminal enforcement cases.

View US EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Annual Results for FY 2025: Data and Trends.

Civil Enforcement FY 2025

A "civil" violation of an environmental regulation or law occurs when a person or company commits a violation. Environmental civil liability does not take into consideration what the responsible party knew about the law or regulation they violated. The US EPA takes civil action to deter future violations and ensure prompt returns to compliance. 

The US EPA is not required to prove any “fault” or “intent” before issuing a citation for a civil penalty; the fact that noncompliance occurred is all that is needed for a company to be penalized for violating the regulations.

2,127

The number of civil enforcement cases completed. ~13% more than in FY 2024 and the highest number of cases completed in the last nine years

>$652,000,000

The dollar amount of civil penalties assessed.

This includes a $9.5M penalty assessed by the US EPA and announced on January 17, 2025—one of the largest civil penalties ever paid for RCRA hazardous waste management violations—and a $9.4M penalty paid by a natural gas producer, announced by the US EPA on October 17, 2024.

>$6,430,000,000

The dollar amount in obtained commitments to return facilities to compliance (injunctive relief). ~25% more than in FY 2024.

Criminal Enforcement FY 2025

The US EPA investigates and assists in the prosecution of the most culpable environmental violations. For an environmental violation to be considered a criminal act, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US EPA must believe that the person or company involved “knowingly” violated the law/regulations. In other words, the company or person involved was aware that their actions violated the regulations/law before the violation was committed.

One key difference between a criminal and civil penalty is that a civil penalty is paid out by the company, whereas an individual could be subject to the payment of a criminal penalty. That person could even serve a sentence in jail.

187

The number of new criminal cases opened.

156

The number of defendants charged. ~22% more than in FY 2024 and the most number of defendants charged since 2016.

Superfund Cleanup Enforcement FY 2025

A “Superfund site” is a location contaminated with hazardous substances that the government plans to restore. Superfund cleanup efforts involve activities like removal of toxic soil, sampling and testing of air and water, and transportation of abandoned chemicals for proper disposal.

Site workers that perform these duties must be trained extensively and outfitted with adequate personal protective equipment for the hazardous atmospheres and substances they face.

Through Superfund cleanup efforts, the Agency ensure responsible parties perform cleanup or pay for it.

$982,890,000

The value of 1) commitments from responsible and third parties to clean up sites or to pay for future work, 2) money recovered for the US EPA’s past costs to perform cleanup activities, and 3) the dollar amount billed to responsible parties for the US EPA costs for overseeing past cleanup work.

Complete Environmental Regulations Training

Want a clearer idea of how major EPA air, water, and chemical programs fit together to affect your site's activities? Join the next Complete Environmental Regulations Webinar on May 14–15 at Lion.com.

EH&S professionals who attend can identify the regulations that apply to their facility and locate key requirements to achieve compliance with the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts to EPCRA, TSCA, Superfund, and more. Prefer to train at your own pace? Try the interactive online course.