Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin speaking at EPA headquarters in 2025.
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images North America
hide caption
toggle caption
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images North America
WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency initiated a record low number of actions against polluters in 2025, according to a new report. It’s a dramatic shift from previous administrations, raising questions about the agency’s commitment to enforcing the nation’s environmental laws.
The watchdog group Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) found that only 16 legal actions were taken against alleged polluters on the EPA’s behalf by the Department of Justice. That’s 87% lower than during President Obama’s second term and 76% lower than President Biden’s first year in office. Even compared to the first year of the previous administration, in 2017, enforcement actions are down 81%.
A key factor in the decline is a shortage of government attorneys at the Department of Justice responsible for filing these lawsuits. A recent analysis found that at least one-third of lawyers in the Justice Department’s environment division have left their positions in the past year.
The EPA maintains it remains dedicated to its core mission of protecting air, land, and water. In an emailed statement, EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch asserted that the agency is focused on “achieving swift compliance and not just overzealous enforcement intended to cripple industry based on climate zealotry.”
Hirsch dismissed the EIP report as “erroneous,” stating that the EPA will soon release data demonstrating it has concluded more cases in its first year than the previous administration did in its final year.
Penalties against polluters have also decreased
The EIP’s analysis also revealed a decline in administrative penalties levied against polluters. Through September, the EPA imposed $41 million in penalties, $8 million less—adjusted for inflation—than the same period during the previous administration’s first year, and $5 million less than the first year of the prior administration.
“Our nation’s environmental laws are meaningless when EPA does not enforce the rules,” said Jen Duggan, EIP executive director. “Failing to enforce our environmental laws means Americans across the country are more likely to be exposed to illegal air and water pollution that threatens their health and their quality of life.”
EIP acknowledges that evaluating enforcement efforts during an administration’s first year can be complex, as some cases require more than a year to resolve. The group did note a few areas, such as drinking water standards, where current enforcement numbers are higher than in previous administrations.
A focus on deregulation
The EIP’s analysis comes as the current administration has prioritized deregulation, government reorganization, and encouraging staff departures, including within the EPA.
Last March, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans to target over two dozen rules and policies, calling it the “most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history.” These announcements often emphasize economic benefits rather than public health concerns, as the administration seeks to reverse the previous administration’s climate agenda while boosting domestic fossil fuels.
In September, the administrator called climate change a “con job” while speaking at the United Nations. The U.S. withdrew from the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international effort to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more,” Zeldin said last March.
The administration plans to repeal power plant climate pollution limits, overturn a 2009 finding that underpins much of the government’s climate policy, and end climate pollution rules for vehicles. These actions are unfolding as climate scientists report that the past three years have been the hottest on record, suggesting an acceleration of global warming.
