Fines for illegal pollution plummet under Trump

Fines for illegal pollution have plummeted under President Donald Trump, according to analysis by an environmental advocacy group.

The Environmental Integrity Project looked at that civil penalties paid by polluters during the first six months under Trump. The group published an analysis Thursday that found penalties were less than half their levels under each of the past three presidents.

The analysis found that Trump’s Justice Department settled 26 civil cases against companies over environmental violations, totaling $12 million in penalties. That’s a 60 percent drop on average from comparable time periods under presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush or Bill Clinton, even before adjustments for inflation.

The group said environmental offenders also were required to perform less cleanup under Trump and make smaller reductions to future pollution.

A Justice Department spokesman said Thursday it continues to “vigorously enforce” environmental laws.

The report’s authors cautioned that six months represent only an eighth of a presidential term but said the early news is neither encouraging nor surprising. Trump and Environmental Enforcement Agency chief Scott Pruitt have complained that federal regulations are often too onerous and stifle the growth of American businesses.

“President Trump campaigned on a promise of ‘ law and order,’ but appar- ently law enforcement for big polluters is not what he had in mind,” Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said in a statement. He previously served as director of EPA’s civil enforcement office under both Clinton and Bush.

“If this drop- off in environmental enforcement continues, it will leave more people breathing more air pollution or swimming in waterways with more waste,” Schaeffer said.

Under the first six months under Obama, the Justice Department brought 34 civil cases for violations of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and other federal environ- mental laws, with polluters agreeing to pay $36 million in penalties. Bush logged 31 cases with $30 million in penalties, while Clinton accounted for 45 cases with $25 million in penalties.

The group did not include settlements for pollution cleanups agreed to as part of the federal Superfund program, cases.