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22h ago

Report Finds State Pollution Control Agencies Slashed as EPA Cuts Loom

A new watchdog analysis warns state regulators lack the capacity to absorb more oversight.

An alligator suns itself on the riverbank during a pontoon boat tour through Wekiva Wild River Tours, which depart daily from Wekiva Island in Longwood, on Dec. 20, 2024. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Dr. Loren Hopkins, chief environmental science officer for the city of Houston, left, and Earthea Nance, former regional administrator for the EPA, talk following a news conference announcing a nearly half million dollar grant for air monitoring on Monday, July 10, 2023 in Houston. The federal agency has since seen major cuts to its staff and grant funding, which could disproportionately impact Texas. 
The Exxon Mobil Baytown Olefins Plant burns pollutants on Jan. 24, 2023, in Baytown. 
Casey Luckett Snyder, with EPA Region 6, gives a presentation during the a meeting with the Fifth Ward community affected by creosote contamination on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.

Overview

  • The Environmental Integrity Project reports that from 2010 to 2024, 27 states cut environmental agency budgets and 31 reduced staff, totaling a nationwide loss of about $1.4 billion in state-level funding.
  • Alabama’s Department of Environmental Management saw its inflation-adjusted budget fall by roughly 49%, one of the steepest declines in the country.
  • Florida eliminated 394 positions at the Department of Environmental Protection, a 19% reduction that was the largest job loss by headcount among states.
  • Illinois cut about 20% of positions at the Illinois EPA as its inflation-adjusted budget dropped approximately 21%, with advocates warning of reduced enforcement capacity.
  • In Texas, the TCEQ’s inflation-adjusted budget declined about 33% and the agency reports roughly 1,400 enforcement cases backlogged, even as the state takes on more permitting authority including carbon capture wells.