EPA Consent Decree Tracker

Wuanita Swedlund, an Iowa dog breeder, repeatedly denied USDA APHIS inspectors access to her facility, animals, and records on at least seven occasions over ten months. She accumulated at least 25 AWA violations including puppy deaths, failure to treat animal injuries and medical conditions, feces-covered enclosures, and denial of drinking water to dogs. A federal court issued a temporary restraining order to compel access, after which inspectors found dozens more violations and 32 dogs were seized and placed in a local animal shelter.

Several groups filed suit to compel the EPA to initiate a rulemaking to ban the use of hydrogen fluoride in oil refining, after EPA denied an administrative petition seeking the same ban. The Justice Department, on behalf of EPA, moved to dismiss the case, arguing plaintiffs failed to demonstrate standing and failed to state a claim under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The court agreed, finding plaintiffs did not show a credible threat of harm to their members from accidental hydrogen fluoride releases at nearby refineries.

Plaintiffs challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to grant exemptions and license amendments to Holtec Decommissioning International LLC to restart the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan. The court dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the Hobbs Act vests exclusive jurisdiction over final NRC licensing orders in the U.S. Courts of Appeals, not the district court. This case did not involve environmental violations by a defendant but rather a legal challenge to a regulatory exemption decision.

Chemours owned and operated three manufacturing facilities—Washington Works (WV), Fayetteville Works (NC), and Chambers Works (NJ)—that released per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the environment in violation of the Clean Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the West Virginia Pollution Control Act. The releases contaminated surface waters and the drinking water of tens of thousands of people near the facilities. Specific violations included unlawful discharges, failure to comply with TSCA reporting and new use requirements, and improper hazardous waste management.

This press release does not describe a specific enforcement action against a defendant. It announces the renaming of the Environment and Natural Resources Division to the Energy and Natural Resources Division and summarizes the division's recent litigation priorities, including domestic energy support and various environmental enforcement actions.

Carlton Lenard Adams maintained 78 pit bull-type fighting dogs across three properties in Bessemer and Adger, Alabama, subjecting them to brutal conditions including scarring, injuries, and extreme neglect. He pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing dogs for fighting purposes and two counts of possessing firearms as a convicted felon, including a 'Street Sweeper' shotgun classified as a destructive device under federal law. Law enforcement also recovered training equipment, veterinary supplies, and other tools associated with operating a dog fighting operation.

A lawsuit was filed challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service's 2025 biological opinion and incidental take statement for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed the case as moot after the Endangered Species Committee unanimously exempted all Gulf of America oil and gas activities from the Endangered Species Act on national security grounds. With the exemption in place, the challenged biological opinion and incidental take statement retained no legal force, leaving no live controversy for the court to resolve.

Robert Craig, of Charlotte, North Carolina, conspired to create and distribute animal crush videos depicting extreme violence, torture, and sexual abuse against monkeys. He used encrypted chat applications to share and discuss the obscene videos with co-conspirators. Craig pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and was sentenced to 28 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

The Chemours Company allegedly discharged PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from three of its facilities in West Virginia, North Carolina, and New Jersey into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River, and Delaware River in violation of Clean Water Act permits and the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act. Chemours also allegedly failed to comply with Toxic Substances Control Act requirements at all four of its facilities. These violations continued for over a decade, exposing surrounding communities to illegal PFAS contamination.

Private litigants sued xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech LLC alleging violations of Clean Air Act permitting requirements related to the power source for a large AI data facility in Southaven, Mississippi. The State of Mississippi, which administers the permitting program, had determined no permit was required. The plaintiffs sought an injunction and damages to effectively shut down the facility.

On March 20, 2018, Gold Creek Foods, LLC released the contents of a 55-gallon drum of ferric chloride, a hazardous substance, through the on-site stormwater system at its chicken processing facility in Dawsonville, Georgia, into Flat Creek. The release injured natural resources in Flat Creek, including the Cherokee darter and other aquatic species. The United States and the State of Georgia brought claims under CERCLA Section 107 for natural resource damages and damage assessment costs.

This press release does not concern an environmental violation. The Justice Department filed a 'friendly condemnation' action to transfer over 45,000 acres of Arizona state trust lands to the United States to be held in trust for the Hopi Tribe, pursuant to the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996. The filing is part of a series of condemnation actions intended to ultimately bring over 270,000 acres into united ownership for the benefit of the Hopi Tribe.

U.S. Borax, Inc. is alleged to be liable under CERCLA section 107 for releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances at the Armour Road Superfund Site, a approximately 1.8-acre property located at 2251 Armour Road in North Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri. The United States seeks reimbursement of past response costs incurred by EPA and DOJ and performance of a remedial action consistent with the National Contingency Plan. The State of Missouri also seeks recovery of state response costs under the Missouri Hazardous Waste Cleanup Law and the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law.

Applied Partners LLC illegally handled regulated asbestos containing material (RACM) during the demolition of a structure called the Power House at a defunct industrial site in Saginaw, Michigan in 2019. Despite knowing RACM remained in the structure, the company directed workers to use heavy machinery to demolish it without following required asbestos work practice standards under the Clean Air Act. Demolition only ceased after regulators performed sampling and notified the company that remediation was required before work could continue.

Hugh T. Campbell conspired with others to create and distribute 'animal crush' videos depicting sadistic violence and sexual abuse against monkeys, in violation of the federal anti-animal crush law. Campbell and co-conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct payments to individuals in Indonesia to carry out acts of torture on camera. The case does not involve a traditional environmental statute but rather the federal prohibition on animal crush videos.

Defendants KX Wheels, 658736 B.C. LTD, Philip Sweeney, and Stuart McKeown sold and offered for sale aftermarket performance products intended to bypass, defeat, or render inoperative motor vehicle emission control devices or elements of design, in violation of Section 203(a)(3)(B) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7522(a)(3)(B). EPA issued a Notice of Violation on April 21, 2021, alleging that defendants had been selling such products since at least January 1, 2019. Each part or component sold in violation of the Act constitutes a separate violation subject to civil penalties.

Plaintiffs challenged President Trump's executive orders related to unleashing American energy, declaring a national energy emergency, and reinvigorating the clean coal industry. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the case, finding that plaintiffs lacked standing because they failed to establish that the executive orders caused any cognizable injury or that any such injury could be redressed by the courts. This is not an enforcement action against a polluter but rather a defensive litigation matter involving challenges to presidential energy directives.

A coalition of environmental groups challenged the U.S. Forest Service's January 2025 approval of the Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho's Boise and Payette National Forests. The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to halt construction of the project's access route and related facilities before scheduled work began. The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho denied the motion, finding plaintiffs had not made the required clear showing of imminent, irreparable harm.

This press release does not concern an enforcement action against a defendant. Rather, it describes a court ruling upholding the U.S. Forest Service's Mud Creek Project in the Bitterroot National Forest, which involves prescribed burns, fuel reduction treatments, and commercial timber harvest. Plaintiffs had challenged the project under NEPA, NFMA, and the ESA, but the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana found the project compliant with all three statutes.

Christopher Burdett, owner of a Florida-based biofuel company, conspired with General Manager Royce Gillham to vastly overstate their biodiesel production volumes when reporting to the IRS and EPA, generating over $7 million in fraudulent renewable fuel credits and seeking over $6 million in fraudulent tax credits. When auditors sought more information, Burdett and Gillham provided false information about their fuel production and customers. Burdett pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and to file false claims.

Jose Manuel Perez smuggled at least 1,700 reptiles and other wildlife into the United States from Mexico, Hong Kong, and elsewhere over a six-year period without obtaining required CITES permits or declaring the imported animals. Perez and co-conspirators used social media to buy, sell, and advertise the smuggled animals, which included endangered species such as Yucatán box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles, and Mexican beaded lizards taken from the wild. The total fair market value of the illegally imported animals exceeded $739,000.

Brek Pilling is alleged to be a responsible party under CERCLA Section 107(a) for the release or threatened release of hazardous substances, specifically asbestos, at the Burley Demolition Asbestos Superfund Site located at 1222 and 1226 Overland Avenue in Burley, Cassia County, Idaho. EPA undertook response actions at the Site and incurred response costs for which Pilling is alleged to be jointly and severally liable. Pilling does not admit liability but agreed to settle to avoid prolonged litigation.

Joel Brown, of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to keeping 11 pit bull-type dogs for fighting purposes in Franklin County, Ohio. He also admitted to possessing at least 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Law enforcement recovered dogs showing signs of fighting, along with drug distribution paraphernalia, a shotgun, and dog-fighting equipment from his property.

Francisco Javier Ravelo owned and administered multiple invitation-only online chat groups dedicated to distributing videos depicting extreme sexual violence and mutilation of monkeys, in violation of the federal Animal Crushing statute. He pleaded guilty to distributing more than 40 so-called 'animal crush videos' and was found to have served as a leader and organizer of these groups. He was sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Former managers at Onsite Environmental, a waste pre-treatment facility in Nashville, Tennessee, conspired to bypass the facility's waste pretreatment systems and discharge untreated industrial waste and landfill leachate directly into the Nashville sewer system in late 2022 and early 2023. They also directed employees to tamper with a monitoring device installed by Nashville's Department of Water and Sewerage Services by placing its sampling hose into a bucket of clean water to conceal the actual nature of the discharges. The illegal discharges clogged and damaged Nashville's sewer infrastructure, causing over $80,000 in maintenance and repair costs.

Plaintiffs challenged BOEM's decision that Sable Offshore Corp. was not required to revise its development and production plan for the Santa Ynez Unit under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The court dismissed the complaint, finding that the plaintiffs' asserted procedural injury had no basis in the statute, was not traceable to any BOEM action, and could not be redressed by a court order. The plaintiffs had also invoked a statutory provision governing approval of new plans rather than revision of existing ones.

The Oregon Natural Desert Association sued the Air Force alleging it illegally discharged countermeasures — chaff and flares — from fighter jets into waterways over the Paradise North area of eastern Oregon without a Clean Water Act permit. The Air Force denied a permit was required, citing a presidential exemption for its fighter jet training operations in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the suit following that exemption determination.

Donald Do conspired to illegally export 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Taiwan by submitting false paperwork to obtain a federal export permit, falsely claiming he had hatched and raised the turtles. He purchased wild-caught musk turtles poached from Florida and elsewhere, and attempted to obtain additional turtles from a co-conspirator in Louisiana. Do also attempted to conceal his role by lying to his California co-conspirator about having sold the turtles to domestic buyers.

Sunseeker International Limited and Sunseeker USA Sales Co. Inc. pleaded guilty to two violations of the Lacey Act for importing and using illegally obtained Burmese Teak on luxury yachts sold in the United States. The teak originated from Myanmar's Myanma Timber Enterprise, which is subject to U.S. sanctions, making all transactions involving its timber prohibited. The illegal teak was incorporated into yacht components and two yachts valued at approximately $2.98 million and $1.07 million respectively.

The M/V Dali, operated by Synergy Marine and Synergy Maritime, lost power twice in four minutes while departing the Port of Baltimore due to unauthorized modifications to the vessel's fuel supply system, causing it to crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. The crash killed six construction workers, destroyed the bridge, and discharged pollutants including oil, shipping containers, and their contents into the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay. The defendants are also charged with obstructing the NTSB investigation and making false statements about the vessel's fuel pump configuration.

Defendants discharged oil, including oily bilge water, from the commercial fishing vessel Amelia Joyce into waters of the United States, including the Acushnet River at Fairhaven Harbor, in violation of Section 311(b)(3) of the Clean Water Act. Additionally, Defendants failed to equip the vessel with required pollution control equipment as mandated by 33 C.F.R. § 155.420(a), and William E. Mullis owned four other corporations each operating vessels in the same size class that also lacked the required pollution control equipment.

The Kroger Co. and its wholly owned subsidiaries violated Section 608 of the Clean Air Act and EPA's Subpart F Regulations by failing to comply with leak repair and recordkeeping requirements for commercial refrigeration appliances, comfort cooling appliances, and industrial process refrigeration units containing ozone-depleting substances at its grocery stores and manufacturing facilities. EPA issued a Finding of Violation in April 2020 after information requests revealed widespread noncompliance across thousands of appliances at hundreds of locations. Kroger subsequently conducted a self-evaluation identifying appliances with high cumulative leak rates and completed initial response actions prior to lodging of the consent decree.

Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corporation (successor to AK Steel Corporation) released hazardous waste at its Middletown Works facility, a 2,600-acre integrated steel mill in Middletown, Ohio. The facility's closed landfills historically received industrial wastewater treatment sludges, steel production process sludges, and slag, causing contamination requiring long-term corrective measures under RCRA. The consent decree requires Cliffs to implement EPA-approved corrective measures at multiple site areas to achieve long-term protection of human health and the environment.

DC Water's Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed in January 2026, resulting in the unauthorized discharge of more than 200 million gallons of raw, untreated sewage into the Potomac River. DC Water failed to properly operate and maintain its sewer system in compliance with the Clean Water Act and its permits, allowing untreated sewage to enter the Potomac River, its tributaries, and areas with risk of human contact. An additional 500,000 gallons were discharged on February 8 when diversion pumps clogged and had to be shut down.

From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Ford Motor Company disposed of paint sludge and other industrial waste from its Mahwah, New Jersey automobile assembly plant at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill site. This disposal contributed to contamination of soil, groundwater, surface water, and mine shafts with benzene, 1,4-dioxane, and lead. The contaminated groundwater poses an unacceptable health risk to nearby communities and threatens the Wanaque Reservoir, a drinking water source for over two million New Jersey residents.

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. invalidly generated over 2.2 million advanced biofuel production credits (Renewable Identification Numbers or RINs) on renewable diesel that had previously been used for RIN generation, in violation of the Clean Air Act's Renewable Fuel Standard program. This occurred from January 2022 through August 2022, and the invalid RINs were sold to third parties, constituting impermissible double-counting under the RFS program. The RFS program prohibits generating RINs more than once on any volume of renewable fuel to prevent double counting.