1374 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 

1Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, a penalty is a civil 

monetary penalty if (among other things) it is for 

a specific monetary amount or has a maximum 

amount specified by Federal law. Title IV also 

provides (in section 4007) for penalties for late 

payment of premiums, but those penalties are 

neither in a specified amount nor subject to a 

specified maximum amount. 

2Sec. 701, Public Law 114–74, 129 Stat. 599–601 

(Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015). 

3See M–25–02, Implementation of Penalty 

Inflation Adjustments for 2025, Pursuant to the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015, https://

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ 

M-25-02.pdf. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00195 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Parts 4071 and 4302 

RIN 1212–AB45 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties for 

Inflation 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation is required to amend its 

regulations annually to adjust for 

inflation the maximum civil penalty for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and for 

failure to provide certain multiemployer 

plan notices. 

DATES: 

Effective date: This rule is effective 

January 8, 2025. 

Applicability date: The increases in 

the civil monetary penalties under 

sections 4071 and 4302 of the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act 

provided for in this rule apply to such 

penalties assessed after January 8, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Levin (levin.karen@pbgc.gov), 

Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 

445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 

20024–2101; 202–229–3559. If you are 

deaf or hard of hearing or have a speech 

disability, please dial 7–1–1 to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary 

Purpose of the Regulatory Action 

This rule is needed to carry out the 

requirements of the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of 

Management and Budget guidance M– 

25–02. The rule adjusts, as required for 

2025, the maximum civil penalties 

under 29 CFR 4071 and 29 CFR 4302 

that the Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation (PBGC) may assess for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and certain 

multiemployer plan notices. PBGC’s 

legal authority for this action comes 

from the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as 

amended by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015 and from sections 

4002(b)(3), 4071, and 4302 of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA). 

Major Provisions of the Regulatory 

Action 

This rule adjusts as required by law 

the maximum civil penalties that PBGC 

may assess under sections 4071 and 

4302 of ERISA. The new maximum 

amounts are $2,739 for section 4071 

penalties and $365 for section 4302 

penalties. 

Background 

PBGC administers title IV of ERISA. 

Title IV has two provisions that 

authorize PBGC to assess civil monetary 

penalties.1 Section 4302, added to 

ERISA by the Multiemployer Pension 

Plan Amendments Act of 1980, 

authorizes PBGC to assess a civil 

penalty of up to $100 a day for failure 

to provide a notice under subtitle E of 

title IV of ERISA (dealing with 

multiemployer plans). Section 4071, 

added to ERISA by the Omnibus Budget 

Reconciliation Act of 1987, authorizes 

PBGC to assess a civil penalty of up to 

$1,000 a day for failure to provide a 

notice or other material information 

under subtitles A, B, and C of title IV 

and sections 303(k)(4) and 306(g)(4) of 

title I of ERISA. 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties 

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015,2 requires agencies to adjust civil 

monetary penalties for inflation and to 

publish the adjustments in the Federal 

Register. An initial adjustment was 

required to be made by interim final 

rule published by July 1, 2016, and 

effective by August 1, 2016. Subsequent 

adjustments must be published by 

January 15 each year after 2016. 

On December 17, 2024, the Office of 

Management and Budget issued 

memorandum M–25–02 on 

implementation of the 2025 annual 

inflation adjustment.3 The 

memorandum provides agencies with 

the cost-of-living adjustment multiplier 

for 2025, which is based on the 

Consumer Price Index (CPI–U) for the 

month of October 2024, not seasonally 

adjusted. The multiplier for 2025 is 

1.02598. The adjusted maximum 

amounts are $2,739 for section 4071 

penalties and $365 for section 4302 

penalties. 

Compliance With Regulatory 

Requirements 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that this rule is not a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

Executive Order 12866 and therefore not 

subject to its review. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

also has determined that notice and 

public comment on this final rule are 

unnecessary because the adjustment of 

civil penalties implemented in the rule 

is required by law. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

Because no general notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required for this rule, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 does 

not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 601(2). 

List of Subjects 

29 CFR Part 4071 

Penalties. 

29 CFR Part 4302 

Penalties. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

PBGC amends 29 CFR parts 4071 and 

4302 as follows: 

PART 4071—PENALTIES FOR 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 

NOTICES OR OTHER MATERIAL 

INFORMATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4071 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as 

amended by sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 

Stat. 599–601; 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1371. 

§ 4071.34071.3 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 4071.3, remove the number 

‘‘$2,670’’ and add in its place the 

number ‘‘$2,739’’. 

PART 4302—PENALTIES FOR 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 

MULTIEMPLOYER PLAN NOTICES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 4302 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as 

amended by sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 

Stat. 599–601; 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1452. 

§ 4302.34302.3 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 4302.3, remove the number 

‘‘$356’’ and add in its place the number 

‘‘$365’’. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 1375 

1The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment 

Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Section 701 of Pub. 

L.114–74) was signed into law on November 2, 

2015, and amended the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. 

2Under Section 3(2)(A) of the 2015 Act, a ‘‘ ‘civil 

monetary penalty’ [is] any penalty, fine or other 

sanction that- is for a specific monetary amount as 

provided by Federal law; or has a maximum 

amount provided for by Federal law.’’ EPAadministered statutes generally refer to statutory 

maximum penalties, with the following exceptions: 

Section 311(b)(7)(D) of the Clean Water Act, 33 

U.S.C. 1321(b)(7)(D), refers to a minimum penalty 

of ‘‘not less than $100,000 . . .’’; Section 

104b(d)(1)(A) of the Marine Protection, Research, 

and Sanctuaries Act, 33 U.S.C. 1414b(d)(1)(A), 

refers to an exact penalty of $600 ‘‘[f]or each dry 

ton (or equivalent) of sewage sludge or industrial 

waste dumped or transported by the person in 

violation of this subsection in calendar year 1992 

. . .’’; and Section 325(d)(1) of the Emergency 

Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, 42 

U.S.C. 11045(d)(1), refers to an exact civil penalty 

of $25,000 for each frivolous trade secret claim. 

3Current and historical CPI–Us can be found on 

the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ websites here: 

https://www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/supplemental-files/ 

historical-cpi-u-202410.pdf and https://

www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm. 

4Section 5(b) of the 2015 Act provides that the 

term ‘‘cost-of-living adjustment’’ means the 

percentage (if any) for each civil monetary penalty 

by which— 

(A) the Consumer Price Index for the month of 

October preceding the date of the adjustment, 

exceeds 

(B) the Consumer Price Index for the month of 

October 1 year before the month of October referred 

to in subparagraph (A). 

Because the CPI–U for October 2024 is 315.664 

and the CPI–U for October 2023 is 307.671, the costof-living multiplier is 1.02598 (315.664 divided by 

307.671). 

Issued in Washington, DC, by 

Ann Y. Orr, 

Acting Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00211 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–02–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 19 

[FRL–5906.9–01–OECA] 

Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation 

Adjustment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is promulgating this final 

rule to adjust the level of the maximum 

and minimum statutory civil monetary 

penalty amounts under the statutes the 

EPA administers. This action is 

mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as 

amended through the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 (‘‘the 2015 

Act’’). The 2015 Act prescribes a 

formula for annually adjusting the 

statutory maximum and minimum 

amount of civil monetary penalties to 

reflect inflation, maintain the deterrent 

effect of statutory civil monetary 

penalties, and promote compliance with 

the law. The rule does not establish 

specific civil monetary penalty amounts 

the EPA may seek in particular cases. 

The EPA calculates those amounts, as 

appropriate, based on the facts of 

particular cases and applicable agency 

penalty policies. The EPA’s civil 

penalty policies, which guide 

enforcement personnel on how to 

exercise the EPA’s discretion within 

statutory penalty authorities, take into 

account a number of fact-specific 

considerations, e.g., the seriousness of 

the violation, the violator’s good faith 

efforts to comply, any economic benefit 

gained by the violator as a result of its 

noncompliance, and the violator’s 

ability to pay. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

January 8, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Smith-Watts, Office of Civil 

Enforcement, Office of Enforcement and 

Compliance Assurance, Mail Code 

2241A, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone 

number: (202) 564–4083; smithwatts.david@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The 2015 Act 1 requires each Federal 

agency to adjust the statutory civil 

monetary penalties under the laws 

implemented by that agency annually, 

to account for inflation. Section 4 of the 

2015 Act requires each Federal agency 

to publish these adjustments by January 

15 of each year. The purpose of the 2015 

Act is to maintain the deterrent effect of 

civil monetary penalties by translating 

originally enacted statutory civil penalty 

amounts to today’s dollars and rounding 

statutory civil penalties to the nearest 

dollar. 

Since January 15, 2017, the EPA has 

made eight annual adjustments: (1) on 

January 12, 2017, effective on January 

15, 2017 (82 FR 3633); (2) on January 10, 

2018, effective on January 15, 2018 (83 

FR 1190); (3) on February 6, 2019, 

effective the same day (84 FR 2056), 

with a subsequent correction on 

February 25, 2019 (84 FR 5955); (4) on 

January 13, 2020, effective the same day 

(85 FR 1751); (5) on December 23, 2020, 

effective the same day (85 FR 83818); (6) 

on January 12, 2022, effective the same 

day (87 FR 1676); (7) on January 6, 2023, 

effective the same day (88 FR 986); and 

(8) on December 27, 2023, effective the 

same day (88 FR 89309). This rule 

implements the ninth annual 

adjustment mandated by the 2015 Act. 

The 2015 Act provides a formula for 

calculating the adjustments. Each 

statutory maximum and minimum 2

civil monetary penalty, as currently 

adjusted, is multiplied by the cost-ofliving adjustment multiplier, which is 

the percentage by which the Consumer 

Price Index for all Urban Consumers 

(CPI–U) for the month of October 2024 

exceeds the CPI–U for the month of 

October 2023.3

With this rule, the new statutory 

maximum and minimum penalty levels 

listed in the third column of Table 1 of 

40 CFR 19.4 will apply to all civil 

monetary penalties assessed on or after 

January 8, 2025, for violations that 

occurred after November 2, 2015, the 

date the 2015 Act was enacted. The 

former maximum and minimum 

statutory civil monetary penalty levels, 

which are in the fourth column of Table 

1 to 40 CFR 19.4, will now apply only 

to violations that occurred after 

November 2, 2015, where the penalties 

were assessed on or after December 27, 

2023, but before January 8, 2025. The 

statutory civil monetary penalty levels 

that apply to violations that occurred on 

or before November 2, 2015, are codified 

at Table 2 to 40 CFR 19.4. The fifth 

column of Table 1 and the seventh 

column of Table 2 display the statutory 

civil monetary penalty levels as 

originally enacted. 

The formula for determining the costof-living or inflation adjustment to 

statutory civil monetary penalties 

consists of the following steps: 

Step 1: The cost-of-living adjustment 

multiplier for 2025 is the percentage by 

which the CPI–U of October 2024 

(315.664) exceeds the CPI–U for the 

month of October 2023 (307.671), which 

is 1.02598.4 Multiply 1.02598 by the 

current penalty amount. This is the raw 

adjusted penalty value. 

Step 2: Round the raw adjusted 

penalty value. Section 5 of the 2015 Act 

states that any adjustment shall be 

rounded to the nearest multiple of $1. 

The result is the final penalty value for 

the year. 

II. The 2015 Act Requires Federal 

Agencies To Publish Annual Penalty 

Inflation Adjustments Notwithstanding 

Section 553 of the Administrative 

Procedure Act 

Pursuant to section 4 of the 2015 Act, 

each Federal agency is required to 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1