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.

The EPA's new civil penalties maximums are in effect as of January 8, 2025:

Major US EPA Programs	< 1/8/25	>= 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 for an initial CERCLA violation is $71,545, as listed in the table above. The new maximum penalty for a subsequent CERCLA violation is $214,637, up from $209,202.

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.

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