Each month we provide an environmental compliance tip/reminder on our website. Compliance, as the regulated community is well aware, is one of those “constants” yet ever evolving. Under the Biden Administration, it has been evolving more rapidly as proposed regulations are brought forward with some regularity.
This classic command-and-control approach to compliance has been consistent for the first two years of this President’s tenure. While we don’t know what 2023 will bring in the way of new regulations and/or enforcement actions, odds are we’ll see another active year from our federal regulators, especially as they continue to add “hundreds” to their staff.
Below we look at some recent environmental enforcement efforts.
Logistics Company has Violations in 39 States
On December 13, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Section 3008 Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) with TForce Freight, Inc. The CAFO was issued to resolve allegations of noncompliance with hazardous waste regulations at 174 facilities across 39 states.
According to the EPA, TForce generates hazardous waste regulated under RCRA when a package containing certain hazardous materials is damaged, as well as during day-to-day operations such as vehicle maintenance.
The company has 36 months to come into compliance across 174 locations and will pay a civil penalty of $860,400.00.

Environmental regulatory activity is expected to remain robust in 2023 (Image by Sergei Tokmakov, Esq. httpsTerms.Law from Pixabay).
Logistics Company has Violations in 45 States
The former owner of TForce, United Parcel Service (UPS), was also targeted by the EPA with enforcement action. The EPA announced a settlement with UPS to resolve violations of hazardous waste regulations at 1,160 facilities across 45 states and the territory of Puerto Rico.
According to a press release by the EPA, following a previous settlement with UPS in 2021, the EPA expanded its investigation into other UPS facilities across the country. The EPA states that many UPS facilities were generating and managing hazardous waste “in all three generator categories without complying with all the RCRA requirements for each of the three generation categories.”
Note the waste generator categories are Large Quantity Generator (LQG), Small Quantity Generator (SQG), and Very Small Quantify Generator (VSQG), previously Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG).
The EPA determined that the UPS facilities “generated, accumulated, and offered for transport, treatment, and/or disposal certain hazardous waste streams, including ignitable, corrosive, and reactive substances, including acute hazardous wastes.”
UPS has 36 months to come into compliance across 1,160 locations and will pay a civil penalty of $5,323,008.00.
Enforcement at a Big Box Store
Region 6 of the EPA and Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, entered into a Consent Decree and Final Order (CAFO) on November 17, 2022, regarding an alleged violation of RCRA. The CAFO addresses violations in five states, which included 21 facilities in Arkansas.
According to the CAFO, from 2018 continuing through the date of the filing of the CAFO, Lowe’s submitted various notifications under Section 3010(a) of RCRA for some of the facilities. These facilities were identified by Lowe’s as CESQG or VSQG for certain Lowe’s Pro Supply facilities, retail stores, or their Regional Distribution Center.
In some instances, they exceeded a threshold amount of 100 kilograms of hazardous waste per month moving them into a different generator status. The CAFO addresses Lowe’s stores/distribution centers in five states (243 facilities).
The CAFO contains a Compliance Order which requires that Lowe’s undertake a number of activities by certain deadlines regarding implementation of standard operating procedures such as:
- Addressing job responsibilities
- Employment of independent third-party review
- Coordinate with third-party vendors
- Correction of the alleged violations
Lowe’s was fined $141,729.00.
(See blog by Mitchell Williams)
Compliance and Permitting Wild Card
Another aspect that is a bit of a wild card with respect to compliance and permitting is the significant role of Environmental Justice (EJ) under the Biden Administration.
In August of 2022, the EPA announced that the Inflation Reduction Act “invests” $60 billion to “accelerate environmental justice…” This money is spread out from FY 2022 to 2026.
According to the EPA, the money will be used “…for a wide range of environmental programs that will bring much-needed funding to America’s water infrastructure, environmental cleanups, and clean air protections, while also advancing environmental justice and combatting climate change.”
How the money will be allocated under these large umbrellas of programs will be worth a close watch. We have already seen instances of environmental enforcement under the auspices of the EJ program, including blocking a planned $9.4 billion plastics plant.
Staying compliant with environmental regulations is challenging. With the rapidly-changing playing field that we have seen in recent years, this task is becoming even more daunting.
If you need help with environmental compliance, we can help. We have been helping companies with compliance issues for 35 years. If you have questions or would like to discuss a specific matter, feel free to contact us at info@dragun.com, 248-932-0228, or use our online contact form.
This blog was drafted by Alan Hahn. Alan has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and completed a graduate program in Environmental Management. He has worked in environmental management for 45 years. He has written hundreds of blogs and articles. His published work includes Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Detroiter, Michigan Forward, GreenStone Partners, Manure Manager Magazine, Progressive Dairy, and HazMat Magazine.
The blog was reviewed by Jeffrey Bolin, M.S. Jeff is a partner and senior scientist at Dragun Corporation. He is a published author, frequent speaker, and expert witness. His expertise in environmental due diligence, PFAS, vapor intrusion, and site assessments has led to projects in the US, Canada, and overseas. See Jeff’s Bio.
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