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EPA Increases Civil Penalties for Environmental Violations
Release Date: 07/03/2003
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(07/03/03) Under proposed regulations, EPA will be able to assess increased maximum civil penalties against polluters caught violating the nation’s environmental laws. The increase is almost 15 percent. EPA’s Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Rule will raise the statutory maximum civil penalty to reflect inflation, as determined by the Consumer Price Index. The rule is required by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and reflects the U.S. Government Accounting Office’s recommendations. To keep pace with inflation, the Debt Collection Improvement Act requires federal agencies to periodically review and adjust statutory maximum civil penalties. Once final, the proposal will raise the maximum civil penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and other environmental statutes from $27,500 to $32,500. The proposal was published in the Federal Register today, July 3, for a 30-day comment period. For more information in the Federal Register, go tohttp://www.archives.gov/federal_register/the_federal_register/indexes.html .
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