EPA pollution enforcement declines under Trump

Civil prosecutions of illegal pollution plummeted to historically low levels during the first year of President Trump’s second administration, according to figures released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), reflecting a sharp decline in Department of Justice (DOJ) action on cases referred by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The data compiled by PEER shows that DOJ settled just 15 of the cases referred by EPA for civil prosecution in the year since President Trump’s second inauguration. That is far below the 71 concluded during the first full year of the Biden Administration or the 75 concluded during the first full year of President Trump’s first term. The data also reveals: DOJ virtually stopped enforcing the Clean Air Act, lodging just one consent decree in a relatively small case since Trump’s inauguration last year, versus 26 in the first year of Trump’s first term, and 22 after Biden’s first year. Superfund cleanup settlements have also