On March 21, 2026, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) published a notice for public comment on the updated Guidance for the Application of Regional Civil Penalty Assessment (DEP ID: 273-4130-003) in Volume 56 Issue 12 of the PA Bulletin (56 Pa. 1640). This Guidance is used by all 6 regional offices to establish uniform criteria for fees resulting from violations of the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA). The Guidance for the Application of Regional Civil Penalty Assessment Procedures was last updated in June 2012. Upon the publication of the final version of the new Guidance in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the new Guidance for the Application of Regional Civil Penalty Assessment will be effective and replace the June 2012 Guidance.
The new Guidance provides penalty assessment information for the following:
- Late, absent, inaccurate, or incomplete reports
- Failure to conduct required monitoring and recordkeeping
- Operating a source in a manner inconsistent with good operating practices
- Late permit fees
- “Other” penalties
- The user should assess penalties for other violations (not described above) considering all acts available and the criteria described above.
- Emissions violations
- Criteria and HAP violations
- 12-month rolling emission violations
- Air release violations
- Visible/fugitive/malodor violations
- Open burning violations
- Small source NOx violations
- Installation/operation without a plan approval/operating permit
The individual pollutant tables for emission violations were consolidated into a single table. The Guidance also updated the penalty amounts in Section II. C. (operating a source in a manner inconsistent with good operating practices) and Section VII (open burning violations) to provide for more effective deterrence in accordance with Section 9.1 of the Air Pollution Control Act (APCA).
The updates to the Guidance for the Application of Regional Civil Penalty Assessment account for past and future inflation adjustments using the Consumer Price Index for All-Urban Consumers (CPI-U). These inflation adjustments amount to a 40% increase in fees between the old and new Guidance. Under the new Guidance, all penalty calculations occurring after the effective date of the revised guidance will use the 2026 Guidance to calculate an initial penalty assessment for each violation. The sum of the assessments will then be multiplied by an inflation adjustment multiplier included in Part I of the guidance. This inflation multiplier will be calculated by the department every two years.
In addition to the new penalties and inflation adjustments, the updated version of the Guidance clarifies language and updates example penalty calculations throughout the documents. The Guidance includes minor formatting and language updates.
Finally, Section X of the Guidance (Penalty Calculation Worksheet) was updated to include the size of the facility to the adjustment factor and the definition of a small business, add DEP hourly rates and benefits to Department Costs, and to include “sensitive area”/Environmental Justice (EJ) considerations to Deterrent Penalties.
Interested persons may submit written comments on the proposed revisions to the ”Guidance for the Application of Regional Civil Penalty Assessment Procedures” no later than April 20, 2026. Comments may be submitted online using the Department’s online eComment for Policies at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment or by email to [email protected].
If you would like to discuss Pennsylvania’s revised Guidance for the Application of Regional Civil Penalty Assessment Procedures and how it may impact your facility, please contact Trinity’s Philadelphia Office or Pittsburgh Office.
