Who in their right mind would have actually considered the fact that lawsuits against polluters by the Bush Administration has fallen by more than half since Clinton. Penalties and investigation included in this number. A new report by Washington-based Environmental Integrity Project discovered that the Justice Department has recently become extremely reluctant to sue violators.

There have been fewer than 16 lawsuits a year filed against polluters that will not settle since Bush came into action, incomparison there was an average of 52 filed a year in the last 3 years of Clinton. This number is accompanied by a 24% decrease in civil penalties for polluters in the past 10 years … a $26 million dollar decrease between the fiscal years 2002 - 2006 and 1996 - 2000.

Not only did the group find these alarming numbers they also discovered that criminal fines for polluters has dropped 38% under the Bush administration as well as a 23% decrease in the number of new criminal investigations for polluters. An alarming find considering that environmental standards should be on the rise, and companies unwillingness to cooperate should be creating more and more lawsuits. I like this statement that was made:

Shaeffer blamed the declines on EPA staffing shortages, inconsistent policy goals, and weaker regulations and laws, particularly the so-called Clean Air Act. “I don’t think it’s because polluters have gotten nicer,” he said. “If you can’t find cases, it’s because you’re not looking.”

Damn right.