FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2026
CONTACT: Report authors are available to answer media questions. To arrange an interview, please direct media inquiries to shannanlenke.stoll@envirodatagov.org.
EPA’s Enforcement Performance Under Trump Takes Historic Dive
February 2, 2026 – In 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) enforcement of environmental pollution laws was historically weak by many measures. A new report by the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) analyzes EPA’s data, largely from its Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) database, to assess how the agency’s enforcement track record under this Trump administration stacks up against the past 20 years.
A key finding shows that of the 24 categories of enforcement activities measured, 14 of them—a whopping 58%—were at their weakest or second weakest (second only to the first year of COVID in 2020) in 2025. This EPA has launched fewer civil judicial cases in 2025 than under any other administration over the past 20 years. Additionally, all studied inspection activities dropped in 2025 when compared to 2024, with inspections conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) dropping the most significantly—36% from the year before.
Pollution laws like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and TSCA only work if they’re being enforced. “We’re just beginning to understand how much damage is being done to the EPA under this administration,” says lead author Christopher Sellers, an EDGI program co-coordinator and professor of history at Stony Brook University. “Enforcement is one of the most important measures that shows whether or not the EPA is doing its job. Without enforcement, polluters have no incentive to follow the law. What we’re seeing now is an unprecedented undermining of laws that protect the health of the American people.”
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The Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) analyzes federal environmental data, websites, institutions, and policy. We seek to improve environmental data stewardship and to promote environmental health and environmental justice.