Washington, DC -- Today, the Environmental Integrity Project released an analysis of Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt's enforcement of environmental laws in its first six months that found a 60-percent drop in civil penalties compared to the Obama, George W. Bush, and Clinton administrations. Thus far, the current administration has only lodged 26 violations, collecting only $12 million in penalties from companies. Comparatively, the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations had levied $25 million, $30 million, and $36 million in penalties within their first six months in office.
In response, Sierra Club Climate Policy Director Liz Perera released the following statement:
“Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt have apparently decided to virtually stop enforcing every clean air and water law on the book that they haven’t already delayed, thwarted or shredded. No one should be shocked that Trump and Pruitt are letting fossil fuel executives break the law by polluting our communities with impunity. After all, the Trump administration is stocked with lobbyists for the very same corporate polluters that they are now supposed to hold accountable.
“The gulf between Trump and Pruitt’s talk and the reality of the destruction they are wreaking upon our air and water is massive. The only actions they have taken and will continue to take are those that pad the pockets of the corporate polluters directing this administration’s nearly every move. This is not what the American people expect nor deserve from their government.”
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