EPA’s records show one environmental consent decree filed in last year – 26 were filed in year one of first Trump term
Enforcement of environmental laws against major polluters has virtually ground to a halt under the Trump administration, a new analysis of Environmental Protection Agency records from January 2025 to January 2026 shows.
Major polluters typically include companies that are among the largest in the oil, gas, coal and chemical industries.
Records show the EPA filed just one Clean Air Act consent decree compared with 26 in the first year of Trump’s first term, and 22 during Biden’s first year. Consent decrees are the legal mechanism by which the agency and US Department of Justice enforce environmental laws against major polluters.
The agency appears to have similarly slowed enforcement of Superfund laws, which cover the cleanup at the nation’s most polluted sites. It filed just seven consent decrees, down from 31 under the first Trump administration.
