Principal Maddie Boyer (Austin) recently spoke with Law.com about a new Environmental Integrity Project report finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed 16 civil environmental complaints in 2025—a 76% drop from the first year of the Biden administration and 81% below the first year of President Trump's initial term. The article, "Civil Environmental Enforcement Drops Sharply as EPA, DOJ Scale Back, Report Says," examines whether the decline signals a broader retreat from judicial enforcement.
Maddie explained that it is premature to draw sweeping conclusions about long-term enforcement trends based solely on first-year data. She noted that enforcement orders and consent decrees finalized in any administration's first year are often legacy matters initiated under the prior administration. Maddie emphasized, "I really think that we don't have the full picture yet. And I think that we don't yet know either what all of the priorities will be."
While acknowledging the reported drop in civil cases, Maddie underscored that EPA is not abandoning its mission to protect public health and the environment. Citing EPA's " compliance first" approach, she observed that EPA has signaled an emphasis on efficient and speedy enforcement. "Right now—between the change in administration and government shutdown, and the reorgs and staffing changes," Maddie said that the regulated community will soon have more clarity on EPA's enforcement priorities.