Pollution Enforcement

Monitoring Pollution Enforcement

Citizens need to know how to engage with their state and federal environmental enforcement agencies to effectively demand responses to pollution. Anti-pollution laws – Clean Water Act (CWA); Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); Clean Air Act (CAA); Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) – mean little unless the responsible agencies fairly implement and diligently enforce them.

The enforcement system is complex, with states handling much and the federal government often “backstopping” the states. This patchwork resulted from how the national laws evolved. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, when highly-varying state laws proved inadequate to protect the environment, then new federal regulations and minimum standards were put in place. States were allowed to have more protective standards than those minimum standards if they chose to. To this day, enforcement of many, but not all, parts of the CWA, SDWA, CAA, RCRA and FIFRA, as well as their connected state laws and regulations, is a state function.

The enforcement agencies at both of those levels of government often need prodding and “watchdogging.” Thankfully Congress anticipated that, as shown by the fact that most of the Acts have special “citizen suit” provisions that provide affected people with a direct path to Court to obtain enforcement when the agencies falter

Florida Pollution Enforcement Reports

Since 2004, PEER has examined Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) files to assess pollution enforcement. In a state heavily reliant on its natural beauty for tourism revenue, it has fallen far short of acceptable pollution levels primarily in its waterways and wastewater management.

Despite pledges to strengthen pollution enforcement, Florida state records show declines in virtually all meaningful measures. Notably, violations and significant noncompliance with pollution limits are growing while major enforcement actions are declining.

Federal Enforcement

Environmental Protection Agency EPA Building

The EPA uses administrative actions, civil actions, and criminal actions to enforce environmental laws that fall under the agency’s purview. Read More»

State Enforcement

Enforcement of certain environmental laws and regulations is delegated to state agencies, though EPA must often approve state-level programs. Read More»

Citizen Enforcement

Citizens can help fill in cracks in federal and state enforcement of environmental laws by filing citizen petitions and lawsuits.​  Read More»

RESOURCES

The EPA Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website contains databases that users can search for facilities around the country and see past compliance records. Beyond just searching ECHO for pollution sources in your area, for example, you also can:

  • Search for EPA criminal and civil enforcement cases, including by individual corporations;
  • See enforcement-related maps;
  • Review trends in compliance and enforcement; and
  • Examine your own State enforcement agencies’ performances.

ECHO also includes “Latest Enforcement News” updates and information on the current Administration’s compliance and enforcement initiatives. The site also has a User Guide.

Other Helpful Sources on Enforcement

A Sheep in the Closet: The Erosion of Enforcement at the EPA , a report by the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative

Paying Less to Pollute, a report by the Environmental Integrity Project

EPA enforcement actions hit 10-year low in 2017, NBC News- Feb. 8, 2018

Environmental Council of States (ECOS), information-rich website on cooperative federalism from states’ perspective

POLLUTION ENFORCEMENT NEWS FROM PEER

Orlando Chronic Sewage Breakdowns Fester  

Spills Risk COVID Exposure Yet No Abatement or Enforcement

Federal Pollution Prosecutions Continue to Fall

EPA Criminal Enforcement Program Continues to Shrivel under Trump

EPA Stacks the Deck on Pollution Permit Appeals

EPA would straight-jacket its quasi-independent appeals board by determining what it could hear and how it could rule

Treasure Island Superfund Denial Based on Misinformation

High Hazardous Rankings Overlooked on Assumption of Quick Easy Cleanup

Fewer Florida Eco-Inspections Equals Less Compliance

Slight 2018 Election-Year Enforcement Uptick Yields Scant Results

EPA Drops Surprise Inspections

“No Surprises” Policy Aims to Avoid Embarrassing State Agencies

EPA Plans To Skew Permit Appeals To Aid Polluters

Ability of Affected Communities to Appeal Permits on Chopping Block

EPA Criminal Pollution Enforcement Cratering

Referrals, Prosecutions, and Convictions Continue Freefall to Historic Lows

Florida’s Eco-delusion Deconstructed

Official Claims of Near Universal Pollution Compliance Flatly Untrue

PEERMail: PFAS Action is Inaction

Nowhere are the consequences of the Trump Administration’s purge of scientists and the stacking of government ...

Treasure Island Cleanup Bathed in Fog

Navy Won’t Reveal Radiation Standards for “Free Release” of Contaminated Tracts

Navy Won’t Surrender Hunters Point Plans Without a Fight

Lawsuit Seeks Navy Next Steps to Remedy Tetra-Tech Radiation Falsifications

EPA Plan to Shirk Pollution Prosecution Role

Corporate Compliance Now Presumed Despite Evaporation of Enforcement

Treasure Island – Another Botched Navy Cleanup in SF Bay

Navy Refused to Review Tetra Tech Work Despite Extensive Hunters Point Fraud

EPA Oversight of State Permits Evaporating

Staff Ordered Not to Transmit Comments Even on Controversial Projects

Tampa Sewage Meltdown Early Eco-Test for Desantis

Federal Intervention Needed If State Continues to Ignore Major Pollution Violations

Federal Shutdown Becoming a Polluters Holiday

Humans and Wildlife at Risk by End of Critical Monitoring and Pollution Testing

Not All the Trump Administration Wants a Wall

EPA Guidance Says Surveillance Technology Supplants Need for Physical Barriers

Lake O’s Gateway City Spewing Illegal Wastewater

Clewiston Phosphorus and Other Pollution Violations Go Unpunished and Unabated

Venice Epitomizes Florida Water Pollution Crisis

Continued Illegal Discharges Amid Record Gulf Red Tide Outbreaks
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