Paying Less to Pollute

After a year in office, civil cases for pollution violations under the Trump Administration declined by 44 percent and penalties were down by 49 percent. This report documents that federal civil penalties against polluters have fallen by about half compared to the first year of the previous three administrations.

A review of federal records over the last year revealed that the Trump Administration lodged consent decrees for 48 civil cases against polluters and collected $30 million in penalties from Inauguration Day on January 20, 2017, until January 20, 2018.

The report also provides 15 examples of industrial facilities across the U.S. – including in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota – that received notices from EPA for serious violations of air pollution limits before the Trump Administration took office, but no penalties or cleanup orders since.  Download the notices of violation here.