In FY02 -- Oct. 1, 2001 through Sept. 30, 2002 -- EPA recovered only $51 million in civil penalties, compared to $140 million in FY99, $85 million in FY00, and $95 million in FY01. Two-thirds of the civil penalties collected in FY01 -- the last eight months of which were presided over by President Bush -- were a result of complaints lodged during the Clinton administration, according to EIP's analysis of EPA documents.

EPA frequently will reduce penalties for companies that carry out "Supplemental Environmental Projects" (SEPs) designed to benefit local communities -- such as financing the purchase of wetlands or green space -- which could account for a reduction in civil penalties. However, as noted by EIP, the value of SEPs also fell during the first fiscal year of the Bush administration -- from an average of $111 million per year for the past three fiscal years (FY99-FY01) to only about $44 million in FY02.

EIP's report lists the companies that were fined and the amount of civil penalties they paid EPA for FY99-FY02, excluding superfund cases. EIP is headed by Eric Schaeffer, who resigned in March as director of EPA’s Office of Regulatory Enforcement to protest the Bush administration's weakening of environmental enforcement.