Environmental Enforcement Under Trump Records Show 60 Percent Drop in Civil Penalties Against Polluters During President Trump’s First Six Months AUGUST 10, 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Written by Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, with research by analyst Keene Kelderman. THE ENVIRONMENTAL IN TEGRITY PROJECT The Environmental Integrity Project (http://www.environmentalintegrity.org) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established in March of 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys to advocate for effective enforcement of environmental laws. EIP has three goals: 1) to provide objective analyses of how the failure to enforce or implement environmental laws increases pollution and affects public health; 2) to hold federal and state agencies, as well as individual corporations, accountable for failing to enforce or comply with environmental laws; and 3) to help local communities obtain the protection of environmental laws. CONTACTS: For questions about this report, please contact: Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, (202) 8882703 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org PHOTO CREDITS: Cover photo by The New York Times 2 Environmental Enforcement Under Trump When it comes to enforcing environmental law, the Trump Administration is off to a very slow start. So far, the Justice Department has collected 60 percent less in civil penalties than polluters had paid on average by this time in the first year of Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The cases this year are smaller, requiring much less spending on cleanup, and resulting in fewer measurable reductions in pollutants that end up in our air or water. While the early news is neither encouraging nor surprising, enforcement results may vary over the short term. The actions that EPA and the Justice Department take over the next year will indicate whether the disappointing results so far are all we can expect. The analysis below reviews the consent decrees lodged by the Justice Department from January 21 (President Trump’s first day) through July 31, 2017, looking at three factors: penalties paid, the amount violators will spend on pollution controls and, where available, how much pollution these enforcement actions are expected to eliminate. We compare these results to similar data reported for environmental consent decrees lodged under Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton between Inauguration Day and July 31 of each President’s first year in office. The analysis is limited to civil cases, and does not include Superfund actions related to cleanup of abandoned waste dumps. President Trump’s Justice Department lodged 26 civil cases resolving violations of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other environmental laws (not including Superfund) that collected a combined total of $12 million in penalties from violators. Government records show that Presidents Obama, George W. Bush, and Clinton lodged more cases and collected significantly more – an average of $30 million -- in civil penalties by July 31 of each administration’s first year. TABLE 1. TOTAL ENVIRONMENTAL CASES LODGED (CIVIL) AND PENALTIES PAID Administration Total Number of Cases Lodged Penalties Clinton 45 $25 million Bush 31 $30 million Obama 34 $36 million Trump 26 Note: Civil cases lodged from first day in office through July 31 of first year $12 million About twenty years ago, EPA began estimating the value of “injunctive relief,” i.e., how much violators will spend to install and maintain the control equipment needed to clean up pollution and comply with environmental standards. These pollution control devices include scrubbers to remove sulfur dioxide from smokestacks or treatment systems that decontaminate wastewater before it is released to a river. EPA reports on the total value of injunctive relief for cases that require a significant investment in pollution controls, although actual costs may be spread over a number of years. Through July 31, the Trump Administration estimated that the injunctive relief required in the 10 cases reporting such data would total $197 million, compared to $710 million in 16 1 cases in President George W. Bush’s first half year and more than $1.2 billion in 22 cases under the same period for President Obama. EPA did not begin compiling this data until the late 1990’s, so comparable estimates are not available for the Clinton Administration’s first year. TABLE 2. ESTIMATED VALUE OF I NJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR CIVIL CASES Administration Cases Estimating Injunctive Relief Value Clinton Injunctive Relief NA NA Bush 16 $710 million Obama 22 $1.201 million Trump 11 $197 million Note: Civil cases lodged from first day in office through July 31 of first year. For some Clean Air Act cases, EPA also estimates the amount of pollution that will be reduced once consent decree requirements take full effect. For example, in March 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice and EPA signed consent decrees with oil refining companies Motiva and Shell that were expected to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by nearly 50,000 tons. Sulfur dioxide is a major contributor to the formation of fine particles known to cause premature death, primarily from heart disease, and to worsen asthma and other lung ailments. EPA has estimated that, on average, eliminating 1,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions from refineries would avoid between 7.7 and 17 premature deaths per year. The chart below includes the reductions in sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates under consent decrees lodged through July 31, and the corresponding reductions in premature deaths from fine particle exposure. TABLE 3. ESTIMATED ANNUAL POLLUTION REDUCTIONS AND PREMATURE DEATH S AVOIDED 1 Bush 4 Sulfur Dioxide Premature Tons Deaths Avoided 68,620 528-1,167 Obama 8 39,260 178-397 9,378 6-15 1,918 45-104 Trump 5 627 4-10 4,331 3-7 264 15-34 Administration Cases Nitrogen Oxide Premature Tons Deaths Avoided 28,239 21-48 Particulates PM2.5 Premature Tons Deaths Avoided 1,929 69-160 Note: From civil cases for which pollution reduction information was available lodged first day in office through July 31 of first year. Readers should note that these results are based on a small handful of cases, and that one or two cases requiring cleanup of a power plant, refinery, auto company or other large emission source can significantly affect totals from one year to the next. For a full listing of all civil environmental enforcement cases filed during the first six months of the Trump, Obama, Bush, and Clinton administrations, see appendices A through D at the end of this report. 2 Largest Cases Filed During First Six Months of Trump Presidency vs Past Administrations The fines imposed by the Trump Administration against big polluters from Inauguration Day through July 31 were relatively modest, by historical standards. The largest civil penalty imposed so far by the administration came on May 17, when EPA and Texas imposed a $2.5 million penalty on the owner of a Houston area chemical storage tank facility, Vopak Terminals North America Inc., after suing the company for air pollution violations near the Houston Ship Channel.2 The company’s Deer Park facility failed to comply with Clean Air Act requirements to properly manage equipment, which resulted in excess emissions of benzene (a carcinogen) and volatile organic compounds, according to EPA. These compounds contribute to smog and causes astshma attacks and eye, nose and throat irritation, as well as headaches, nausea and damage to liver, kidney and the central nervous system. The consent decree to settle the lawsuit also included $5 million in injunctive relief, which includes requirements for the company to implement an inspection and repair program for the tank terminal and control air pollution by operating flares in a way that more completely burns pollutants. The largest civil penalty imposed by the Obama Administration during its first six months was a $12 million fine imposed on the owner of the third largest oil refinery in the U.S., BP Texas City, on Febuary 19, 2009.3 The lawsuit grew out out of a series of fires and explosions at the plant on March 23, 2005, that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 people. In addition to the civil penalty, the federal government also forced BP to pay $161 million to install pollution control equipment and spend $6 million on a supplemental project to reduce air pollution in Texas City. The biggest penalty imposed during the first six months of the George W. Bush Administration was a $9.5 million fine -- along with $400 million in pollution control work (injunctive relief) and $5.5 million in supplemental environmental projects -- imposed on the petroleum refining companies Motiva, Equilon and Shell on March 21, 2001 for air pollution violations.4 Consent decrees filed in federal court in Houston required the companies to install modern pollution-control equipment and significantly reduce emissions from leaking valves, vents and flares throughout their refineries. The companies were required to cut nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions from nine refineries by more than 60,000 tons a year by using innovative technologies. Improved leak detection and repair practices and other pollution-control upgrades also reduced emissions of smogcausing volatile organic compounds and benzene, a known carcinogen. During the first six months of the Clinton Administration, the largest civil penalty was a $11.1 million fine imposed on Louisiana Pacific and Kirby Forest Industries, Inc., on May 24, 1993 for air pollution violations at 14 of its wood product plants.5 The company either failed to obtain required air permits for the plants or got them by using misleading information, according to EPA. Under a consent decree, the company was required to install $70 million worth of modern air pollution control equipment, which was expected to reduce air pollution by more than 90 percent. 3 Methodology The data in this report are based on consent decrees lodged in federal court that resolve violation of environmental law that EPA has referred to the Justice Department for civil prosecution. Once lodged, these consent decrees are announced in the Federal Register and the public is given thirty days to comment on its terms. After any comments are reviewed by the court and Justice Department, the consent decree will be “entered” as a final judgment. Although lodged settlements may be revised in response to public input before they are entered, that rarely happens in practice. Most EPA civil enforcement actions are resolved through consent decrees, although the outcome may be shaped by earlier decisions by the court, e.g., that determine the scope of the defendant’s liability for the violations that EPA has alleged. These settlements may come after a year or more of negotiations, so any consent decrees lodged within the first few months of a President’s first year in office will reflect work done in a prior Administration. But the number and quality of these cases may indicate whether enforcement is on track, or whether the new Administration and his team are more directly involved in reviewing settlements and taking longer to approve them. All lodged cases were identified through Federal Register announcements, which also indicated the amounts paid in civil penalties6 for all but a few cases. Where necessary, EIP reviewed press announcements by the Department of Justice or data posted on EPA’s webpage7 to identify the government’s estimates of injunctive relief and reductions in emissions, as well as any civil penalty data not provided in Federal Register notices. 4 APPENDIX A: CIVIL ENFORCEMENT CA SES FILED UNDER THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATI ON Case Final Order Lodged Federal Penalty ($1,000) Administration Dana Corporation, Perfect Circle Division 1/21/1993 1,300 Clinton New York City 1/22/1993 200 Clinton Consolidated Edison 1/25/1993 220 Clinton 2/4/1993 135 Clinton GNB, Inc. City of New Albany, IN 2/9/1993 175 Clinton U.S. Oil Company 2/10/1993 470 Clinton Texaco Refining and Marketing, Inc. 2/10/1993 500 Clinton USX 2/19/1993 1,800 Clinton Leslie Salt Company 2/28/1993 50 Clinton MSA Manufacturing, Inc. Eastern Environmental Services of the Southeast 3/1/1993 29 Clinton 3/4/1993 28 Clinton Port of Portland 3/5/1993 92 Clinton International Crane Compay 3/5/1993 25 Clinton City of Niagra Falls, NY 3/8/1993 New Boston Coke Corporation 3/9/1993 250 Clinton Alpha Cellulose Corp. 3/9/1993 850 Clinton Fina Oil and Chemical Company 3/10/1993 450 Clinton Windward Properties, Inc. Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company 3/16/1993 75 Clinton 3/22/1993 1,000 Clinton Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority 3/28/1993 435 Clinton IMC Fertilizer, Inc. 3/29/1993 100 Clinton Texas Tank Car 3/31/1993 60 Clinton Shenango, Inc. 4/12/1993 540 Clinton Leith Jeep-Eagle, Inc. 4/26/1993 15 Clinton Cressona Aluminum 5/4/1993 200 Clinton Richard Nelson Clinton 5/7/1993 5 Clinton El Paso Natural Gas 5/13/1993 10 Clinton Group Dekko, Inc. 5/13/1993 550 Clinton Grumman St. Augustine Corp. 5/13/1993 1,500 Clinton Town of Hastings 5/13/1993 5 Clinton Masco Corporation 5/14/1993 10 Clinton American Felt & Filter Louisiana Pacific, Inc., and Kirby Forest Industries 5/19/1993 13 Clinton 5/24/1993 11,100 Clinton US v. Modine Manufacturing 5/28/1993 750 Clinton Elliott Drywall and Asbestos, Inc. 6/10/1993 22 Clinton Global, Inc. 6/18/1993 50 Clinton 5 Boliden Intertrade, A.G. MTD Products Inc. and Columbia Manufacturing 6/25/1993 25 Clinton 6/28/1993 100 Clinton Pacific Coast Producers, Inc. 6/28/1993 101 Clinton Union Tank Car 7/6/1993 350 Clinton Bethlehem Steel Donald E. Buchs and Lorain Properties Company 7/14/1993 545 Clinton 7/14/1993 20 Clinton Florida Tile Amelia Associates and Joey's Excavating, Inc. 7/26/1993 493 Clinton 7/29/1993 125 Clinton APPENDIX B: CIVI L EN FORCEMENT CASES FILE D UNDER THE FIRST SI X MONTHS OF THE GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATI ON Final Order Lodged Federal Penalty ($1,000) 1/25/2001 186 2/1/2001 215 Preston Engravers Inc. 2/5/2001 245 Forsch Polymer Corporation` Gillette 2/8/2001 2/9/2001 32 J.L. Land Development, Inc. 2/15/2001 100 Chevron USA Inc. Viktron, L.P. 2/19/2001 3/20/2001 650 Motiva, Equilon, and Shell 3/21/2001 University of Rhode Island Black Mesa Pipeline Case Michael’s Furniture Company Natural Gas Pipeline Company SEP/Mitigation ($1,000) Injunctive Relief ($1,000) Administration Bush 100 Bush 1 Bush Bush Bush Bush 150 748 9,500 5,500 400,000 4/5/2001 195 550 4/7/2001 128 4/18/2001 155 4/27/2001 390 Bush V-1 Oil Company 5/2/2001 478 Bush Raymond T. James, et al. Marathon Ashland Petroleum, Inc. 5/7/2001 6 5/11/2001 3,800 A&S Tribal Industries 5/14/2001 40 Fort Lewis, US Army 5/18/2001 60 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 6/7/2001 1,000 4,500 Bush Hartz Construction Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives 6/15/2001 6/15/2001 80 80 Bush MIT Shell Oil Company and Motiva Enterprises LLC Bush 150 56 Bush Bush Bush Bush 405 5,900 2,000 Bush 15 Bush 263,000 Bush 112 Bush 200 Bush 300 Bush 6 Guide Corporation and Crown EG, Ind. Charles T. Cannada Air Liquide America Corporation 6/18/2001 6/20/2001 2,000 6,000 2,025 Bush 50 Bush 6/21/2001 4,500 500 Macalloy Group National Railroad Passenger Corp. Gulf Oil L.P. and Catamount Management Co. 6/26/2001 6/28/2001 1,200 500 900 7/5/2001 40 421 Murphy Family Farms Premcor Refining Group, Inc. (formerly Clark Refining and Marketing) 7/10/2001 Texaco Diamond Shamrock Refining Co., LP 12,000 Bush 1,800 Bush Bush 10 Bush 72 17 Bush 7/12/2001 2,000 22,000 Bush 7/16/2001 568 1,700 Bush 7/25/2001 1,200 Bush APPENDIX C: CIVIL ENFORCEMENT CA SES FILED UNDER THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION Case Final Order Lodged Federal Penalty ($1,000) Anderson-Wilcox Corporation 2/3/2009 300 Kentucky Utilities – E.W. Brown 2/3/2009 1,400 Patriot Coal Corporation 2/5/2009 6,500 Frontier El Dorado Refining Company 2/10/2009 1,230 Wyoming Refining Company 2/10/2009 150 BP Texas City The Port of Astoria, Oregon 2/19/2009 3/20/2009 12,000 City of Independence 3/31/2009 255 INVISTA S.a.r.l. (National Case) 4/13/2009 Dominion Exploration - Kings Canyon Miller Dyer & Company North Carolina DOT Ferry Division, et al. North Hill Creek Compressor Station/Bill Barrett/Wind River Lucite International & E.I. Dupont deNemours Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Alaska Gold Company, Rock Creek Mine SEP/Mitigation ($1,000) Injunctive Relief ($1,000) 3,000 147,000 Obama 6,000 Obama 1,307 127,000 Obama 14,000 Obama 6,000 161,000 Obama Administration Obama 125 Obama 450 35,000 Obama 1,700 500,000 Obama 4/17/2009 250 6,100 Obama 4/17/2009 142 90 Obama 4/17/2009 Obama 4/17/2009 240 200 372 Obama 4/20/2009 2,000 5/7/2009 1,050 8,718 Obama 5/12/2009 884 8,177 Obama J.T. Walker Industries, Inc. / MI Metals 5/20/2009 105 100 Obama Zelmer, Inc./Spencer Heights, Inc. 5/21/2009 25 Lebanon WWTF 5/27/2009 Obama 445 Obama 30,200 Obama 7 Friction Holdings LLC 5/29/2009 338 55 Obama City of West Point, et al. 6/12/2009 150 American Laboratories Incorporated 6/16/2009 440 Wallside, Inc. 6/16/2009 100 Carmen Neapolitan City of Duluth/Western Lake Superior 6/18/2009 2 6/23/2009 400 130,000 Obama JLG Enterprises 6/23/2009 50 195 Obama Holcim (US) Inc. Obama 350 181 Obama 695 Obama Obama 6/25/2009 160 Obama Citygas Gasoline Corporation, et al. 7/6/2009 1,400 Obama Skull Valley Band of Goshute indians Delek/ La Gloria - Crown Central Petroleum Corporation (d.b.a. La Gloria Oil and Gas Company) 7/13/2009 1 7/20/2009 624 Colorado Interstate Gas Co. 7/23/2009 1,020 Obama Sierra Properties I, LLC 7/28/2009 276 Obama City of St. Martinville 7/30/2009 50 Obama INEOS ABS (USA) Corporation, et al. 7/31/2009 3,100 4 1 Obama 25,000 Obama 2,000 Obama APPENDIX D: CIVIL EN FORCEMENT CASES FILE D UNDER THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE TR UMP ADMINI STRATION Case EMD Millipore Hammond Sanitary District Maynard Steel Casting Company Final Order Lodged Federal Penalty ($1,000) 1/30/2017 385 2/3/2017 248 SEP/Mitigation ($1,000) 555 Injunctive Relief ($1,000) Administration 3,500 Trump 180,000 Trump 350 Trump 3/1/2017 25 Clean Rentals Inc. Sunoco Pipeline LP (Wellington OH) CWA 311(b)(3) United States v. Georgia Coastal Land Co., et al., No. 2:16-cv-00060-LGW-RSB 3/13/2017 200 Trump 3/31/2017 4/7/2017 990 Trump 333 Trump Municipality of Santa Isabel United States and State of Alaska v. Westward Seafoods, Inc., Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-00087-TMB Valero Refining Company d/b/a Paulsboro Refining Company Momentive Performance Materials Silicones, LLC 4/12/2017 4/17/2017 20 Trump 1,300 Trump 4/19/2017 180 Trump 4/21/2017 1,250 Trump Falcon Petroleum, LLC et al. U.S. v. PPG Industries Ohio, Inc. (Civil Action No. 2:17-cv-00374) 4/25/2017 5/2/2017 60 225 Trump Homeca Recycling Center Co. Inc. et al. 5/12/2017 50 Trump Nevada Cement Company 5/12/2017 550 220 218 Trump 3,000 Trump 8 Mesabi Nugget U.S. v. James F. Jerge, Jr., Case Number 1:17-cv-00428 5/15/2017 5/17/2017 Vopak North America, Inc. 5/17/2017 2,500 Alon USA Big Spring Refinery U.S. v. Port Stewart GmbH&Co. Kg of Germany, Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-01742 NVR, Inc. d/b/a Ryan Homes (National Case - no NLPs) Evergreen Power, LLC v. U.S., Civil Action No. 3:14cv-01537-WWE Cleveland Heights v. State of Ohio 5/30/2017 6/1/2017 456 United States and State of Colorado v. Rocky Mountain Company, LLC, Civil Action No. 1:17-cv01554 U.S. v. Suez Shipping North America LLC and Hoegh LNG Fleet Management AS, Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-01741 Harcros Chemicals, Inc 6/26/2017 U.S. v. Lima Refining Company, Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-01320-JZ 150 160 Trump Trump 6/15/2017 6/19/2017 5,000 Trump 1,500 Trump 550 Trump 425 2,008 Trump 246 454 Trump 6/19/2017 6/28/2017 Trump 475 Trump 1,900 7/31/2017 6/22/2017 Trump 950 2,500 Trump 1,000 11,750 Trump 9 NOTES: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Technical Support Document. “Estimating the Benefit per Ton of Reducing PM2.5 Precursors from 17 Sectors.” January 2013. 1 U.S. Department of Justice, “Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act: United States and State of Texas v. Vopak Terminal Deer Park Inc. and Vopak Logistics Services USA Inc., Civil Action No. 4:17-cv-1518,” May 23, 2017. Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/23/2017-10467/notice-of-lodging-ofproposed-consent-decree-under-the-clean-air-act 2 U.S. Department of Justice, “BP Texas City Clean Air Act Settlement,” Feb. 19, 2009, link: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/bp-texas-city-clean-air-act-settlement 3 EPA, “Motiva Enterprises LLC Refinery Settlement,” March 21, 2001, link: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/motiva-enterprises-llc-refinery-settlement. 4 Federal Register, “Lodging of Consent Decree in United States v. Louisiana-Pacific, Inc. and Kirby Forest Industries, Inc., Civil Action No. 93-0869,” June 28, 1993, link: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1993-06-28/pdf/FR-1993-06-28.pdf 5 The payments that defendants made to the “natural resource” damages trust fund in several oil spill cases were included in amounts reported as injunctive relief rather than as penalty. 6 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement: Civil Cases and Settlements, link: https://cfpub.epa.gov/enforcement/cases/ 7 10