We recently shared the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Draft Strategic Plan for 2022-2026.” Number three of the seven strategic goals is “Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance.”
Enforcement of environmental regulations is what typically gets the attention of the regulated community, as well as other stakeholders. Below, we touch on some of the EPA’s results (including enforcement) and plans as outlined in their “Enforcement Annual Results for Fiscal Year 2021.”
EPA Accomplishments
In a call out box on the EPA’s webpage, they provide the following information with respect to their accomplishments for Fiscal Year 2021 (emphasis below is theirs):
- Commitments of more than $8.5 billion to return facilities to compliance, the highest amount in four years; 28% of those commitments were to address non-compliance in communities with environmental justice concerns.
- Proper treatment, minimization, or disposal of 7.6 billion pounds of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, more than in all but one of the past eight years.
- Private and federal party cleanup commitments of $1.9 billion, as well as more than $106.1 million for recovery of past costs the Agency spent cleaning up Superfund sites. The cleanup commitment was the fifth largest amount in the history of the program and $279 million more than in FY 2020.
- Assessment of over $1.06 billion in penalties, the highest amount in four years.
- Twenty-eight years of incarceration for defendants sentenced in criminal enforcement investigations.
Note: Fiscal years at the USEPA run October to October so the results include several months of actions by the previous administration.
The USEPA has plans for more robust inspection and enforcement in 2022 (Image Credit USEPA).
Civil Penalties
EPA also highlighted several Civil Enforcement Actions. Below are only the civil penalties; it does not include the costs for mitigation or remediation. The details of each of these enforcement actions are outlined under the header “Civil Penalties” on the EPA Enforcement Annual Results for FY 2021 Page.
- Dow Chemical Company $3 million civil penalty under the CAA
- Toyota Motor Corporation $180 million civil penalty under the CAA
- Valero Energy Corporation $2.85 million civil penalty under the CAA
- Lehigh Cement Company LLC $1.3 million civil penalty under the CAA
- American Zinc Recycling $3.3 million civil penalty under the CAA, CWA, RCRA, and EPCRA
- City of Colorado Spring $1 million civil penalty under the CWA
- City of Corpus Christi $1.1 million civil penalty the CWA
- Summit Midstream Partners $20 million civil penalty | $1.25 million Natural Resource Damage under the CWA
- US Magnesium $250,000 civil penalty under the RCRA
- Home Depot $20.75 million civil penalty under the TSCA
- Electrolux $6.9 million civil penalty under the FIFRA
- Apache Nitrogen Products $1.5 million civil penalty under the CAA
CAA = Clean Air Act
CWA = Clean Water Act
RCRA = Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
EPCRA = Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act
TSCA = Toxic Substance Control Act
FIFRA = Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
EPA National Compliance Initiatives
As far as where the EPA will focus their environmental compliance efforts over the next several years, the agency provides their “National Compliance Initiatives.” These initiatives are below:
- Creating Cleaner Air for Communities by Reducing Excess Emissions of Harmful Pollutants
- Stopping Aftermarket Defeat Devices for Vehicles and Engines
- Reducing Hazardous Air Emissions from Hazardous Waste Facilities
- Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical Facilities
- Reducing Significant Non-Compliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits
- Reducing Non-Compliance with Drinking Water Standards at Community Water Systems
The EPA also includes comments on the agency’s larger initiatives including climate change and environmental justice.
In Michigan, we have heard from state regulators that they anticipate more federal inspections (possibly unannounced) and enforcement above and beyond that of their departments.
Environmental Help
If you need assistance with an environmental matter, we can help. Dragun Corporation has been solving environmental problems since 1988 – put our team to work for you. For a confidential discussion, contact Jeffrey Bolin at 248-932-0228, Ext. 125.