EPA Lax On Enforcement, Says Environmental Group
From: Boise State Public Radio “The critical analysis comes from the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. It shows the federal government referred significantly fewer cases to the Department of Justice than it has in years past. “Under the Trump ...
With the Government Shut Down, Is Your Water Safe?
From: The Nation “The shutdown adds more disorder to the government’s halting efforts to keep communities lead-free. As the top enforcer of the Safe Drinking Water Act and lead-safety protections in the “Lead and Copper” rule, the EPA sets regulatory standards and guidelines for ...
Firm at Center of Hunters Point Fraud Scandal Rewarded With More Government Work
From: Curbed SF “Tetra Tech, the engineering firm paid more than $250 million by the U.S. Navy to remove radioactive contamination from San Francisco’s Hunters Point has so far escaped any serious punishment, with a $7,000 fine from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission waived on ...
EPA Prosecutions Against Polluters Lowest in 30 Years
From: Fortune “Of the 166 cases referred last year for prosecution, just 62 federal convictions were secured, the lowest since 1995. Jeff Ruch, executive director of the organization Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told Fortune in an email that the decline in criminal ...
EPA Prosecution of ‘Egregious’ Pollution Cases at a 30-Year Low
From: Courthouse News “According to Justice Department data gathered by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the EPA opened 166 criminal cases against polluters in 2018 – 60 percent less than in 2011, and 72 percent less than 1988. When asked for comment, the EPA ...
Andrew Wheeler Returns to the Senate for EPA Administrator Confirmation Hearing
From: News Channel 5 “The day before the hearing, an environmental group released a new report claiming the EPA’s “criminal enforcement program was missing in action” last year. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility documented a decline in criminal referrals ...
GAO Investigating EPA’s Low Enforcement Numbers
From: The Hill “News of the probe comes as EPA’s Inspector General (IG) continues its own investigation into the agency’s enforcement figures and as the EPA is gearing up to release its 2018 enforcement numbers, which are expected to be even lower than the previous year. Data ...
CDA Press: EPA Criminal Action Against Polluters Hits 30-Year Low
From: Coeur d’Alene Press “But the 166 cases referred for prosecution in the last fiscal year is the lowest number since 1988, when Ronald Reagan was president and 151 cases were referred, according to Justice Department data obtained by the nonprofit Public Employees for ...
DeSantis Plan: Move Wildlife Cops to Agency Not Known for Enforcing Rules
From: Tampa Bay Times “Other environmental advocates speculated about what DeSantis had in mind. Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation for more than 30 years, said, “It may be to shift environmental pollution enforcement to DEP and have fish and wildlife ...
Wheeler Faces the Senate
From: Politico “The Government Accountability Office already has an investigation underway into EPA’s enforcement numbers. A spokesman for GAO confirmed to ME the agency launched an investigation in October but added the “final scope of what we will cover and methodology to ...
The Energy 202: Trump Opened This Corner of Utah to Coal Miners. But Will Any Come?
From: Washington Post “There were 166 cases the agency referred for prosecution in the last fiscal year, the Associated Press reports based on administration data obtained and released by the nonprofit advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. That’s the lowest ...
EPA Referrals of Polluters for Prosecution Hit 30-Year Low in 2018
From: Democracy Now “In environmental news, the Associated Press is reporting the Environmental Protection Agency referred just 166 pollution cases for prosecution in 2018, the lowest number in 30 years. The executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the ...
State Of Alaska Wants Greater Control Over Wildlife, Including That In National Parks
From: National Parks Traveler “At Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility, which released the correspondence, Executive Director Jeff Ruch said that while federal lands are to be managed for all Americans, the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who took office in December ...
EPA Referrals for Criminal Prosecution Lowest Since 1988: Report
From: The Hill “Former members of the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division told the AP that the reason for the decreased caseload stemmed not from a lack of leads, but rather a lack of resources to pursue those leads. Michael Hubbard, a former agent with the enforcement division, said ...
EPA Criminal Action Against Polluters Hits 30-year Low
From: Associated Press “You don’t get closer to the core of EPA’s mission than enforcing the law,” Jeff Ruch, PEER’s executive director, told The Associated Press. “We’re reaching levels where the enforcement program is lacking a pulse.” EPA efforts to prosecute polluters ...
McCracken: Cougars Are Not to Blame for Low Elk Numbers
From: La Grande Observer “In order to keep both elk hunters and ranchers happy, ODFW has shifted the blame for low elk numbers onto cougar predation rather than agency mismanagement. For those curious about what happens when university research finds and publishes information that ...
To Address Toxic Algae, Florida Governor Announces Sweeping Environmental Plan
From: Governing “The environment became a central issue in the heated election after algae blooms covered most of the 730-square-mile lake and coincided with a red tide in the Gulf of Mexico this past summer, littering beaches with dead sea turtles, dolphins, manatees and other sea life ...
Florida Governor Announces Sweeping Changes in Water Policy
From: Trade Only Today “Two days after taking office, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has released a proposal to clean up Florida’s waters. The action items include more aggressive policies to address green algae in Lake Okeechobee and toxic spills into coastal waterways. DeSantis plans to ...
Bernhardt Must Renew ‘Acting’ Heads by Month’s End
From: E&E News “Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt must soon decide whether to maintain eight temporary agency directors, as the Trump administration presses into its third year without appointees for a slew of top posts at the department. Environmental advocacy groups have ...
Idled Federal Workers Called Back To Wildlife Refuges So People Can Hunt
From: Huffington Post “Jeff Ruch, president of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told The Hill that the FWS decision appears to violate the terms of its own shutdown contingency plan, which allows emergency fund use only for safety and the protection of property. “ ...
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