Overview

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted more on-site inspections of polluting industrial sites this year than any time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• EPA opened nearly 200 criminal investigations this year, a 70% increase over 2022, and completed nearly 1,800 civil settlements, a 9% increase over 2022.
• More than half the inspections and settlements involved poor and disadvantaged communities long scarred by pollution, reflecting the Biden administration’s emphasis on environmental justice issues.
• EPA's enforcement and compliance work have resulted in the reduction, treatment, elimination or minimization of 1.84 billion pounds of pollutants, and required violators to pay over $704 million in penalties, fines, and restitution.
• The EPA’s enforcement staff remains far below its peak of more than a decade ago, even as officials move to add about 300 positions.