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EPA Claims 500 Wins Over Last Year02-09-26 | News

EPA Claims 500 Wins Over Last Year

Trump Administration Keeps Score of Environmental Accomplishments
by Keziah Olsen, LASN

Large-scale efforts to keep environmental violators accountable and protect natural resources are being celebrated by the Trump Administration. (Photo Credit: Mount Polley from Pixabay)

set of a list of 500 accomplishments from the last year that the agency is claiming as pro-environmental victories.

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Accumulated over the last year, the list includes remediation and cleanup due to contaminated land and water or the presence of hazardous waste. A large number of the actions revolve around enforcement settlements, penalties, and corrective agreements to keep violators accountable and provide protections for vulnerable areas. Water and air quality were heavily prominent, with many efforts tied to permits, establishing standards, and monitoring pollutants. For areas with fewer resources, the EPA also provided many funding opportunities to support infrastructure and community programs, as well as technical assistance and training within the department and for state, tribe, and local groups. Many regulatory and policy actions were undertaken, with the most contentious revolving around the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) discussions. Other rulings closed out years-long debates and delegated authority to states and tribes, a trend that was augmented by additional efforts to increase tribal environmental authority as well as increase collaboration between states and progress discussions regarding transboundary waters at the U.S.-Mexico border. Another group of efforts addressed making monitoring, data collection, and research infrastructure more efficient and productive.

Starting with Trump's 100th day in office, Administrator Zeldin has released a list of 100 actions every 100 days, recently publishing a list 200 entries long to coincide with the completion of Trump's first year in his second term as president.

To read the EPA's statement, go to: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-delivers-500-environmental-wins-during-president-trumps-first-year-back-white#:~:text=%E2%80%9CPresident%20Trump%20promised%20a%20government,said%20EPA%20Administrator%20Lee%20Zeldin

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