EPA Releases Annual Environmental Enforcement Results
December 18, 2014, marked the release of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) annual environmental enforcement and compliance results. See News Release, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Announces 2014 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results (Dec. 18, 2014). According to the EPA, its enforcement actions in 2014 required businesses across the country to invest more than $9.7 billion in regulatory compliance and equipment. Additionally, EPA collected a total of $163 million in combined federal administrative, civil judicial penalties, and criminal fines. Annual results showed a reduction of 141 million pounds of air pollutants, including 6.7 million pounds of air toxins, 337 million pounds of water pollutants, and 856 million cubic yards of contaminated water clean-up. The release highlights EPA's growing focus on enforcement of larger cases with greater impact. In the first of three notably large cases this year, EPA obtained a large settlement with the number one metallurgical coal supplier in the United States. Pursuant to the settlement agreement the company will invest $200 million to install and operate wastewater treatment facilities near coal mining operations in five states. Additionally, the company agreed to provide system-wide upgrades to assist in the reduction of coal mine pollution. In November, the EPA reached a settlement agreement with two major auto manufacturers for an estimated $100 million for violations of the Clean Air Act based on the sale of more than 1 million vehicles with emissions collectively totaling 4.75 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. On November 10, 2014, EPA obtained a settlement whereby the company agreed to pay more than $5.15 billion into a litigation trust (with $4.475 billion going to the trust's environmental beneficiaries and $605 million going to its torts beneficiaries). According to the EPA, this case allowed EPA to close the year with its largest recovery for the cleanup of environmental contamination in history and the largest bankruptcy award the EPA has ever received for environmental claims and liabilities.