Businesses avoid nearly $400,000 in EPA penalties by self-reporting violations
Six California companies that voluntarily disclosed and corrected environmental violations have seen penalties waived by EPA. It’s the result of an EPA policy that has been successful in getting companies to make good-faith efforts in self-policing their own environmental compliance.
The recent self-disclosure cases had potential penalties ranging from $18,900 to $192,400 for environmental violations that the agency determined caused no serious or actual harm to human health or the environment. Altogether, the six companies avoided $381,600 in penalties.
In the recently announced cases, each company discovered the violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) on its own and reported the violations to the EPA. Because the companies satisfied all conditions of the EPA’s self-disclosure policies and there was no economic benefit gained, the EPA eliminated potential penalties.
EPA has two policies that allow the agency to reduce penalties up to 100 percent for violations that companies voluntarily disclose:
Under the EPA’s audit policy, the agency may reduce penalties up to 100 percent for violations that are voluntarily discovered through an audit or management system, promptly disclosed to the agency, and quickly corrected. The policy excludes criminal acts, violations resulting in serious actual harm to public health or the environment, and repeat violations. More information about the audit policy can be found at: www.epa.gov/compliance/incentives/auditing/auditpolicy.html
Under EPA’s small business policy, the agency may reduce penalties for businesses with fewer than 100 employees that voluntarily discover, by any means, violations of environmental law and promptly disclose and correct them. For more information on the small business policy, go to www.epa.gov/compliance/incentives/smallbusiness/index.html
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