UPS

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS; CIK 0001090727) posted 2025 consolidated revenue of $88.7 billion and moved an average of 20.8 million packages daily [source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090727/000162828026008432/ups-20251231.htm]. Behind those headline figures sits a compliance record that warrants close reading. EPA ECHO data as of May 4, 2026 identifies 100 UPS-linked facilities, 43 violation quarters over the trailing 24 months, and an allocated penalty total of approximately $22.1 million derived from the ECHO 5-year penalty field pro-rated to 24 months [source: https://echo.epa.gov/files/echodownloads/echo_exporter.zip].

Two federal hazardous-waste settlements anchor that exposure. First came a Region 6 consent agreement covering 183 facilities across Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, carrying a $3.8 million civil penalty [source: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/united-parcel-service-inc-ups-settlement]. That regional action widened into a nationwide October 2022 settlement spanning 1,160 facilities across 45 states and Puerto Rico, with a penalty reported at $5.3 million [source: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ups-settles-epa-correct-alleged-hazardous-waste-violations-nationwide] [source: https://www.law360.com/real-estate-authority/commercial/articles/1541549/ups-to-pay-5-3m-nationwide-hazardous-waste-epa-penalty]. The ECHO-level figures are consistent with both settlements.

State enforcement has continued without pause through 2025 and into early 2026. On August 4, 2025, a California civil judgment entered in San Joaquin County Superior Court — joined by 44 district attorneys — ordered UPS entities to pay $1.745 million over alleged unlawful disposal of hazardous waste [source: https://rivcoda.org/UPS_violation]. Seven months later, on March 21, 2026, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality assessed a $70,991 civil penalty against UPS for fuel-tank inspection and maintenance findings at two facilities [source: https://www.kptv.com/2026/03/21/oregon-deq-fines-ups-70k-after-numerous-violations-found-two-facilities/]. Against that backdrop, a shareholder resolution filed November 13, 2025 by As You Sow requests a third-party environmental justice audit of UPS operations [source: https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2025/11/13-ups-third-party-environmental-justice-audit].

UPS's recent federal compliance record is dominated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous-waste program. EPA Region 6's June 2021 consent agreement with UPS and TForce Freight required corrective action at 183 facilities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. The agency granted a 24-month compliance runway and imposed a $3.8 million civil penalty [source: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/united-parcel-service-inc-ups-settlement]. That regional matter did not stay regional for long. It escalated into a nationwide resolution announced October 19, 2022, in which UPS agreed to resolve RCRA violations across 1,160 facilities spanning 45 states and Puerto Rico — findings included failure to make land-disposal determinations and improper on-site management of hazardous waste [source: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ups-settles-epa-correct-alleged-hazardous-waste-violations-nationwide]. Law360 reported the associated penalty at $5.3 million [source: https://www.law360.com/real-estate-authority/commercial/articles/1541549/ups-to-pay-5-3m-nationwide-hazardous-waste-epa-penalty].

State enforcement layered on top of that federal foundation throughout the trailing 24 months. A California multi-county civil action, led by the Riverside County District Attorney and coordinated with 43 additional county prosecutors, culminated on August 4, 2025 in a San Joaquin County Superior Court judgment ordering UPS entities to pay $1.745 million in civil penalties, costs, and supplemental environmental project funding over alleged unlawful disposal of hazardous waste [source: https://rivcoda.org/UPS_violation] [source: https://patch.com/california/temecula/ups-ordered-pay-riverside-county-over-alleged-illegal-disposal-hazardous-waste]. Oregon followed in early 2026. The state DEQ issued a $70,991 penalty against UPS on March 21, 2026, citing inspection and maintenance lapses on fuel tanks supporting company vehicle fleets at two Oregon facilities [source: https://www.kptv.com/2026/03/21/oregon-deq-fines-ups-70k-after-numerous-violations-found-two-facilities/].

Running alongside enforcement activity, UPS announced a major network reconfiguration. Executives told analysts on the Q1 2026 earnings call that UPS will close 27 additional parcel facilities during 2026, on track with a $3 billion structural cost reduction and a plan to eliminate 25 million labor hours and 30,000 positions through downsizing and automation [source: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ups-to-close-27-additional-parcel-facilities-in-2026]. One concrete example: the UPS Bluegrass Parkway facility in Louisville, Kentucky, is scheduled to close June 2, 2026 [source: https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/ups-facility-bluegrass-parkway-closing-june/417-33a71d24-2397-4d73-a465-7aedda3505cb] [source: https://www.wdrb.com/news/business/dozens-of-workers-impacted-by-upcoming-ups-closure-in-louisville/article_6aa200b3-3eb2-4c7c-a37b-e4dce1fe1304.html]. The ECHO exporter records no active NPDES or CAA Title V permits linked to the 100 UPS-associated facility IDs as of May 4, 2026, with the latest permit date logged as December 28, 2023 [source: https://echo.epa.gov/files/echodownloads/echo_exporter.zip]. UPS's Q3 2025 Form 10-Q, filed November 5, 2025, contains no material environmental-litigation disclosure language in the fields captured [source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090727/000162828025049661/ups-20250930.htm].

1) October 19, 2022 — RCRA, nationwide. EPA announced a consent agreement and final order with UPS covering 1,160 facilities in 45 states and Puerto Rico, alleging failures including land-disposal determinations and on-site hazardous-waste management [source: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ups-settles-epa-correct-alleged-hazardous-waste-violations-nationwide]. Reported civil penalty: $5.3 million, plus implementation of company-wide environmental compliance policies [source: https://www.law360.com/real-estate-authority/commercial/articles/1541549/ups-to-pay-5-3m-nationwide-hazardous-waste-epa-penalty].

2) June 16, 2021 — RCRA, EPA Region 6. Settlement with UPS and TForce Freight covering 183 facilities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, with a 24-month compliance schedule and a $3.8 million civil penalty [source: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/united-parcel-service-inc-ups-settlement]. This action falls outside the strict 24-month ECHO window but underlies ongoing corrective-action obligations that carry forward.

3) August 4, 2025 — California state civil action, hazardous-waste disposal. Judgment entered in San Joaquin County Superior Court ordering UPS, Inc., UPS Supply Chain Solutions, General Services, Inc., and UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. to pay $1.745 million in civil penalties, costs, and supplemental environmental project funding [source: https://rivcoda.org/UPS_violation]. The coalition included 44 California district attorneys [source: https://patch.com/california/temecula/ups-ordered-pay-riverside-county-over-alleged-illegal-disposal-hazardous-waste].

4) March 21, 2026 — Oregon DEQ. Civil penalty of $70,991 assessed for failure to maintain and inspect fuel tanks used to fuel company vehicles at two Oregon facilities [source: https://www.kptv.com/2026/03/21/oregon-deq-fines-ups-70k-after-numerous-violations-found-two-facilities/].

The ECHO exporter attributes 43 quarters-with-noncompliance to the 100-facility UPS set in the trailing 24 months and a pro-rated penalty allocation of $22,120,000 derived from the 5-year penalty total. The derivation methodology is published by EPA as `viol_24mo=min(qtrs_with_nc,8); penalty_24mo=total_5yr*(24/60)` [source: https://echo.epa.gov/files/echodownloads/echo_exporter.zip]. That pro-ration convention matters when comparing the $22.1 million ECHO-derived figure against the discrete settlement values cited above — the two data series measure different things and should not be added together.

UPS Bluegrass Parkway, Louisville, Kentucky. This facility is scheduled to close June 2, 2026 as part of UPS's 2026 network consolidation; Teamsters Local 89 represents the affected workers [source: https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/ups-facility-bluegrass-parkway-closing-june/417-33a71d24-2397-4d73-a465-7aedda3505cb] [source: https://www.wdrb.com/news/business/dozens-of-workers-impacted-by-upcoming-ups-closure-in-louisville/article_6aa200b3-3eb2-4c7c-a37b-e4dce1fe1304.html]. The Louisville closure is one of 27 announced for 2026 [source: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ups-to-close-27-additional-parcel-facilities-in-2026].

UPS California distribution network (multi-site). The 44-county California civil action that resolved August 4, 2025 in San Joaquin County Superior Court alleged unlawful disposal of hazardous waste from UPS distribution and service operations statewide, producing a judgment of $1.745 million [source: https://rivcoda.org/UPS_violation]. The action implicated UPS Supply Chain Solutions entities in addition to the core parcel company.

Oregon UPS fleet-fueling facilities (two sites). Oregon DEQ's March 2026 penalty cites lapses in inspection and maintenance of fuel tanks used for company vehicles at two Oregon UPS locations, totaling $70,991 [source: https://www.kptv.com/2026/03/21/oregon-deq-fines-ups-70k-after-numerous-violations-found-two-facilities/]. Underground and aboveground storage tank compliance is a recurring theme in UPS fleet-yard enforcement, and the Oregon findings fit that pattern directly.

EPA Region 6 UPS/TForce footprint (183 locations across AR, LA, OK, NM, TX). The 2021 consent agreement required a 24-month corrective-action program across this set of facilities. EPA highlighted that many facilities generated hazardous waste across multiple RCRA generator categories without complying with the requirements applicable to each [source: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/united-parcel-service-inc-ups-settlement] [source: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ups-settles-epa-correct-alleged-hazardous-waste-violations-nationwide].

Staten Island, New York delivery points. The New York Times reported April 28, 2026 that UPS declines doorstep delivery at two Staten Island residential buildings, a policy driven by driver-safety incidents that date back decades; residents have filed suit [source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/nyregion/ups-staten-island-packages-lines.html]. This is a service-access and civil-litigation matter rather than an EPA enforcement item, but it surfaces in disclosure discussions tied to the As You Sow resolution, which frames environmental justice concerns broadly across UPS operations [source: https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2025/11/13-ups-third-party-environmental-justice-audit].

Hazardous waste (RCRA-regulated). The federal enforcement record against UPS centers on mismanaged hazardous waste — including failures to make land-disposal determinations and improper on-site handling — across generator categories [source: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ups-settles-epa-correct-alleged-hazardous-waste-violations-nationwide]. RCRA categorizes generators by monthly hazardous-waste output, and compliance obligations escalate with generator status. EPA's 2021 Region 6 order noted UPS facilities operating across all three generator categories without meeting the applicable requirements for each [source: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/united-parcel-service-inc-ups-settlement]. Exposure pathways include worker handling at parcel-sorting hubs, transport incidents, and improper disposal into municipal waste streams that can contaminate soil and groundwater.

Petroleum and fleet-fueling emissions. Oregon DEQ's March 2026 findings involve fuel storage tanks at UPS facilities. Underground and aboveground petroleum tanks are regulated under both RCRA Subtitle I and state analogs, with leak-detection and maintenance requirements [source: https://www.kptv.com/2026/03/21/oregon-deq-fines-ups-70k-after-numerous-violations-found-two-facilities/]. Leaking fuel systems can expose groundwater and nearby residential populations to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene — the BTEX constituent group — making tank-integrity compliance a direct public-health concern, not merely a paperwork matter.

Mobile-source air pollutants (diesel particulate matter, NOx). UPS's integrated ground fleet is, by scale, one of the largest diesel consumers in U.S. commercial logistics. The company's 2022 sustainability report sets a goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2050 [source: https://about.ups.com/us/en/our-impact/sustainability/sustainable-services/2022-ups-sustainability-report-.html]. Diesel particulate matter and NOx emissions from hubs and delivery routes are central to the environmental-justice critique underlying the As You Sow 2025 resolution requesting a third-party EJ audit [source: https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2025/11/13-ups-third-party-environmental-justice-audit]. The ECHO extract returned no TRI pollutant list for the UPS facility set (top_pollutants = []), consistent with UPS facilities being classified primarily as transportation and logistics sites rather than manufacturing TRI reporters [source: https://echo.epa.gov/files/echodownloads/echo_exporter.zip].

The NAICS 56299 peer set returned no populated peer rows in the benchmark query available to this brief, so a like-for-like violation-count and penalty comparison within UPS's narrowly defined NAICS code is not presented here. For readers seeking comparative context, Good Jobs First's Violation Tracker aggregates UPS regulatory penalties across federal and state agencies and provides a cross-company comparison surface [source: https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/united-parcel-service]. EPA ECHO's exporter can be queried for additional transportation-sector operators using the same derivation methodology disclosed in the exporter documentation [source: https://echo.epa.gov/files/echodownloads/echo_exporter.zip].

UPS's 2025 Form 10-K Item 1A directs investors to forward-looking-statement cautionary language and to the Investor Relations website for material disclosures. The excerpt emphasizes that UPS will not update forward-looking statements except as required by law, and that investors should monitor SEC filings and public disclosures for material information [source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090727/000162828026008432/ups-20251231.htm]. The Item 7 MD&A table of contents references Collective Bargaining Agreements and Critical Accounting Estimates, with no environmental-contingency line disclosed in the excerpt captured [source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090727/000162828026008432/ups-20251231.htm]. That silence in the 10-K stands in contrast to the active enforcement record documented above. Forward-looking environmental risk is also being pressed by investors through the As You Sow EJ-audit resolution filed November 13, 2025 [source: https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2025/11/13-ups-third-party-environmental-justice-audit].