Who was sanctioned, and for what?

In June 2022, a gear oil tank overflowed at the steelworks in Sault Ste. Marie; an estimated 1,000 to 1,250 litres of oil entered the St. Marys River, harmful to fish and migratory birds. The company pleaded guilty to two counts and is paying 1.2 million CAD into the Environmental Damages Fund; its name is listed in the Environmental Offenders Registry.

Authority / court

Ontario Court of Justice, Sault Ste. Marie (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Fisheries Act, Subsection 36(3); Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, Subsection 5.1(1)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Steel and metals

Mitigating circumstances

Guilty plea.

Published

11 Sep 2026

Original amount 1,200,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 10 Sep 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

On board the MSC Samira III, oily bilge water was pumped overboard via the sewage tank, bypassing the oily water separator, in 2024/2025; the oil content monitoring was manipulated and the oil record book, which was presented to the Coast Guard in Philadelphia, was falsified. The operator and the owner each pleaded guilty to two counts under the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and are paying a combined 1.75 million USD; in addition, there are four years of probation.

Authority / court

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Anklage: DOJ Environment and Natural Resources Division)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), 33 U.S.C. § 1908

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Transport, logistics and shipping

Employees

10,000 or more

Culpability

intentional

Published

28 Aug 2026

Original amount 1,750,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 28 Aug 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

The Oberlandesgericht (OLG, Higher Regional Court) Linz added a forfeiture of 375,000 EUR to the conviction of a limited company under the Verbandsverantwortlichkeitsgesetz (VbVG, Austrian Corporate Criminal Liability Act) for intentionally handling and moving waste in a way that endangered the environment; the suspended corporate fine of 30 daily rates of 500 EUR (15,000 EUR) imposed by the Landesgericht (Regional Court) Salzburg remained in place. From May 2021 to May 2024 and again from May 2025 to February 2026, contrary to the AWG 2002 (Waste Management Act) and partly to an official decision, the company had excavated soil, construction waste, asphalt and concrete rubble accepted for payment and deposited on a plot; removal costs were put at around 3.24 million EUR. Only the forfeiture of EUR 375,000 is recorded as the amount; the corporate fine of EUR 15,000 was conditionally suspended.

Authority / court

Oberlandesgericht Linz (Berufung gegen Urteil des Landesgerichts Salzburg vom 06.03.2026)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

§ 181b Abs. 1 und 2 StGB; §§ 3, 4 Abs. 1 und 3, § 6 Abs. 1, § 14 Abs. 1 VbVG; § 20 Abs. 3 StGB; AWG 2002

Action

Disgorgement of profits

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Culpability

intentional

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

No previous convictions of the company; rather low environmental risk. Further circumstances taken into account by the court concern a natural person and are not reported here.

Liability of senior managers

Under the VbVG, the company's liability is linked to the conduct of its managing director.

Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The EPA (Region 6) issued a Consent Agreement and Final Order against Denka Performance Elastomer over RCRA violations at its neoprene plant in LaPlace (Louisiana): missing waste determinations, breaches of land disposal restrictions and treatment and storage of hazardous waste without a permit. Denka will pay 996,703.35 USD and must clean out a brine pit and its ancillary equipment; if the currently idle plant resumes operations, further requirements apply, including on waste inventory, containers, training and protective equipment. The authority allegedly made the findings set out here; this account is not based on a final judgment.

Authority / court

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 6

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Docket RCRA-06-2025-0910

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Repeat case

yes

Published

2 Jul 2026

Original amount 996,703.35 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Jun 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

From May 2014 to May 2022, acidic effluent, effluent with elevated zinc, nickel or suspended solids content, and effluent that was acutely lethal to fish entered fish-bearing waters from the Mont-Wright mining complex and the Fire Lake mine in the Fermont region. The company pleaded guilty to 100 counts; the fine of 100 million CAD goes almost entirely to the Environmental Damages Fund, and an action plan on wastewater management must also be submitted by mid-February 2027.

Authority / court

Court of Québec (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Fisheries Act, Subsection 36(3)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Steel and metals

Published

15 May 2026

Original amount 100,000,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 15 May 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

From 2022 to 2025, the company exported containers of supposedly clean plastic that was in fact contaminated with electronic waste such as cables and circuit boards; in some cases, the waste was hidden at the back of the container, and further containers were shipped despite prohibition notices from August 2024. The company pleaded guilty and was fined 80,000 GBP; in addition, it was ordered to pay 45,000 GBP in costs and a 2,000 GBP surcharge. According to the annual accounts filed with the UK companies register for financial year 2025, the company had around 19 employees.

Authority / court

Preston Magistrates' Court (Anklage: Environment Agency)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Vorschriften zur grenzüberschreitenden Abfallverbringung (Notifizierung und Zustimmung); Verstoß gegen Untersagungsverfügungen

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Other

Employees

Under 50

Culpability

intentional

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

Guilty plea.

Published

2 Apr 2026

Original amount 80,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 24 Mar 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 5 · Direct link

The Openbaar Ministerie (OM, Dutch Public Prosecution Service) imposed penalty orders totalling 1,125,000 EUR on four companies from Barneveld that belonged to the same group at the time and are not named in the releases, consisting of 660,000 EUR in fines and 465,000 EUR in confiscation of unlawfully obtained gains. According to the OM, between 2013 and 2016 the firms accepted excessively contaminated sand, cleaned it inadequately or incorrectly and deliberately mixed it with cleaner sand for reuse, in breach of permit conditions and the Wet milieubeheer (Environmental Management Act) and involving forgery. The companies initially lodged an objection (verzet) but withdrew it, so the penalty orders are final (release of 2 July 2026).

Authority / court

Openbaar Ministerie (OM), Functioneel Parket

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Vorschriften der Umgebungsgenehmigungen (omgevingsvergunningen); Wet milieubeheer; valsheid in geschrift; Strafbefehle des OM

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Culpability

intentional

Mitigating circumstances

The companies have adapted or ceased their activities, and measures have been taken within the group.

Published

10 Mar 2026

Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Direct link

A routine inspection in 2023 found that the company was selling eyeliners containing the PFAS substance perfluorononyl dimethicone without submitting the required notification of a ‘significant new activity’; a subsequent compliance order was not complied with. The court imposed 750,000 CAD; the company must inform its shareholders and is listed in the Environmental Offenders Registry.

Authority / court

Ontario Court of Justice (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (Significant New Activity, Compliance Order)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Published

2 Feb 2026

Original amount 750,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 13 Jan 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

In 2019, as a result of an equipment defect, sodium chlorite entered the Rivière du Lièvre twelve times from the ERCO Mondial chemical plant in Gatineau; in the last incident, the authorities were only informed after five days. The company was fined 1.35 million CAD.

Authority / court

Court of Québec (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Fisheries Act (Einbringen schädlicher Stoffe; unterlassene sofortige Meldung)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Published

8 Jan 2026

Original amount 1,350,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 7 Jan 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

The metal recycler in Val-des-Sources had received an environmental protection compliance order to dispose of and destroy PCB-contaminated equipment. At a follow-up inspection in May 2024, the equipment was still on the site; the company pleaded guilty under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) and was fined 40,000 CAD.

Authority / court

Court of Québec (Anklage: Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Steel and metals

Published

18 Dec 2025

Original amount 40,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Dec 2025.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

In a second consent decree, Lowe's Home Centers undertakes to pay a civil penalty of allegedly 12,500,000 USD and to introduce a company-wide programme so that the installation firms it hires work lead-safely in homes built before 1978. The EPA had found breaches of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule on more than 250 renovation jobs in 23 states, mostly from 2019 to 2021, such as missing certified renovators, missing customer information and inadequate dust containment, as well as breaches of a 2014 settlement. The settlement was lodged with the court on 25 November 2025. The authority allegedly made the findings set out here; this account is not based on a final judgment. The decision is not final.

Authority / court

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) / U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. District Court, Central District of California)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule; Consent Decree von 2014

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Employees

10,000 or more

Repeat case

yes

Published

25 Nov 2025

Original amount 12,500,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 25 Nov 2025.

Checked against the official source on 4 Oct 2026 · Direct link

In 2020 the company rented two acres of land in Essa Township, presented to the owners as a site for receiving wood to be turned into landscaping material; from April to August 2020, however, hundreds of truckloads of construction and demolition waste were dumped there, and by April 2023 there was still no confirmation that the ordered clean-up had taken place. The court convicted the company under the Environmental Protection Act of depositing waste at an unapproved site and fined it CAD 500,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of CAD 125,000. Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Authority / court

Gericht in Barrie (Ermittlung und Anklage: Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Environmental Protection Act (Ontario), RSO 1990, c E.19 – Ablagerung von Abfällen auf einem nicht zugelassenen Abfallstandort

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Other

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

11 Feb 2026

Original amount 500,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 28 Aug 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

On board the tanker M/T Swift Winchester, a hose connected the incinerator's waste oil tank to the sewage tank from February to August 2022, so that oily waste bypassed the pollution prevention equipment and went into the sea; in August 2022, an oily water separator filter was also hosed down with degreaser on deck and the oily mixture ran overboard. The vessel called at Baton Rouge and Port Arthur with a knowingly falsified oil record book. The ship management company pleaded guilty and is paying a fine of 2 million USD.

Authority / court

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Anklage: DOJ Environment and Natural Resources Division)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Transport, logistics and shipping

Culpability

intentional

Published

27 Aug 2025

Original amount 2,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 27 Aug 2025.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

Acting as a waste broker, the Sheffield company arranged in 2019/2020 for more than 1,400 tonnes of waste to be transported to an illegally operated site in Lincolnshire without continuously checking the operator's authorisations. The court imposed a fine of 80,000 GBP and a confiscation order of 37,587.13 GBP (117,587.13 GBP in total) plus 50,000 GBP in costs. According to its 2024 annual accounts, the company had an average of 104 employees.

Authority / court

Nottingham Crown Court (Anklage: Environment Agency)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Section 34(1)(a) und 34(6) Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Duty of Care)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Transport, logistics and shipping

Employees

50 to 249

Culpability

negligent

Mitigating circumstances

The court accepted that the company did not know the site was operating illegally; first prosecution in over 40 years, new management team

Published

13 Aug 2025

Original amount 117,587.13 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 8 Aug 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

A County Court jury convicted SKM Services Pty Ltd of aggravated pollution – having negligently caused or allowed an environmental hazard that created a considerable risk of serious danger to public health – and of three counts of air pollution; the company was fined 1.14 million AUD. The 2017 fire at the recycling plant in Coolaroo had spread through stockpiles of cardboard and other recyclables, burned for more than a week and led to evacuations in the neighbourhood; according to the court's findings, the company and its director contributed to the extent of the pollution by increasing the volumes stored although an earlier fire had reduced the processing capacity. Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Authority / court

Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA Victoria)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic): schwere Umweltverschmutzung (aggravated pollution), Luftverschmutzung

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Other

Culpability

negligent

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

16 Apr 2025

Original amount 1,140,000 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 16 Apr 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

Under a court settlement (Stipulation and Order of Settlement) with the US Department of Justice and the EPA, Stericycle will pay a civil penalty of 9,500,000 USD for RCRA violations in its hazardous waste transport, storage and disposal business, which it operated until April 2020. The company lost track of shipments, delivered waste without the required manifests or to facilities not chosen by the customer, stored it too long at transfer facilities and failed to submit thousands of manifests to the EPA's e-Manifest system on time. According to the EPA, it is the first judicial action to enforce the e-Manifest requirements. The authority allegedly made the findings set out here; this account is not based on a final judgment.

Authority / court

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) / U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. § 6901 ff., e-Manifest-Vorschriften

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Other

Published

17 Jan 2025

Original amount 9,500,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Jan 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

At the Lac Tio mine near Havre-Saint-Pierre, there were nickel exceedances in 2023 after severed power cables disabled the effluent treatment, untreated acidic discharges in the summer, and a failure to take samples after an unauthorised discharge. The company pleaded guilty to eight counts and is paying 2 million CAD into the Environmental Damages Fund.

Authority / court

Court of Québec (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Fisheries Act, Subsection 36(3); Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Steel and metals

Mitigating circumstances

Guilty plea.

Published

14 Jan 2025

Original amount 2,000,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 13 Jan 2025.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

After a wooden pallet collapsed in 2021, sodium hypochlorite (bleach) ran into a manhole that the specialist packing company believed led to the foul sewer; in fact it discharged into the River Holme, and more than 800 fish died. Fine of 2,666.67 GBP after an early guilty plea, 8,973.67 GBP in total including costs and victim surcharge. According to its annual accounts, the business had an average of 25 employees.

Authority / court

Kirklees Magistrates' Court (Anklage: Environment Agency)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Regulation 12(1)(b) und 38(1)(a) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Other

Employees

Under 50

Culpability

negligent

Mitigating circumstances

Early guilty plea, full cooperation, clean-up and new storage and handling procedures

Published

24 Jan 2025

Original amount 2,666.67 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 Jan 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

During inspections of the Mont-Wright mining complex in June 2022, environmental inspectors requested documents on compliance with effluent regulations; the company refused to hand over some of them until September 2022. The court imposed 100,000 CAD for obstructing the inspection and ordered the documents to be produced (separate proceedings alongside the later fine of 100 million CAD).

Authority / court

Court of Québec (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Fisheries Act, Section 62 (Behinderung von Kontrollbeamten); Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Steel and metals

Culpability

intentional

Published

19 Nov 2024

Original amount 100,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 18 Nov 2024.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

Under an enforcement undertaking accepted by the Environment Agency, the water company pays £1,000,000 to a nature conservation charity and covers the agency's costs. Ash from two sludge-powered generators at the Beckton and Crossness treatment works had been disposed of without the relevant permit at a non-hazardous waste landfill in Essex between January 2014 and April 2016.

Authority / court

Environment Agency

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances

Legal basis

Reg. 38(1) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010/2016

Action

Other

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Energy and utilities

Original amount 1,000,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 20 Sep 2024.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 20 Sep 2026 · Direct link