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VOLUME 3
January 2009 Adjustment to Civil Penalties for Violations of Environmental Regulations
Violations or noncompliance with environmental statutes and regulations may be subject to civil penalty. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed a web page dedicated to its civil penalty policies at http://cfpub.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/civil/penalty/, which outlines its policies by statute.
On January 7, 2009, EPA published the Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Rule in the Federal Register http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/civil/penalty/technicalcorrection-frpenalty-010709.pdf). The action contains the minor correction to the final Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Rule published in December 2008 (73 FR 75340), which became effective on January 12, 2009. As mandated by the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA), the rule adjusts for inflation of the statutory civil penalties that may be assessed for violations of EPA-administered statutes and the implementing regulations. Table 1 of the regulation found at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 19 documents the inflation adjustment since a particular statute was enacted until after the effective date of January 12, 2009.
Most of the penalties for environmental statutes increased. Some of the penalties for environmental statutes were adjusted significantly since the previous effective date of March 15, 2004, such as Class II violations under Section 309(g) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), which may not exceed $16,000 per day for each day during which the violation continues, up from $11,000, with a maximum amount not to exceed $177,000, up from $157,500. Violations of other environmental statutes such as RCRA increased from $32,500 to $37,500 per day for each violation. The escalation of penalties for regulatory non-compliance issues increases the business risk associated with your operations. For more information on this regulatory change and to discuss balancing your environmental and business risks, please contact Amy Bauer at amy.bauer@ehs-support.com
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