The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Donald Trump is scaling back pollution enforcement, raising concerns about the fate of ongoing investigations into hazardous waste, air quality, and water safety across the United States, The New York Times reported.
According to a recent agency memo, the EPA is pulling back from environmental enforcement efforts, potentially risking long-standing investigations and pollution control efforts.
The memo, issued March 12, states that enforcement actions will no longer “shut down any stage of energy production” unless there is an imminent threat to health. It also marks a sharp shift from the Biden administration’s efforts to address environmental hazards in low-income and minority communities, stating that “no consideration may be given to whether those affected by potential violations constitute minority or low-income populations.”
Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, said the changes will “allow the agency to better focus on its core mission and powering the Great American Comeback.”
Under President Biden, the EPA had taken a more aggressive approach, concluded 1,851 civil cases, and collected $1.7 billion in penalties in 2024, the highest levels since 2017. The agency also brought charges against 121 criminal defendants and prioritized enforcement of greenhouse gas emissions, coal ash disposal, and toxic chemicals like PFAS.
However, the Trump administration is now reversing course, with plans to repeal dozens of environmental regulations, including limits on vehicle emissions, smokestacks, and protections for wetlands.
Zeldin said the agency’s mission is to “lower the cost of buying a car, heating a home, and running a business.”
David Uhlmann, who led EPA enforcement under Biden, warned that the new memo essentially signals that “if companies, especially in the oil and gas sector, break the law, this E.P.A. does not intend to hold them accountable.”
“That would put communities across the United States in harm’s way,” he added.
One early casualty of the new direction was the Trump administration’s decision to drop a federal lawsuit against Denka Performance Elastomer, which had been accused of releasing a likely carcinogen from its Louisiana plant.
Other investigations are also in limbo. A proposed $35 million settlement with HF Sinclair refinery in Artesia, New Mexico, was developed during the final days of the Biden administration. It aimed to address emissions of hazardous pollutants in a community long plagued by industrial contamination.
“Due to the change in administration at the federal level, timing is unclear,” said the New Mexico Department of Environmental Quality.
Critics say the rollback jeopardizes communities that already bear the brunt of industrial pollution.
“The memorandum is essentially a wink, wink to coal and oil interests that they can pollute with what may be close to impunity,” said Ann E. Carlson, a professor of environmental law at UCLA.
Though the agency says it remains committed to addressing imminent health threats, experts warn the long-term risks — including cancer and respiratory diseases — are harder to detect and regulate in the short term.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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