EPA Official Pushes Back On 'Myth' That Agency Is Soft On Polluters Following Report On Low Levels Of Fines, Inspections

Susan Bodine, assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said that EPA is achieving results by focusing on compliance over enforcement, encouraging companies to self-report violations and make compliance and enforcement processes more efficient. Meanwhile, regulators testified that they are leaving intact an air quality standard for power plant pollution that can worsen asthma in children, despite calls by health advocates for a tougher rule.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement chief on Tuesday pushed back on "the myth" that the regulator is soft on polluters as Democratic lawmakers pressed her on the big decline in civil penalties and site inspections last year. (2/26)

Assistant administrator Susan Bodine, who heads the office of enforcement, said the idea that EPA is soft on enforcement is "absolutely not true," adding that the agency is giving states a greater role in regulation and enforcement and stressing education and voluntary compliance by companies. (2/26)

U.S. environmental regulators on Tuesday announced they are leaving intact an air quality standard for power plant pollution that can worsen asthma in children, despite calls by health advocates for a tougher rule. The move keeps in place a threshold for sulfur dioxide pollution established in 2010 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama. Sulfur dioxide comes from burning coal to produce electricity and from other industrial sources. (2/26)

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