§6992d Enforcement

Summary

The Administrator can order people who break rules under this part to pay fines, to fix the problem right away or by a set date, or both. An order must say what rule was broken. Fines in an order can be up to $25,000 for each day the rule is broken. When deciding fines, the Administrator must consider how serious the problem was and any honest effort to follow the rules. An order becomes final unless the person named asks for a public hearing within 30 days. If a hearing is asked for, the Administrator must hold it and can require people to bring papers and set rules for exchanging evidence. If someone ignores a compliance order, the Administrator can fine up to $25,000 for each day they keep not complying. Knowingly breaking the rules, lying or hiding important information in required reports or labels, or handling medical waste and then destroying or hiding required records (whether before or after November 1, 1988) can lead to criminal charges. On conviction, a person can be fined up to $50,000 for each day of violation or jailed up to 2 years; for knowingly just breaking the rules the jail term can be up to 5 years. After a prior conviction, those maximum fines and jail times are doubled. If someone knowingly breaks those rules and knows they are putting another person in immediate danger of death or serious injury, the penalty on conviction is up to $250,000 or up to 15 years in prison, or both; an organization can be fined up to $1,000,000. Civil fines also apply: up to $25,000 for each violation, with each day counted as a separate violation. Civil penalties follow the Administrator’s "RCRA Civil Penalty Policy."