U.S. Environmental Law and Enforcement Dashboard (2025)

Overview: U.S. environmental law is anchored by landmark federal statutes, robust enforcement mechanisms, and evolving state and international frameworks.
Sources: EPA[1][7], ECHO[1][3], EIP[6]

Legal Foundations and Principles

Federalism: EPA sets national standards, states implement and enforce many programs. State Review Framework tracks state/federal enforcement consistency[1].
Constitutional Basis: Commerce Clause, Supremacy Clause, Tenth Amendment.
Common Law: Public nuisance, standing, public trust doctrine.
Administrative Law: EPA rules under the Administrative Procedure Act; judicial review.
Ethics: Precautionary principle, environmental justice, intergenerational equity.
Citizen Enforcement: Most major statutes allow citizen suits-vital as EPA enforcement resources shrink[5].

Sources: EPA[1], ECHO[1], PEER[5]

Major Federal Statutes: Scope and Impact

Statute	Year	Scope/Impact
NEPA	1970	Requires EIS for major federal actions; 1,400+ EIS/year[1]
Clean Air Act	1970, 1990	73% drop in PM2.5, 77% drop in lead since 1970[1]
Clean Water Act	1972	65% reduction in major pollutant discharges since 1972[1][3]
Endangered Species Act	1973	1,700+ species listed; 54 recovered (2025)[1]
CERCLA (Superfund)	1980	444 sites cleaned, 1,336 on NPL (2025)[1]

Source: EPA[1][3]

Enforcement and Compliance Trends (2020-2024)

Year	Civil Cases	Criminal Defendants	Penalties ($M)	Inspections	Superfund Cleanups
2020	2,500	120	1,200	10,000	18
2021	2,415	130	1,350	10,800	22
2022	2,300	110	1,100	10,200	20
2023	2,210	140	1,400	11,000	21
2024	2,180	155	1,600	11,500	19

Source: EPA Enforcement Annual Results[1][7]

Long-Term Trend: EPA enforcement (civil, criminal, inspections) has declined since 2014, with a partial rebound under Biden in 2024[6][7].
2024: Most criminal defendants charged since 2019. Civil penalties, inspections, and case conclusions increased vs. 2020[6][7].

EPA Budget and Policy Trends

Year	EPA Budget ($B)
2016	8.1
2020	9.0
2024	9.14
2026 (proposed)	4.16

Sources: EIP[6], HKLaw[4]

Project 2025: Proposes eliminating EPA enforcement and environmental justice offices, shifting enforcement to states, and a 54% budget cut for FY2026[6][8].

EPA Criminal Enforcement Resources

Criminal Investigators (2024): 147 (well below 200 minimum required by law)[5].
Criminal Cases Opened (2024): 120 (down nearly two-thirds since 2012)[5][7].
Convictions: Down to nearly half of 2014 levels[5].
2024: Most criminal defendants charged since 2019, but long-term trend is downward[7].
Training: 1,000+ partners trained on environmental crime topics in 2024[7].

Sources: PEER[5], EPA[7]

Recent EPA Region 10 Clean Water Act Cases (Q1 2025)

Case	City	State	Penalty ($)
Alaska Airlines	Petersburg	AK	820
SECON Southeast AK Quarry	Ketchikan	AK	3,741
Endomines Idaho	Elk City	ID	15,293
Harris East Investors LLC	Boise	ID	4,950
Yount Enterprises	Idaho Falls	ID	5,000
Interstate Concrete and Asphalt	Pendleton	OR	4,688
A-1 Pallets	Auburn	WA	143,900
A-1 Pallets, Inc.	Kent	WA	71,950
City of College Place	College Place	WA	1,350
Division Five, Inc.	Tukwila	WA	2,500
Puget Sound Shoreline Rock Armoring	Greenbank	WA	*
Town of Rosalia	Rosalia	WA	488

Source: EPA Region 10[3]

* No monetary penalty. Corrective action(s) required to address violations.

State, Federal, and International Context

State Law Innovation: CA SB253/SB261 (climate disclosure), NY A4123, VT Climate Superfund.
Federal Preemption: Ongoing legal conflicts over state climate and ESG laws (2024-2025).
International: U.S. in Paris Agreement, Montreal Protocol, UK Environment Act, EU CSRD.
State Review Framework: EPA and states share enforcement under CAA, CWA, RCRA; SRF assesses consistency[1].

Sources: EPA[1][3], ECHO[1], EIP[6]

Outcomes and Challenges

Air Quality: 73% drop in PM2.5, 77% drop in lead since 1970 (CAA).
Water Quality: 65% reduction in major pollutant discharges (CWA).
Hazardous Waste: 444 Superfund sites cleaned, 1,336 on NPL (2025).
Declining Enforcement: EPA criminal cases, penalties, and inspections down from 2014 peaks[5][6].
Budget Cuts: Proposed 54% cut for FY2026 may reduce enforcement further[4][6].
Environmental Justice: Biden-era focus on pollution in overburdened communities; Project 2025 would eliminate EPA’s environmental justice office[6][8].
Citizen Enforcement: Increasing reliance on citizen suits as EPA resources shrink[5].

Sources: EPA[1], EIP[6], PEER[5]

Resources:

U.S. Environmental Law and Policy Dashboard (2025)

Legal foundations and principles:

Federalism: The EPA sets national environmental standards, but states implement and enforce many programs. The State Review Framework (SRF) tracks how consistently states and the EPA enforce core laws.
Constitutional basis: The Commerce Clause enables federal regulation of environmental matters; the Supremacy Clause means federal law overrides conflicting state law; the Tenth Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the federal government for the states.
Common law: Doctrines like public nuisance and public trust underpin early environmental cases and supplement statutory law.
Administrative law: The EPA and other agencies make rules under the Administrative Procedure Act, and courts review agency actions.
Ethics: Principles such as the precautionary principle (acting before full certainty), environmental justice (fair treatment for all communities), and intergenerational equity (protecting future generations) guide policy.
Citizen enforcement: Most major environmental statutes allow citizen lawsuits, which have become more important as EPA resources decline.

Major federal statutes: scope and impact:

NEPA (1970): Requires Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for major federal actions; over 1,400 EISs are filed each year.
Clean Air Act (1970, 1990): Has driven a 73 percent reduction in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and a 77 percent drop in lead emissions since 1970.
Clean Water Act (1972): Contributed to a 65 percent reduction in major pollutant discharges into U.S. waters since enactment.
Endangered Species Act (1973): Over 1,700 species listed as endangered or threatened; 54 species have recovered as of 2025.
CERCLA/Superfund (1980): 444 hazardous waste sites have been fully cleaned up; 1,336 remain on the National Priorities List.

Enforcement and compliance trends (2020-2024):

Civil cases: The number of EPA civil enforcement cases has declined from 2,500 in 2020 to 2,180 in 2024.
Criminal defendants: Criminal environmental prosecutions have fluctuated, with a recent uptick to 155 defendants in 2024 (the highest since 2019), but remain below historic highs.
Penalties: Annual penalties have risen from $1.2 billion in 2020 to $1.6 billion in 2024, reflecting some larger cases.
Inspections: EPA inspections increased from 10,000 in 2020 to 11,500 in 2024.
Superfund cleanups: The number of Superfund sites cleaned each year remains low (19 in 2024), reflecting the complexity and cost of remediation.
Long-term trend: Overall, enforcement (civil, criminal, inspections) has declined since 2014, with a partial rebound under the Biden administration.

EPA budget and policy trends:

Budget: The EPA’s budget increased from $8.1 billion (2016) to $9.14 billion (2024), but a proposed 54 percent cut would reduce it to $4.16 billion in 2026.
Policy shifts: “Project 2025” proposes eliminating EPA’s enforcement and environmental justice offices and shifting enforcement to states, which could further reduce federal oversight and resources.

EPA criminal enforcement resources:

Criminal investigators: Only 147 criminal investigators in 2024, well below the 200 required by law.
Criminal cases: 120 new criminal cases opened in 2024, down nearly two-thirds from 2012.
Convictions: Convictions are about half of 2014 levels, reflecting fewer resources and cases.
Training: Over 1,000 partners trained on environmental crime in 2024, showing ongoing outreach despite resource constraints.

Recent EPA Region 10 Clean Water Act cases (Q1 2025):

Penalties: Cases in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington resulted in penalties ranging from $488 to $143,900. Some cases (for example, Puget Sound Shoreline Rock Armoring) required corrective action without monetary penalties.
Geographic spread: This reflects EPA’s ongoing focus on compliance in the Pacific Northwest.

State, federal, and international context:

State innovation: California (SB253/SB261), New York (A4123), and Vermont (Climate Superfund) are leading with new climate and disclosure laws.
Federal preemption: Legal conflicts are ongoing between federal and state authority, especially over climate and ESG laws.
International: The United States remains a party to the Paris Agreement and Montreal Protocol; global standards like the UK Environment Act and EU CSRD increasingly influence U.S. policy.
State Review Framework: EPA and states share enforcement; SRF assesses consistency and effectiveness.

Outcomes and challenges:

Air and water quality: Dramatic improvements since 1970, but many challenges remain.
Hazardous waste: Hundreds of Superfund sites cleaned, but over a thousand remain.
Declining enforcement: Fewer criminal cases, penalties, and inspections compared to a decade ago.
Budget cuts: Proposed cuts threaten enforcement and program capacity.
Environmental justice: Increased focus, but resources and enforcement in overburdened communities still lag.
Citizen enforcement: Lawsuits by citizens and NGOs are increasingly critical as federal resources shrink.