JessicaHardcastle
EPA enforcement actions in fiscal year 2014 required companies to invest more than $9.7 billion to curb pollution and clean up contaminated sites, according to the agency’s annual enforcement and compliance results.
The EPA’s cases resulted in $163 million in combined federal administrative, civil judicial penalties, and criminal fines. Other results include:
- Reductions of an estimated 141 million pounds of air pollutants, including 6.7 million pounds of air toxics.
- Reductions of approximately 337 million pounds of water pollutants.
- Clean up of an estimated 856 million cubic yards of contaminated water/aquifers.
Some of the year’s high-profile cases include:
- Lowe’s Home Centers agreed to pay $500,000 and implement a corporate-wide compliance program ensuring contractors nation-wide follow laws to minimize lead dust.
- DuPont agreed to pay $1.275 million as part of a settlement with the federal government for eight alleged releases of harmful levels of hazardous substances at its Belle, W. Va. facility between May 2006 and January 2010.
- A settlement with Hyundai-Kia netted a $100 million fine, forfeiture of emissions credits and more than $50 million invested in compliance measures helps level the playing field for car companies that follow the law, and helps reduces greenhouse gas emissions fueling climate change.
- The largest cleanup settlement in American history, with Anadarko and Kerr McGee, will put more than $4.4 billion into toxic pollution cleanup, improving water quality and removing dangerous materials in tribal and overburdened communities.
Photo Credit: EPA building via Shutterstock
EPA enforcement actions in fiscal year 2014 required companies to invest more than $9.7 billion to curb pollution and clean up contaminated sites, according to the agency’s annual enforcement and compliance results.
