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January 13, 2020

EPA Adjusts Civil Monetary Penalties to Reflect Inflation

Lynn L. Bergeson Carla N. Hutton

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated a final rule on January 13, 2020, to adjust the level of the maximum (and minimum) statutory civil monetary penalty amounts under the statutes it administers, including the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  85 Fed. Reg. 1751.  EPA states that this action is mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended through the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 Act).  The 2015 Act prescribes a formula for annually adjusting the statutory maximum (and minimum) amount of civil penalties to reflect inflation, maintain the deterrent effect of statutory civil penalties, and promote compliance with the law.  EPA notes that the rule does not necessarily revise the penalty amounts that it chooses to seek pursuant to its civil penalty policies in a particular case.  EPA’s civil penalty policies, which guide enforcement personnel on how to exercise EPA’s statutory penalty authorities, take into account a number of fact-specific considerations, e.g., the seriousness of the violation, the violator’s good faith efforts to comply, any economic benefit gained by the violator as a result of its noncompliance, and a violator’s ability to pay.  The final rule was effective January 13, 2020.