Criminal cases against polluters drop by a third
by E&E News | January 25, 2022
Criminal prosecutions against companies violating environmental laws continued to decline last year, with EPA referrals to the Department of Justice dropping to their lowest levels in more than three decades. EPA referred just 152 criminal cases to DOJ last fiscal year — a third lower ...
Burnout, expertise gaps plague EPA chemicals office
by E&E News | December 23, 2021
Key EPA programs are facing a steep staffing shortage that some employees worry will imperil critical chemicals work and certain Biden administration priorities, even as advocates say the agency has no real plan for fixing the problem. Parts of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution ...
NPS accused of shelving employee report on ‘toxic culture’
by E&E News | November 15, 2021
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility today accused the National Park Service of “burying” a 2018 report that provided a detailed and critical look at the agency’s long-standing struggles with employee harassment and its “toxic culture.” The report cited “the ...
Could conservation plan prompt tougher grazing oversight?
by E&E News | November 1, 2021
When top federal land managers suggested this month that millions of acres of public lands leased for grazing livestock could count toward the Biden administration’s aggressive conservation plan, environmentalists were quick to slam the idea. After all, according to data compiled by ...
‘Horror stories’: Groups urge EPA to revamp pesticides work
by E&E News | October 26, 2021
A coalition of advocacy groups are panning EPA’s pesticides work and calling on the agency to adopt a number of reforms geared toward bolstering science and minimizing industry input. In a letter sent today, 37 organizations asked the Biden administration and key officials managing ...