On Feb. 26, EPA's top enforcement officer Susan Bodine, told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that the agency has not become lax at enforcing laws stating, "A strong environment program doesn't mean we have to collect a particular dollar amount."
She went on to defend EPA's FY 2018 enforcement record, which showed the number of inspections and evaluations conducted by the agency declined to 10,612 in 2018 from 11,941 the previous year. The number has been declining since 2012. The EPA data showed in fiscal year 2018 it collected $69.5 million in civil penalties, which the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project in a Feb. 26 report claimed is the lowest in both actual and inflation-adjusted dollars since at least 1994.
However, fines collected may not be the best metric to judge the EPA’s performance, Bodine said. The EPA has many tools for bringing compliance with environmental laws, including working with companies to voluntarily disclose violations and working with states to take enforcement actions, she said.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chair of the Oversight panel, got Bodine to acknowledge that the number of inspections carried out by the EPA in fiscal year 2018 was the lowest in a decade and that the number of cases referred to the Justice Department dropped as well. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, agreed with the DeGette on the importance of this issue.
“Congress can pass all the legislation to protect against air pollution, contaminated drinking water, and hazardous chemical risks, but ultimately the EPA must implement those laws,” said Pallone urging the EPA to step up its investigations to make sure all companies are complying, and taking actions against those that aren’t.
Bodine also disputed claims about lack of staff. She said the agency has 147 enforcement agents on hand and will try to get that number up to 164, the maximum number allowed by congressional appropriations. (Bloomberg BNA, 2/26/19)
