The Ritz-Carlton resort on St. Thomas has paid a $349,600 federal civil penalty to settle Clean Air Act violations identified by the Environmental Protection Agency, including years of missing emissions reports, inaccurate compliance certifications and improper operation of a diesel generator that failed to meet applicable emissions standards.
The settlement, documented in a 33-page consent agreement filed July 7, concerns the luxury resort at 6900 Great Bay in Nazareth. Federal records show that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closed the enforcement case on August 3 after receiving payment. Ritz-Carlton (Virgin Islands), Inc., which operates the resort, neither admitted nor denied the violations alleged by regulators but agreed to the penalty and additional compliance requirements.
The investigation began with an EPA inspection on June 13, 2023. Federal regulators subsequently requested records covering the resort's generators, boilers, dryers and compliance with its air pollution operating permit, which was issued by the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources in July 2012.
According to the consent agreement, investigators identified deficiencies in the resort's emissions monitoring and recordkeeping dating back several years, along with the improper use of a diesel generator for purposes other than emergencies.
EPA Finds Improper Generator Use and Missing Emissions Records
Among the violations identified was the operation of a 1,825-kilowatt Caterpillar generator manufactured in 2012 and certified to Tier 2 emissions standards.
EPA determined that the generator was used for nonemergency operations despite being subject to stricter Interim Tier 4 emissions standards when operated for those purposes. Investigators traced the improper use to at least January 2015, with the activity continuing through March 12, 2024.
The agency concluded that the resort operated the generator for nonemergency purposes far beyond the limits applicable to emergency engines, resulting in emissions exceeding the standards applicable to that use.
EPA also found that the resort failed to submit required semiannual monitoring reports for 2021 and 2022, while the reports for 2023 were submitted late.
Annual emissions statements presented additional problems. According to the settlement, records submitted for certain years contained information duplicated from earlier filings. EPA specifically identified a 2022 submission that repeated emissions data from 2018, raising questions about the accuracy of the resort's reporting.
The agency also determined that Ritz-Carlton had failed to submit its annual compliance certification for 2022 and submitted certifications for 2020 and 2021 late.
Further examination of those documents revealed that descriptions of equipment operations had been reused across multiple years, including information about the status of equipment that could not have remained identical from one reporting period to another.
The resort's failure to maintain complete fuel records was another major component of the enforcement action.
EPA found that Ritz-Carlton had not maintained the required hourly fuel-consumption records for one of its generators between at least 2021 and March 2024. The agency also identified incomplete records concerning the quantity and sulfur content of diesel fuel used at the property.
When regulators requested fuel purchasing records covering several years, the resort supplied only four diesel purchase receipts, dated between January 16 and February 8, 2024, and one sulfur-content analysis dated August 24, 2020.
Investigators additionally found incomplete operating and fuel-use logs for a boiler and four dryers at the resort. The federal permit required those records to be maintained to document equipment operations and fuel consumption.
Resort Agrees to Additional Federal Oversight Requirements
Under the settlement, Ritz-Carlton agreed to pay the $349,600 penalty within 30 days of the final order and comply with several conditions designed to address the deficiencies.
The company must confirm timely submission of its next two semiannual monitoring reports and annual compliance certifications to the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources. It must also maintain accurate annual emissions records for 2026 and 2027, including documentation of pollutants released by its generators and boilers.
Additional requirements include complete fuel purchasing records, documentation of diesel sulfur content and hourly and daily fuel-use records for generators, boilers and dryers.
The resort must also restrict the generator identified in the enforcement action to emergency use, subject to the applicable federal regulations. Confirmation of required regulatory submissions must be provided to EPA.
Although Ritz-Carlton did not admit the allegations, the company agreed not to contest the violations identified in the settlement and waived its right to appeal the final order.
In an August 2026 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Braemar Hotels & Resorts, whose property portfolio includes the St. Thomas resort, acknowledged the federal investigation and disclosed steps taken in response.
The company said it had been working with the hotel's management team to improve regulatory compliance, including engaging outside environmental consultants, preparing operating procedures, reviewing generator operations and ensuring that employees held applicable certifications.
Braemar described the matter as resolved for approximately $350,000, with no admission concerning the alleged violations.
The federal settlement also disclosed that the resort submitted an application to renew its air pollution operating permit in June 2024. At the time the consent agreement was prepared, EPA said the application remained pending before the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources.
The latest action is separate from an earlier EPA enforcement case against the resort. In July 2023, the Consortium reported that Ritz-Carlton agreed to a $30,000 penalty for Clean Water Act violations involving failures to monitor and report treated wastewater discharges from its desalination operations.
That earlier agreement also required an environmental improvement project intended to reduce oil and sediment entering Turquoise Bay and a wetland on the property.
The 2026 settlement concerns air emissions, diesel generator operations and regulatory reporting requirements.
