In the third quarter (Q3), the EPA finalized 482 settlement agreements with companies small and large across the United States. This represents an increase in enforcement actions—up from 388 penalties—issued in Q2 for 2024. The actions taken resulted in $18,667,855 in fines. Here are some of the highlights.

CAA violations yield biggest fine from EPA

The largest fine assessed by the EPA in Q3 was to an electric energy production and distribution company for a penalty of $3,125,000 for violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The company failed to comply with the CAA’s National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units (the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)) at its facility in Puerto Rico. Specially, the company failed to comply with mercury emissions limits, properly operate the sorbent trap monitoring system, conduct required testing, keep appropriate records, submit required reports, and certify equipment.
As part of the settlement agreement, the company agreed to operate two recently installed mercury process monitors to support the operation of its system to remove mercury from its emissions. To increase public transparency, the company has also agreed to post its MATS compliance reports and its site-specific monitoring plan to its public website.
There were additional enforcement actions taken against 87 other entities for CAA violations, with penalties that ranged from $126 to $ 571,971. In all, CAA violations accounted for $7,266,034 in Q3.

FIFRA violations

An auto parts store in Michigan entered into a settlement agreement with the EPA to resolve violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The EPA determined that the company distributed and sold three unregistered pesticides: G200 surface sanitizer and disinfectant, GClean G200 surface sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, and isopropyl alcohol wipes, which are used for sanitizing and disinfecting hard surfaces. As part of the settlement, the company has stopped producing and selling the pesticide products and will pay a $584,000 penalty.
A Georgia-based air purification product manufacturer was cited $287,500 for FIFRA violations. Following an inspection at the facility, the EPA determined that the company violated FIFRA by distributing or selling unregistered pesticides on one or more occasions.

RCRA violations bringing six-figure fines

The EPA continues its consistent enforcement for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations:

• An actuation manufacturer was penalized $366,000 for RCRA violations at its facility in Washington. The violations include:
• Treating hazardous waste without a permit
• Failing to appropriately label or keep closed containers of dangerous waste
• Failing to conduct or record weekly inspections of central accumulation areas
• Failing to develop and implement a training plan
• Failing to maintain a contingency plan
• Failing to properly manage universal waste and used oil

• A paint coating and manufacturing company was fined $270,000 to resolve RCRA violations at two of its facilities in Texas. During an inspection, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found the company failed to:

• Comply with notification requirements.
• Make accurate hazardous waste determinations.
• Have an adequate contingency plan.
• Manage containers of hazardous waste properly.
• Comply with RCRA air emissions standards.
• Keep certain employee training records.
• Operate one of its facilities in accordance with the General Duty Clause (GDC).
• A U.S. army installation in Alaska was cited $233,300 for RCRA violations, including failure to:
• Make a hazardous waste determination.
• Store hazardous waste with a permit or an interim status.
• Properly manage pharmaceutical waste.
• Properly manage universal waste.
• Properly manage used oil.

Emphasizing clean water

The EPA cited 150 different entities for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA), including oil and construction companies, for inadequate Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plans, as well as towns and cities for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit violations. The fines totaled $4,435,545 and ranged from $500 to $323,081.

EPCRA violations 

A midstream infrastructure assets company was fined $236,000 to resolve violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). After data mining the company’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), the EPA found that the facility failed to timely report certain TRI chemicals from reporting years 2019 to 2023.
A Minnesota-based food product and processing company was cited $144,132 for EPCRA violations. The EPA determined that the company violated EPCRA when it failed to timely submit to the authorities the hazardous chemical inventory forms for sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and lead from calendar years 2019 to 2022.