Federal efforts to pursue polluters through the courts reached a new low in 2025, the first year of President Donald Trump's second term, according to an analysis released on Thursday by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). The Justice Department filed just 16 civil complaints on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year.
That total represents dramatic declines compared with the opening years of recent presidencies: down 76% from the first year of the Biden administration, down 81% from the first year of Mr. Trump's initial term, and down 87% from the first year of former President Barack Obama's second term, the EIP's analysis found.
Why this matters
The steep drop in enforcement comes at a time when the current administration has moved to rescind or loosen a large number of environmental rules intended to protect public health, reduced staffing at the EPA, and sought to speed permitting for projects designed to expand fossil fuel production. Those policy shifts, the EIP analysis implies, coincide with fewer legal actions taken against companies alleged to be violating environmental laws.
"The actions that the current Trump administration have taken have really put American communities at risk for exposure to illegal air and water pollution," said Jen Duggan, executive director of the EIP.
By the numbers
- Only 16 civil complaints were filed in federal court by the Justice Department on behalf of the EPA in 2025.
- Judicial cases settled under the second Trump administration also fell sharply: settlements declined by 64% compared with the Biden Administration, by 65% compared with the first Trump Administration, and by 78% compared with Obama's second term, the report found.
The EIP's figures highlight a marked change in the federal government's use of the courts to address alleged environmental violations. The analysis ties the decline in filings and settlements to concurrent policy changes at the EPA and within the administration, but does not attempt to quantify direct causal effects beyond reporting the comparative statistics across administrations.
Observers and stakeholders will likely monitor whether the reduced level of federal enforcement persists and what that could mean for communities, regulated industries, and markets exposed to environmental risk.