February 27, 2018
The amount of civil penalties charged to polluters by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dropped by nearly half under President Trump, according to a new study released February 15, 2018 and reported by The Hill.
The report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) found that in the year since Trump’s inauguration, the penalties companies were forced to pay for violating regulations dropped by 49 percent compared to in President Obama’s first year.
Looking specifically at penalty amounts determined for cases lodged by the Trump administration, EIP found the Trump EPA collected $30 million compared to $71 million and $50 million in penalties under the Obama and George W. Bush administrations, respectively.
The report also found the number of cases filed against polluters by the Trump administration dropped drastically. There were 44 percent fewer cases opened under Trump than Obama in the first year of their administrations. In 2017, Trump recommended the Justice Department prosecute 48 civil cases compared to 71 civil cases prosecuted in 2009 under Obama. Comparatively, Bush officials lodged 112 cases in his first year in office.
Experts warned the fiscal year wasn’t the most complete measurement of regulatory enforcement under the Trump administration because it likely included cases opened under Obama and completed under Trump.
The EIP data, instead, solely tallied cases opened under Trump.
What this means to you
A report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) found that in the year since Trump’s inauguration, the penalties companies were forced to pay for violating regulations dropped by 49 percent compared to in President Obama’s first year.
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