Remember Captain Planet?
If not, I’ll fill you in: Back in the 90s, there was a Saturday morning cartoon about a group of kids known as the Planeteers who fought against pollution with magical rings imbued with 5 natural elements—Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and “Heart.” When the Planeteers faced a problem they couldn’t solve by themselves, they would combine their rings to summon a blue-skinned, green-mulleted superhero named Captain Planet. The character was a kind of environmentalist Superman who represented the idea that the only way to protect the planet is to work together.
(Oh, and the show had a killer theme song.)
Anyway, Captain Planet will soon turn 30 years old (as many of its viewers already have—sorry, millennials, but age comes for us all). And either someone at the Environmental Protection Agency is a 90s kid, or the spirit of that green mullet is alive and well, because the EPA has been ramping up enforcement of late.
EHS Daily Advisor reports that in the past 3 months, the EPA has finalized 158 settlement agreements with companies throughout the United States. That’s about 1.5 times as many enforcement actions as the previous quarter.
Noteworthy cases include the following:
- A heavy equipment manufacturer is on the hook for roughly $47 million for violating Title II (Emissions Standards for Moving Sources) of the Clean Air Act.
- A Pennsylvania company faces a $1.49 million penalty “for selling unregistered pesticide products, selling a registered pesticide whose claims differ from claims made in the EPA registration, and selling a misbranded pesticide.”
- A New Jersey company will soon pay nearly half a million dollars for failing to comply with the Toxic Substances Control Act Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood.
Read more about these and other recent EPA regulatory actions in “EPA Deals Out Big Fines in Q3.”
Whether you’re dealing with the EPA or a plucky band of youngsters with magical rings, don’t let your company become the next villain of the week. KPA’s on-site services can help you proactively audit your organization and address compliance issues before someone else discovers them for you. The power is yours—see how easy it is to take your risks down to zero.
