Bush administration criticised over green reporting record

The actions of the Environmental Protection Agency during the presidency of George Bush have been criticised by opponents and a government regulator.

In a report released this week, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) claimed that the EPA needs to improve the transparency of its reporting on the effectiveness of its enforcement programs.

According to the GAO, the total of penalties imposed by the EPA, when adjusted for inflation, fell from $240.6m (£147m) in 1998 to $137.7m in 2007.

The GAO claims it identified “shortcomings” in how the EPA reports penalties, including overstating the impact by reporting penalties imposed on violators rather than the actual penalties received by the US Treasury.

“The EPA identified three major civil judicial cases in recent years that generated significant amounts of assessed penalties through default judgements,” the report stated. “These penalties are unlikely ever to be collected, and the removal of these penalties results in a significant reduction in the overall level of penalties reported by the EPA.”

Included in the long list of recommendations put forward by the GAO for how the EPA could improve the transparency and accuracy of its reports, was the obvious step that when reporting penalties the enforcement agency should clearly indicate that they are assessed rather than collected penalties.

In a statement issued to Reuters, House of Representatives Democrat Bart Stupak claimed that the lack of transparency from the EPA was representative of a wider lack of focus on environmental enforcement by the Bush administration. “Environmental enforcement has simply not been a priority for the Bush EPA,” he said. “While this report shows how environmental enforcement has declined, it does not expose the real story behind the numbers: cases not brought, polluters not pursued, and fines not collected."

The EPA was contacted for comment but did not respond in time for this article.

The Bush administration has been widely criticised for its stance on the environment. Green groups recently attacked the government for mooting legislation which would dramatically change the status of endangered species.