Under Trump, EPA inspections fall to a 10-year low

[DonViejo]

The agency’s inspection rate last year is half of what it was in 2010, while the civil penalties levied against polluters is the lowest since 1994.

By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis February 8 at 4:29 PM

Under President Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency inspected fewer industrial facilities during 2018 than at any time over the past decade, according to data released by the agency Friday.

The sharp drop in inspections and evaluations last fiscal year — to roughly 10,600 — is only half the number EPA conducted at its peak in 2010, and continues a downward trend that began in 2012. Other enforcement activities at the agency experienced similar declines, according to EPA figures: The number of civil cases the division started and completed in 2018 hit a 10-year low, and the $69 million in civil penalties it leveled represents the lowest in nearly a quarter-century.

The agency relies on inspections of manufacturing facilities, oil and gas operations, and power plants to identify and crack down on polluters across the country. Steep budget cuts in recent years have led to a modest decline in these activities since 2012. But that trend has accelerated since Trump took office, in part because EPA’s leadership has said it can clean up the environment more effectively by cooperating with industry to improve the private sector’s performance.

In a statement Friday, Susan Bodine, EPA Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said that the agency had made progress in cleaning up the air Americans breathe and the water they drink, in part by working alongside those it regulates.

“A strong enforcement and compliance assurance program is essential to achieving positive public health and environmental outcomes,” Bodine said.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/02/08/under-trump-epa-inspections-fall-year-low/

[spanone]

1. He has essentially eliminated the agency.