BOEM Adjusts Level of Civil Monetary Penalties for Oil and Gas Companies

Release Date
04/14/2021
Contact(s)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced a Final Rule that implements the 2021 inflation adjustments for the maximum daily civil monetary penalties contained in BOEM regulations in accordance with Federal law.

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act (FCPIAA Improvements Act) of 2015 requires Federal agencies to adjust the level of civil monetary penalties for inflation annually. These adjustments are intended to maintain the deterrent effect of civil penalties and to further the policy goals of the underlying statutes.

Under the FCPIAA Improvements Act of 2015, this rule adjusts the maximum civil monetary penalties per day per violation upward by the multiplier of 1.01182 to $46,000 for violations under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and to $48,762 for violations under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The Final Rule will be available via the Federal Register on April 15, 2021. The adjusted penalty levels will take effect immediately upon publication of this rule.

Questions about the Final Rule can be addressed to Deanna Meyer-Pietruszka, from BOEM’s Office of Policy, Regulation and Analysis at Deanna.Meyer-Pietruszka@boem.gov.