Tim McLaughlin

BOSTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has seen its enforcement activities drop sharply in 2018 as civil and criminal penalties for polluters fell to new lows. This was according to a Washington D.C. watchdog.

According to a report by Environmental Integrity Project, enforcement activities of the EPA, which includes criminal investigations, have declined about half compared with the average yearly totals from 2002 to 2017, a study found.

The nonprofit organization stated that civil penalties for 2018-2021 were approximately 28% lower than 2002-2017 and criminal fines decreased 49% after inflation adjustment.

The EPA did not comment on the conclusions of this report.

Eric Schaeffer is the executive director at the Environmental Integrity Project. He was previously the EPA director for civil enforcement. Budget cuts have impacted the EPA’s ability to enforce environmental laws in the United States.

The agency has seen its resources shrink since fiscal 2010, when it had a $10.3 billion annual budget and a staff that numbered more than 17,000. According to EPA statistics, the agency’s resources have dwindled under President Joe Biden’s leadership. In fiscal 2020, the spending was $9.2 billion. The current fiscal year sees plans for more than 1,000 new full-time employees.

Schaeffer stated that the federal fiscal years 2021 ended with 123 criminal cases and 105 polluters being charged in federal court were both at their lowest in two decades. However, fines and years in prison were the highest in recent history.