Some More than Double!

New maximum penalties took effect on August 1, 2016 and are applicable to violations from November 2, 2015 forward. In the July, 2016 Federal Register, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its Interim Final Rule to increase civil penalties for violations of environmental laws and regulations. The agency has done this as required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 to match inflation.

Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR) regulations cover the EPA regulatory domain, including air emissions, remediation, water pollution, chemical management, pesticide rules and the management of solid and hazardous waste. From the July Federal Register, new maximum penalties for some programs are:

New RCRA Maximum Penalties
The maximum civil penalty for hazardous waste violations under the Resource and Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), will nearly double from $37,500 per violation, per day to $70,117 per day, per violation.

Clean Air Act fines up 250%
Clean Air Act rules expose violators to a new maximum civil penalty of $93,750, up from $37,500.

Clean Water Act
A more modest, but still steep, increase under the Clean Water Act had penalties jump from $37,500 to $51,570.

FIFRA Fines More than Double
Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) penalties also more than doubled to $18,750, from $7,000.
SWDA, EPCRA and CERCLA
The maximum penalties for violations of Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) jumped from $37,500 to $53,907.

TSCA
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) penalties for non-compliance with the EPA’s chemical management rules are unchanged at $37,500.

For more details, see the Federal Register.