In Shitstain's First 100 Days, Environmental Enforcement Has Essentially Stopped; Zero Actions Against Major Violations
Protecting the nation from polluters is a core function of the Environmental Protection Agency. But in the last few months, federal enforcement of major violations of environmental laws appears to have ground to a halt. A Grist review of data from the Department of Justice and EPA found that the Trump administration has not filed any new cases against major polluters in its first three months. Similarly, the number of minor civil and criminal enforcement cases has also significantly declined since President Donald Trump took office on January 20.
The hands-off approach to environmental enforcement comes amid Trump’s repeated pledges to go easier on polluters. His administration has begun rolling back dozens of regulations; granting exemptions from federal air quality requirements to coal plants; and rewriting pollution standards for cars and trucks. Federal environmental enforcement declined during Trump’s first term, but the decrease during the first three months of his second term has been more drastic. “The future is grim for environmental protection,” said Gary Jonesi, a former top EPA enforcement attorney who now runs the nonprofit CREEDemocracy, which promotes clean energy and democracy globally. “The risk will be most felt in overburdened communities, but this will hurt red and blue districts alike,” he added. “If the EPA cop is not on the beat, then people are going to be harmed.”
Environmental enforcement varies from state to state. In some cases, state agencies take the lead on enforcing environmental laws. In other cases, the EPA does. The federal agency typically uncovers violations through routine inspections or tips. If the offense is minor, the EPA handles it as a civil administrative case. The polluter is issued a notice of violation, and most often a settlement is reached in which the two sides agree to a remedy and potentially a fine.
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A review of publicly available data and press releases suggests the DOJ has not initiated any new major cases since Trump took office. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been filing or closing nearly 100 fewer civil cases per month on average than the Biden administration during its last fiscal year, which ended in October. It’s also initiating or closing about 200 fewer cases per month than the first Trump administration did during the same time period in 2017. These trends were confirmed by five current and former enforcement officials and an analysis of publicly available data.
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https://grist.org/accountability/the-trump-administration-has-all-but-stopped-enforcing-environmental-laws/