OIG Warns EPA Enforcement Declines May Harm Health; OECA Defends Record

May 13, 2021
EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) is warning that a steady decline in agency enforcement activities “may expose the public and the environment to undetected harmful pollutants,” in a sharply critical report that finds the downward trend was found on a statute-by-statute bases and at EPA headquarters and in each of the agency’s 10 regions. In a response, the Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance (OECA) acknowledges that numbers have dropped but strongly defends its work while rejecting the watchdog’s...


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