EPA Outpacing Its Goals in Environmental Justice Enforcement

EPA enforcement continues to ratchet up under agency head Michael Regan, especially in environmental justice communities, where it outperformed its stated goal, the agency said on Monday.

Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent strategic plan, it’s aiming to boost the percentage of on-site inspections it does in those communities from 30% to 55% by fiscal 2026. During the current fiscal year, the EPA hit 60%. More than half of the agency’s civil settlements were also based in those areas.

The EPA also said it has carried out more on-site inspections in fiscal 2023 than before ...