Comparing the states: Hazardous waste penalties

 

Pennsylvania has the largest total dollar value of fines for facilities violating hazardous waste regulations in 2012 among the Great Lakes states, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Wisconsin has the smallest.

The figures come from an EPA map that reports state compliance with regulations. The map’s dashboard allows users to choose different measures and different years.

Here is the total dollar value of penalties incurred by large facilities with hazardous waste violations for each state along with the number of large facilities for each state:

Pennsylvania: $542,364; for 1,103 large facilities.

Minnesota: $300,750; for 274 large facilities.

Illinois: $281,298; for 723 large facilities.

New York: $256,337; for 5,357 large facilities.

Ohio: $246,394; for 1,584 large facilities.

Michigan: $185,130; for 542 large facilities.

Indiana: $151,028; for 567 large facilities.

Wisconsin: $114,334; for 563 large facilities.

Of course, some states have more facilities than others. If you consider all facilities, both large and other-sized, inspected by the EPA in 2012, here’s how the states rank in terms of penalty amount per facility. This doesn’t mean that any one facility received that penalty; a handful of facilities with very high penalties could significantly affect the ranking:

Minnesota: $3,710 per facility; 87 facilities inspected.

Illinois: $828 per facility; 653 facilities inspected.

Indiana: $614 per facility; 507 facilities inspected.

Ohio: $662 per facility; 806 facilities inspected.

Pennsylvania: $579 per facility; 1,055 facilities inspected.

Wisconsin: $550 per facility; 213 facilities inspected.

Michigan: $487 per facility; 623 facilities inspected.

New York: $290 per facility; 984 facilities inspected.

Pennsylvania moves way down the list and Indiana moves way up. Minnesota has over 400 percent more penalties assessed than the second-place state.