§6992d Enforcement

Summary

The Administrator can order people or businesses who break these rules to pay fines, fix problems right away or by a set deadline, or both. The Administrator can also sue in federal court for a temporary or permanent order. Any order must say what rule was broken. Fines can be up to $25,000 for each day the violation continues. The Administrator must think about how serious the violation was and any good-faith efforts to follow the rules when setting a fine. An order becomes final unless the person named asks for a public hearing within 30 days. If a hearing is requested, the Administrator must hold it and may subpoena documents and set rules for discovery. If someone knowingly breaks the rules, lies or leaves out important facts in labels or reports, or handles medical waste and then hides or destroys required records, criminal charges can apply if they also know they put another person in immediate danger of death or serious injury. A person convicted can be fined up to $250,000, jailed up to 15 years, or both; an organization can be fined up to $1,000,000. Civil fines of up to $25,000 per violation per day also apply, and penalties are set under the Administrator’s RCRA Civil Penalty Policy and follow the rules in section 6928(f).