Trump EPA Releases Strongest Enforcement and Compliance Results in Years

March 9, 2026

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing enforcement and compliance assurance results for Fiscal Year 2025 and preliminary results for the first year of the Trump Administration. Some of the strongest achievements in years have taken place since President Trump was sworn back into office, including hundreds more civil enforcement cases concluded than the previous year and an unprecedented commitment to helping secure the border. 

Highlights from President Trump’s first year back in office include: 

• Concluding over 2,300 civil enforcement cases, over 400 more than the final year of the Biden Administration and more than the last nine fiscal years. 
• Blocking over 1.6 million pounds of illegal pesticides from entering the U.S., a more than 70 percent increase over the last year of the Biden Administration. 
• Obtaining sentences for 99 criminal defendants, more than the previous year.  
• Securing more than $6 billion in commitments to return facilities to compliance, nearly $1 billion more than the previous year. 
• Securing commitments to clean up nearly 60 million cubic yards of contaminated land and water, almost 30 times more than the previous year. 
• Reducing, treating, or eliminating over 98 million pounds of pollution and waste. 
• Assessing nearly $1.16 billion in civil penalties and criminal fines, restitution, and other court ordered relief. 
• Conducting nearly 12,000 compliance monitoring activities. 

“The days of using EPA’s enforcement arm to pursue overzealous prosecution and partisan agendas are over. The Trump EPA is bringing common sense and the rule of law back to environmental enforcement and compliance," said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “We know we can both protect human health and the environment while also providing the certainty and stability needed to Power the Great American Comeback.” 

“This past year, EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program demonstrated that this Administration will ensure compliance with the law even as it furthers economic growth,” said Jeffrey A. Hall, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The results show that when we focus on swiftly addressing clear violations within the bounds of the law, we more efficiently achieve better enforcement and compliance. We will be accountable to the American people for our promises. EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program will accomplish even more of our goals in the years ahead.” 

EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) also released final FY 2025 annual results, which further showcase the strong results achieved during the last fiscal year, most of which occurred under the Trump Administration: 

• Concluding 2,127 civil enforcement cases, the highest number in nine fiscal years. 
• Charging 156 defendants, also the highest number in nine years, and obtaining 65 years of incarceration for the guilty. 
• Finalizing 65 Superfund enforcement instruments, valued at more than $888 million, with $714.3 million to address 59.4 million cubic yards of contaminated land and water. 
• Performing 179 inspections that included cybersecurity risk assessments at public water systems and providing additional technical compliance assistance at 125 drinking water and 59 wastewater treatment systems. 

EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program works tirelessly to address environmental noncompliance and clean up contaminated sites that adversely impact Americans’ health through vigorous civil and criminal enforcement. The Trump EPA’s enforcement and compliance work pursued three goals this past year: 

• Powering the Great American Comeback: Aligning EPA enforcement and compliance assurance with the President’s mandates and EPA’s five pillars so that environmental progress coincides with economic growth.  
• Improving Health for All Americans: Protecting our air, safeguarding drinking and recreational water, cleaning up contaminated sites, and reducing exposure to toxic chemicals to promote human health.  
• Protecting our Borders: Stopping the import of illegal pesticides and other toxic chemicals to prevent foreign actors who threaten human health and the environment from profiting by poisoning our communities. 

EPA collaborated closely with other federal agencies, including federal law enforcement agencies and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to prevent the smuggling of toxic and dangerous substances and products at ports of entry and to combat transnational criminal organizations. Through these efforts, EPA blocked over 1.6 million pounds of illegal pesticides from entering the United States. EPA personnel also visited ports of entry and trained enforcement personnel across the federal government on the detection and interdiction of dangerous substances and illegal imports.  

EPA also collaborated with state and Tribal partners across the country to plan and conduct inspections and compliance assurance activities and to secure environmental compliance through enforcement that was efficient and appropriate under the law. Working with states and Tribes, EPA reduced, treated, or eliminated over 100 million pounds of pollution and waste; obtained commitments of more than $6 billion to return facilities to compliance; and assessed nearly $600 million in civil penalties. 

In the coming year, EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program will build on the past year’s successes. The mission of the enforcement program is to protect human health and the environment for all Americans by ensuring compliance with federal environmental laws. It will continue to focus on obtaining timely compliance while ensuring that actions align with the clearest, most defensible interpretations of statutory and regulatory mandates. 

EPA is releasing its Fiscal Year 2025 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Annual Results Report, which showcases some of the strongest enforcement results in years, based on agency actions taken during Fiscal Year 2025. Please click here for the full FY 2025 Annual Results Report. 

Members of the public can contribute to environmental protection by identifying and reporting environmental violations. Learn more on EPA’s Report Environmental Violations webpage.