(...) Appropriate and proportionate penalties for environmental law violations (...) encourage compliance by raising the cost of non-compliance above that of compliance. For environmental crime, additional deterrent effect can be obtained through sanctions such as imprisonment, fines, confiscation of equipment and other materials, disbarment from practice or trade and confiscation of the proceeds of environmental crime. Remedial costs should be imposed such as those for redressing environmental damage, loss of use of natural resources and harm from pollution and recovery of costs of remediation, restoration or mitigation. (Source: Guidelines on Compliance with and enforcement of MEAs, 2001)

Usually a civil penalty, a fine is assessed for a violation of a statute or regulation (i.e. for a manufacturer for exceeding pollution limits) (Source: draft based on Black's Law Dictionary, 2007)