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

Hurricanes Create Polluters Holidays in Florida

Hurricane Irma Led to Massive Animal Waste Discharges with No Monitoring

Great Lakes Not so Great Due to Pollution

Virtually All Waters Classified “Impaired” by PCBs, Dioxin, Mercury, and Pesticides

America Losing the War for Clean Water

More Than Half of U.S. Rivers and Two-Thirds of Lakes and Reservoirs Impaired

South Florida Awash in Cow Manure

State Allows Massive Animal Waste Discharges to Surface and Ground Waters

Florida Racks up Second Worst Eco-Enforcement in 30+ Years

Scott Pollution Forgiveness Paints False Picture of Compliance with No Follow-Up

Navy Sprinkles Pixie Dust Across Hunters Point

Bizarre Retesting Plan Claims 80% of Contaminated Soil Samples Are Clean

SF-Owned Hunters Point Parcels Soil Testing Falsified

EPA Finds 93% of Soil Samples Unreliable on Parcels Transferred to City in 2015

Hunters Point Radiation Problems Worsen

Navy Says Tetra Tech Building Radiation Survey Data Are Also Bogus

Mega-Pollution Violations Befoul St. Johns River

Non-Enforcement Leaves Florida’s Longest River with Excess Bacteria and Nutrients

I-70 Expansion Modeling Report (PDF)

Air Modeling for PM 2.5 & PM 10 for I-70 East Phase1 demonstrates that the project will violate NAAQS PM 2.5.

Pruitt’s New Dirty Air Plan Hatched Behind the Scenes

Ambient or Outdoor Air Pollution Standards Set for Rollback per Industry Playbook

Feds Urged To Tackle Rampant Florida Water Pollution

Lack of State Enforcement vs. City of Lynn Haven Triggers Intervention Petition

Radiation Problems Multiply For San Francisco’s Hunters Point

Nearly All U.S. Navy Radiation Samples Were Falsified, Fraudulent or Unreliable

EPA Pollution Enforcement Shrivels Across the Board

Pruitt Pushing Polluter Settlements Behind Closed Doors for “Informal” Handling

Florida Treats Oil Companies with Kid Gloves in Spill Cleanups

Taxpayers Often Left Holding the Bag in Leaking Petroleum Storage Tank Program

Scott’s Pledge to Restore Florida Springs Was a Scam

Petroleum Cleanup $ Misdirected Outside Spring-Sheds or to Low Priority Projects

Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to Lapse at Month’s End

No Reauthorization Bill Introduced to Extend Oil Excise Tax for Cleanup Funds

Lawsuit to Require Chemical Accident Emission Reports

Hurricane Harvey Chemical Explosions Spotlight Neglected Clean Air Act Mandate

Many Floridians Unknowingly Drink Contaminated Water

No Notice to Residents at Thousands of Sites Polluted by Leaking Petroleum Tanks

Florida Eco-Enforcement Still Scraping Bottom

Even Slight Upturns Cannot Mask Historic Nosedive in Pollution Control
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