42 U.S.C. § 6928 — Federal enforcement

(a) Compliance orders. (1) Unless paragraph (2) applies, when information leads the Administrator^* to determine that a person^* has violated or is violating a requirement of this subchapter, the Administrator may issue an order. The order may assess a civil penalty for a past or current violation, require compliance immediately or within a stated period, or do both. The Administrator may instead bring a civil action in the United States district court for the district where the violation occurred and seek appropriate relief, including a temporary or permanent injunction. (2) If the violation occurred in a State^* authorized to carry out a hazardous-waste program under section 6926, the Administrator must notify that State before issuing an order or bringing a civil action under this section. (3) An order may suspend or revoke a permit issued by the Administrator or a State under this subchapter. The order must state the nature of the violation with reasonable specificity. A penalty assessed in the order may not exceed $25,000 for each day of noncompliance for each violation of a requirement of this subchapter. When assessing the penalty, the Administrator must consider how serious the violation is and any good-faith efforts to comply with the applicable requirements.
(b) Public hearing. An order issued under this section becomes final unless the person or persons named in it request a public hearing no later than 30 days after the order is served. If they request a hearing, the Administrator must promptly conduct one. In a proceeding under this section, the Administrator may issue subpoenas requiring witnesses to attend and testify and requiring the production of relevant papers, books, and documents. The Administrator may also issue rules for discovery procedures.
(c) Violation of compliance orders. If a violator does not take corrective action within the time stated in a compliance order, the Administrator may assess a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day that the violator continues not to comply with the order. The Administrator may also suspend or revoke any permit issued to the violator, whether the permit was issued by the Administrator or the State.
(d) Criminal penalties. Upon conviction, a person who knowingly does any of the following is subject to a fine of not more than $50,000 for each day of violation, imprisonment for not more than two years, or both: (1) Transports, or causes to be transported, any hazardous waste^* identified or listed under this subchapter to a facility that does not have a permit under this subchapter or under title I of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (86 Stat. 1052) [33 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.]. (2) Treats, stores, or disposes of any hazardous waste identified or listed under this subchapter—(A) without a permit under this subchapter or title I of that Act; (B) in knowing violation of a material condition or requirement of such a permit; or (C) in knowing violation of a material condition or requirement of applicable interim-status regulations or standards. (3) Omits material information or makes a false material statement or representation in an application, label, manifest^*, record, report, permit, or other document that is filed, maintained, or used to comply with regulations issued by the Administrator, or by a State when it has an authorized State program, under this subchapter. (4) Generates, stores, treats, transports, disposes of, exports, or otherwise handles any hazardous waste or any used oil^* not identified or listed as hazardous waste under this subchapter, whether the activity happened before or after November 8, 1984, and knowingly destroys, alters, conceals, or fails to file any record, application, manifest, report, or other document required to be maintained or filed to comply with regulations issued by the Administrator, or by a State when it has an authorized State program, under this subchapter. (5) Transports, or causes to be transported, without a manifest any hazardous waste or used oil not identified or listed as hazardous waste under this subchapter when regulations issued under this subchapter require the waste or oil to be accompanied by a manifest. (6) Exports any hazardous waste identified or listed under this subchapter—(A) without the receiving country’s consent; or (B) when an international agreement between the United States and the receiving country establishes notice, export, and enforcement procedures for transporting, treating, storing, and disposing of hazardous waste, in a way that does not conform to that agreement. (7) Stores, treats, transports, or causes to be transported, disposes of, or otherwise handles any used oil not identified or listed as hazardous waste under this subchapter—(A) in knowing violation of a material condition or requirement of a permit under this subchapter; or (B) in knowing violation of a material condition or requirement of an applicable regulation or standard under this chapter. For a conviction for a violation committed after the person’s first conviction under this paragraph, the maximum punishment under the relevant paragraph is doubled for both the fine and the imprisonment. For a violation of paragraph (1) or (2), imprisonment may be for not more than five years.
(e) Knowing endangerment. Upon conviction, a person who knowingly transports, treats, stores, disposes of, or exports any hazardous waste identified or listed under this subchapter, or used oil not identified or listed as hazardous waste under this subchapter, in violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7) of subsection (d), and who knows at that time that this places another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, is subject to a fine of not more than $250,000, imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or both. An organization convicted of violating this subsection is subject to a fine of not more than $1,000,000.
(f) Special rules. For subsection (e): (1) A person’s state of mind is knowing about—(A) the person’s conduct, if the person is aware of the nature of the conduct; (B) an existing circumstance, if the person is aware of or believes that the circumstance exists; or (C) a result of the person’s conduct, if the person is aware of or believes that the conduct is substantially certain to cause danger of death or serious bodily injury. (2) To decide whether a defendant who is a natural person knew that the defendant’s conduct placed another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, the defendant is responsible only for the actual awareness or actual belief the defendant had. Knowledge held by someone other than the defendant, but not by the defendant, cannot be attributed to the defendant. However, circumstantial evidence may be used to prove that the defendant had actual knowledge, including evidence that the defendant took affirmative steps to shield themself from relevant information. (3) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution that the endangered person consented to the charged conduct and that the danger and charged conduct were reasonably foreseeable hazards of—(A) an occupation, business, or profession; or (B) medical treatment^* or medical or scientific experimentation conducted by professionally approved methods—and that the other person was made aware of the risks involved before giving consent. The defendant may establish this affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence. (4) All general defenses, affirmative defenses, and bars to prosecution that may apply to other Federal criminal offenses may also apply under subsection (e). United States courts must determine them according to common-law principles as those principles may be interpreted in light of reason and experience. Concepts of justification and excuse that apply under this section may be developed in light of reason and experience. (5) “Organization” means a legal entity, other than a government, established or organized for any purpose. The term includes a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, joint stock company, foundation, institution, trust, society, union, or any other association of persons. (6) “Serious bodily injury” means—(A) bodily injury involving a substantial risk of death; (B) unconsciousness; (C) extreme physical pain; (D) protracted and obvious disfigurement; or (E) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
(g) Civil penalty. A person who violates any requirement of this subchapter is liable to the United States for a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each violation. For this subsection, each day of the violation is a separate violation.
(h) Interim-status corrective-action orders. (1) When information leads the Administrator to determine that there is or has been a release of hazardous waste into the environment from a facility authorized to operate under section 6925(e), the Administrator may issue an order requiring corrective action or another response measure the Administrator considers necessary to protect human health or the environment. The Administrator may instead bring a civil action in the United States district court for the district where the facility is located and seek appropriate relief, including a temporary or permanent injunction. (2) An order under this subsection may suspend or revoke authorization to operate under section 6925(e). It must state with reasonable specificity the required corrective action or other response measure and set a time for compliance. If a person named in the order does not comply, the Administrator may assess a civil penalty, and that person is liable to the United States for a civil penalty, of not more than $25,000 for each day of noncompliance with the order. This section does not define “Administrator,” “person,” “requirement,” “hazardous waste,” “used oil,” “facility,” “permit,” “manifest,” “interim status,” “civil penalty,” “corrective action,” “response measure,” “appropriate relief,” “injunction,” “reasonable specificity,” “good faith,” “public hearing,” “discovery,” “imminent danger,” or “material condition or requirement.”