Penalties for Polluters Act

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Companies violating oil and gas rules would pay much higher fines, with money going to harmed communities.

This bill would greatly increase the fines for companies that break rules related to mineral leasing, oil, and gas. The extra money from these higher fines would then be put into a special fund. Half of this fund would go to states, tribes, and local governments harmed by violations, and the other half would help federal agencies enforce these rules.

What Would Change

Today, maximum civil penalties for violations of mineral leasing, oil, gas, and pollution laws are lower, for example, a maximum of $500,000 for certain Mineral Leasing Act violations. There is no dedicated fund to reinvest money from these penalties. If this bill becomes law, maximum penalties would increase significantly, such as to $2,700,000 for certain Mineral Leasing Act violations, and a new fund would direct excess penalty money to harmed communities and federal enforcement agencies.

Key Provisions

Increases certain maximum penalties for violations of the Mineral Leasing Act from $500,000 to $2,700,000.
Raises various daily civil penalties under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, such as from $500 to $3,000.
Establishes a new daily civil penalty of up to $360,000 for violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that threaten harm.
Increases a specific penalty under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 from $25,000 to $120,000.
Creates the "Penalty Revenue Reinvestment Fund" to collect money from the increased penalties.
Allocates 50 percent of the fund's money to states, Indian Tribes, and local governments harmed by violations.

View on Congress.gov

HR 10255 · 119th Congress · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 9/10

Penalties for Polluters Act

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity