Environmental violations include the improper disposal of waste, emissions of toxic substances, and illegal exploitation of natural resources. These practices can lead to significant environmental damage, including pollution of air and water, destruction of habitats, and loss of biodiversity. The repercussions are long-lasting, affecting the health of local communities, reducing the quality of natural resources, and contributing to global environmental crises like climate change.
When a company violates federal environmental law, a penalty is supposed to serve as both punishment and deterrent. But what happens when the system designed to enforce safety standards calculates a significant fine and then quietly waives it? For GnG…
For over a decade, a major chemical distributor in Houston, TX failed to comply with federal regulations designed to prevent a catastrophic accidental release of extremely hazardous substances, placing the community at risk while regulators were unaware. An investigation by…
A Delaware gas station operator has agreed to pay a $50,672 penalty after federal regulators documented a pattern of failures to monitor underground tanks holding tens of thousands of gallons of flammable and toxic chemicals. The settlement with the Environmental…
For half a decade, a Washington-based industrial foundry violated our federal clean air laws, failing to report its compliance and allowing untrained workers to spray-apply coatings containing hazardous pollutants like chromium and nickel. A recent settlement with the Environmental Protection…
For a spill of 170,000 gallons of sewage into a tributary (a body of water which leads into a different body of water) of the Potomac River, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency settled with the City of Keyser, West Virginia,…
Beneath Richmond, Virginia, tens of thousands of gallons of petroleum products were managed by a company that, for years, failed to maintain basic environmental safeguards and prove it could pay for a potential catastrophe. A settlement with the Environmental Protection…
A single, dilapidated warehouse in a residential New Jersey neighborhood posed a direct threat to over 15,000 residents, forcing an emergency government intervention that cost taxpayers nearly one million dollars. After creating the crisis, the companies responsible vanished into insolvency,…
For over three years, a Texas chemical plant operated by Arlanxeo USA LLC repeatedly failed to safely burn off hazardous air pollutants, releasing uncombusted chemicals into the air while simultaneously failing to file legally required safety documentation with regulators. The…
TL;DR Summary: On July 1, 2023, a Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc. processing plant in Van Buren, Arkansas, released 1,600 pounds of toxic anhydrous ammonia gas, exposing three of its employees to the hazardous chemical. Federal investigators with the Environmental Protection…
An Alaskan motorsports company used the ground beneath its facility as a private waste bin, systematically injecting toxic fluids from its vehicle repair shop directly into an underground source of public drinking water. A consent agreement filed on September 30,…