Enforcement

Guidance: Use of Administrative Orders under RCRA Section 7003

Transmittal memorandum and guidance on the use of administrative orders under Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This guidance updates, expands, and supersedes the guidance document issued in 1984. RCRA § 7003 provides EPA with broad and effective enforcement tools that can be used to abate conditions that may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment. The 1997 guidance included a matrix to determine the appropriate penalties for violations. Issued 10/20/1997.

The Agency updates this penalty matrix for the RCRA § 7003 civil penalty policy in compliance with the “Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Rule.” The rule, which is mandated by the 1990 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, requires adjustments to the maximum civil monetary penalties to keep pace with inflation and to maintain the deterrent effect. The latest revised penalty matrix was issued on September 6, 2016.

For information on the current and past revisions to the penalty matrix located on page 43 of the 1997 guidance, visit the Penalty Matrix for RCRA Section 7003 Civil Penalty Policy Web page.

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