Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Annual Results for FY 2025: Civil Enforcement

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) civil enforcement program works diligently to fulfill the agency’s mission to protect human health and the environment by holding polluters accountable and ensuring regulated entities follow our environmental laws and regulations.

Through cooperative federalism and cross-agency partnerships with other federal agencies, states, Tribes, and territories, EPA’s civil enforcement program provides tangible benefits for all Americans.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, the agency completed 2,127 civil enforcement cases (the highest in nine years), each resolving violations and noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations. This resulted in:

Reducing, treating, or eliminating nearly 116 million pounds of pollution in our nation’s air, land, and water;
Assessing over $650 million in civil penalties;
Obtaining commitments of over $6.4 billion to return facilities to compliance; and
Preventing/removing illegal imports into the country, including preventing entry of nearly 1.4 million pounds of illegal pesticide.

These civil enforcement cases ensured compliance with environmental laws and their regulations including the:

Clean Air Act (CAA) and the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act to reduce toxic and dangerous air pollutants, resulting in cleaner air for all Americans.
Clean Water Act (CWA) to reduce discharges and pollutants impacting our nation’s waters, resulting in cleaner water for all Americans.
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to safeguard the public’s access to safe drinking water and ensure compliance with regulations to protect against lead exposure.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to ensure proper identification, handling, management, and disposal of hazardous waste to safeguard communities and the environment.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to regulate the distribution, sale, use, and production of pesticides and pesticide devices to ensure that they do not pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment.
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to regulate the management of chemical substances to protect the public against toxic exposure.
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) to ensure emergency responders and the public know about chemical hazards in the community and that facilities handling hazardous chemicals appropriately plan for emergencies.

Protecting our borders

The EPA is committed to protecting U.S. borders by enforcing environmental regulations that apply to imported good and products. The agency plays a critical enforcement role by taking legal action against companies that violate these environmental laws and regulations, such as those involved in illegal importation and misrepresentation of emissions data. Through these enforcement efforts, the EPA aims to safeguard the health of communities across the nation.

Case Highlights

CEMEX Construction Materials Pacific

Cemex mining operations discharging into the Truckee River.

In July 2025, EPA reached a settlement with CEMEX Construction Materials Pacific, LLC for violating the CWA through the unpermitted wastewater and industrial stormwater discharges from its sand and gravel mine located on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Reservation in Wadsworth, Nevada. Under the settlement, the company paid a $310,000 penalty and agreed to work to restore the floodplain and riparian habitat within the Truckee River Watershed.

Read more: EPA Acts to Protect Truckee River Watershed press release.

Manitowoc Company, Inc.

In March 2025, EPA reached a settlement with Manitowoc Company, Inc., a Wisconsin-based manufacturer and importer of mobile cranes, and two subsidiaries for violating the Clean Air Act’s mobile sources regulations related to the sale of cranes with falsely certified diesel engines. Manitowoc will pay a $42.6 million civil penalty and take other corrective action. Manitowoc’s unlawful import and sale of at least 1,032 noncompliant engines resulted in excess diesel exhaust emissions, which contain pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter and contribute to the formation of dangerous ground-level ozone. This settlement underscores EPA’s commitment to enforcing the law, protecting public health, and ensuring a level playing field for manufacturers who comply with the CAA.

Clearwater Paper Corporation

In February 2025, EPA reached a settlement with Clearwater Paper Corporation of Lewiston, Idaho, to resolve violations of the CAA’s Risk Management Program for failure to properly initiate an investigation following a chlorine release. The release was large enough to cause evacuations at the facility and resulted in employees seeking medical attention after exposure. The company also failed to establish and implement written mechanical integrity procedures for process equipment; to conduct required annual coordination with local emergency planning and response organizations; and to include required elements in its emergency response program. Clearwater will pay a $440,393 penalty as a result of these violations. Adherence to RMP requirements is essential to prevent catastrophic releases; respond to and investigate accidents when they occur; and protect workers, nearby communities, and emergency responders.

Costco Wholesale Corp.

In May 2025, EPA reached a settlement with Costco Wholesale Corp. for violating FIFRA through the illegal import of antimicrobial work gloves and misbranded air filters. The antimicrobial gloves were sold at one of its retail stores in Danville, California. The gloves were treated with an EPA registered antimicrobial pesticide product but made claims beyond those permitted under FIFRA’s treated articles exemption. Costco agreed to pay a $3.1 million civil penalty, one of the largest penalties assessed under FIFRA. The settlement also addresses Costco’s failure to file required Notices of Arrival when importing the air filters into the United States and selling the air filters after EPA had issued a FIFRA Stop Sale, Use, or Removal Order.