The New Environmental Federalism: States Taking the Lead for Better or Worse
A vacuum at the federal level is leaving lots of room for state governments to lead on environmental issues, but with widely varying impacts.
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Interview of the Week: Lois Schiffer, the Former Top Environmental Enforcer
Lois Schiffer is one of the leading environmental lawyers in the United States, having served as the General Counsel of NOAA during the Obama Administration, and as the Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources at the Justice Department during the Clinton Administration, as well as teaching environmental law at Georgetown Law for 30 […]
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Duct Taped Turtles Turn Up In Luggage – Abandoned by Smugglers
Ironically, just as the world was celebrating World Wildlife Day last weekend, NPR reported that customs officials in the Phillippines on Sunday discovered more than 1500 rare and endangered turtles and tortoises wrapped in duct tape inside four unclaimed pieces of luggage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
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EPA’s Low Law Enforcement Puts Communities at Risk
A new report issued yesterday by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) in conjunction with a Congressional hearing on EPA’s lack of enforcement under President Trump, concludes that communities across the country are being put at risk of exposure to dangerous contaminants.
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EPA Enforcement Hits New Lows
The Trump Administration is not just rolling back environmental rules, it is also cutting down on inspections and enforcement according to a summary issued by the agency on Friday. We had previously reported the drop in criminal cases brought by EPA against the worst polluters, but this new data shows the decrease in enforcement also carries over to civil cases and even to inspections, which provide the basis for enforcement actions.
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EPA Criminal Cases At 30 Year Low
The advocacy group Public Employees for Environment Responsibility (PEER) announced on Monday that criminal cases brought by the Department of Justice for cases originating at the Environmental Protection Agency have plummeted in the Trump Administration to only 166, and of those, only 62 resulted in prosecutions, the lowest number since 1992.
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