Earlier this month the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual report on enforcement and compliance actions. The report chronicles fiscal year 2013 and highlights the $5.6 billion in fines, restitution, civil penalties, and court-ordered projects EPA collected through civil and criminal actions. This figure includes the $3.7 billion EPA collected as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill. The report also provides a breakdown of trends in enforcement actions, noting that EPA initiated some 500 fewer civil cases in 2013. This continues a downward trend in the number enforcement actions—a trend that EPA projects will continue, as we have previously reported.
Real Estate Developers, It’s Time to Get Personal with Your Investors
The reporting requirements of the new Corporate Transparency Act are in effect as of January 1, 2024. The Act presents a new administrative burden for