Countries › Chile › Guide › 13. Regulation › Environmental enforcement in Chile: SMA infringements and fines, self reporting, compliance programmes, damage liability and environmental crimes

Environmental enforcement in Chile: SMA infringements and fines, self reporting, compliance programmes, damage liability and environmental crimes

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

The Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA) alone sanctions breaches of environmental approvals (RCA), operating without a required RCA, emission and quality standards and decontamination plans. Fines reach 10,000 UTA for very serious infringements, alongside closure and revocation of the RCA; a first self report with a full compliance programme waives the fine and paying without appeal within 5 business days cuts it by 25 percent. Polluting without a required environmental assessment is a crime, environmental crimes can make the company criminally liable, and damage actions prescribe five years after the damage becomes evident.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (CVE 2891564). UF figures use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026, and UTM and UTA figures the SII values of CLP 72,151 and CLP 865,812 for October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Environmental enforcement authority	Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA) textLOSMA art. 35, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum environmental fine, very serious infringement	10,000 UTALOSMA art. 39 a), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum environmental fine, serious infringement	5,000 UTALOSMA art. 39 b), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Discount for paying an SMA fine within 5 business days without appeal	25 %LOSMA art. 56, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline to submit a compliance programme after charges	10 business daysLOSMA art. 42, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Prescription of SMA infringements	3 yearsLOSMA art. 37, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Prescription of environmental damage actions from evident damage	5 yearsLey Nº 19.300 art. 63, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Environmental crimes in the Penal Code	Yes textCódigo Penal art. 305 to 311, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. The SMA has exclusive power to sanction breaches of the conditions and measures of environmental qualification resolutions (RCA); carrying out projects that need an RCA without one; breaches of prevention and decontamination plans and of quality and emission standards, including greenhouse gas emission standards; breaches of SMA instructions and urgent measures; breaches of industrial liquid waste discharge rules; failure to answer SMA information requests; breaches of management plans; and breaches of any other environmental rule without a specific sanction. Infringements are very serious when they cause irreparable environmental damage, seriously affect public health, deliberately hinder a decontamination plan, hide a very serious infringement, deliberately obstruct inspection, involve projects outside the assessment system with significant effects, or repeat serious infringements. They are serious when, among others, they cause reparable damage, create a significant health risk, involve projects outside the assessment system, seriously breach RCA mitigation measures or occur in protected areas. All others are minor. Infringements prescribe three years after they are committed.
Cost to do it: No fee; the exposure is the fine scale below.
Example: A plant that exceeds the emission limits in its RCA for months commits an infringement under art. 35 a), classified by its effects. / Same in USD terms.Ley Orgánica de la Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente, contained in art. 2 of Ley Nº 20.417 (DO 26 January 2010), Art. 35, art. 36 and art. 37, 2010-01-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Sanctions are a written warning, a fine of 1 to 10,000 UTA, temporary or permanent closure, or revocation of the RCA. Very serious infringements allow revocation, closure or a fine up to 10,000 UTA; serious ones revocation, closure or up to 5,000 UTA; minor ones a warning or 1 to 1,000 UTA. The SMA weighs the damage or danger, the number of people whose health could be affected, the economic benefit, intent, past conduct, economic capacity, compliance with programmes, harm to protected areas and other relevant criteria.
Cost to do it: Fines up to 1,000, 5,000 or 10,000 UTA (about CLP 865.8 million, CLP 4,329 million or CLP 8,658 million; US$877,589, US$4.39 million or US$8.78 million).
Example: A serious infringement with significant economic benefit can be fined up to 5,000 UTA, about CLP 4,329 million. / About US$4.39 million in that example.LOSMA (Ley Nº 20.417 art. 2), Art. 38, art. 39 and art. 40, 2010-01-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. A first time self report waives the fine if the company comes forward on its own, gives precise, true and verifiable information, stops the infringement immediately, reduces its effects and fully carries out a compliance programme; second and third self reports reduce the fine by up to 75 and 50 percent. Self reporting has no effect once the SMA has started investigating the same facts. Within 10 business days of the start of sanction proceedings, the company can submit a compliance programme with actions and goals; if approved, the procedure is suspended and ends when the programme is fulfilled, but a breach of the programme reopens it with up to double the fine. Programmes are not available to those who already had a very serious sanction or a previous programme, except for minor infringements. Sanctions can be challenged before the Environmental Court within 15 business days; fines are not payable while the challenge is pending, and paying within 5 business days without challenging reduces the fine by 25 percent.
Cost to do it: A full waiver for the first self report; 25 percent off for prompt payment without appeal.
Example: A CLP 500 million fine paid within 5 business days without appeal falls to CLP 375 million. / About US$506,800 reduced to US$380,100.LOSMA (Ley Nº 20.417 art. 2), Art. 41, art. 42, art. 43 and art. 56, 2010-01-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Anyone who negligently or intentionally causes environmental damage is liable. Liability is presumed when there is a breach of quality or emission standards, decontamination plans, emergency rules or environmental protection rules, although compensation still requires a causal link. The environmental action seeks repair of the damaged environment and can be brought by those harmed, the municipality and the State through the Consejo de Defensa del Estado; it is not available if the company has carried out an SMA approved repair plan. The environmental action and related civil actions prescribe five years after the damage becomes evident.
Cost to do it: Repair costs plus damages; an approved repair plan under LOSMA art. 43 bars the repair action.
Example: A spill from a tailings pipeline breaching an emission standard is presumed to be the operator's fault. / Same in USD terms.Ley Nº 19.300, Ley sobre Bases Generales del Medio Ambiente (DO 9 March 1994), Art. 51, art. 52, art. 53, art. 54 and art. 63, 1994-03-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Whoever, knowingly required to submit an activity to environmental assessment and without doing so, discharges pollutants into water, extracts water, deposits pollutants in soil, dumps soil or solids into wetlands, extracts soil components or releases pollutants into the air commits a crime, punished more severely if an environmental impact study was required. Similar penalties apply to permit holders who breach emission or quality standards, plans or their RCA after at least two serious or very serious SMA sanctions in ten years for the same unit. Maliciously giving false information in an environmental assessment, splitting projects to avoid assessment, or giving false compliance information to the SMA is punished with presidio menor en sus grados mínimo a medio and 100 to 1,000 UTM. These are economic crimes when committed in or for a company, so the company can be criminally liable under Ley Nº 20.393.
Cost to do it: Fine for false information or project splitting: 100 to 1,000 UTM (about CLP 7.2 million to CLP 72.2 million; US$7,313 to US$73,132), plus imprisonment.
Example: Splitting a 100 MW solar project into smaller ones to avoid assessment is a crime if done maliciously. / Same in USD terms.Código Penal as amended by Ley Nº 21.595; LOSMA (Ley Nº 20.417 art. 2), Código Penal art. 305 and art. 306; LOSMA art. 37 bis and art. 37 ter; Ley Nº 21.595 art. 2 Nº 27, 2023-08-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Infringement	Sanctions	Maximum fine CLP	Maximum fine USD
Very serious	RCA revocation, closure or fine up to 10,000 UTA	8,658 million	8.78 million
Serious	RCA revocation, closure or fine up to 5,000 UTA	4,329 million	4.39 million
Minor	Written warning or 1 to 1,000 UTA	865.8 million	877,589

SMA sanctions (LOSMA art. 39; CLP and USD at October 2026 UTA and exchange rate)

Worked example

A copper processing plant finds through an internal audit that it has been discharging effluent above its RCA limits. It self reports to the SMA before any investigation, stops the discharge and carries out a compliance programme: no fine is imposed (LOSMA art. 41). Had the SMA found it first, it could have presented a compliance programme within 10 business days of the charges (art. 42), or faced a fine of up to 5,000 UTA (about US$4.39 million) if the breach was classified as serious.

Step by step

1. Keep a register of every RCA condition, emission standard and plan that applies to each site, with owners and evidence of compliance.
2. Audit regularly and decide quickly on self reporting, which only works before an SMA investigation starts (art. 41).
3. If charged, assess within 10 business days whether to submit a compliance programme (art. 42).
4. Diary the 15 business day appeal deadline and the 5 business day prompt payment window (art. 56).
5. Include environmental crimes in the Ley Nº 20.393 prevention model.

Common traps

Missing the self report window: once the SMA has started investigating the same facts, a self report has no effect (art. 41).
Breaching an approved compliance programme: the fine can be doubled (art. 42).
Splitting projects to stay below assessment thresholds can be a crime (LOSMA art. 37 bis b).
Assuming permits from the seller cover changes: new or modified works may need their own assessment; see investing/project-permits-and-environmental-assessment.

Sources

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