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tent.
<br />The EPA has had trou-
<br />ble coordinating with
<br />recalcitrant states and
<br />territories, which are re-
<br />sponsible for day -to -day
<br />policing despite significant
<br />federal and state cutbacks.
<br />Incomplete and inaccurate
<br />data supplied by states to
<br />the EPA complicates at-
<br />tempts to identify problem
<br />are as.
<br />The scarcity of data
<br />prompted the Center for
<br />Public Integrity to file
<br />public- records requests
<br />with all 50 states, the EPA
<br />and the U.S. Census Bu-
<br />reau, to try to assess Clean
<br />Air Act enforcement na-
<br />tionwide.
<br />The Center found that
<br />40 state environmental
<br />agencies have reduced
<br />regulator head counts in
<br />recent years, even as fed-
<br />eral and state responsib-
<br />ilities have proliferated.
<br />North Carolina's DEQ has
<br />suffered some of the deep-
<br />est cuts, its 2014 envi-
<br />ronmental workforce cut
<br />by a third from 2008 lev-
<br />els,. In Illinois and Arizona,
<br />staffing has fallen by more
<br />than a third since 2007:'
<br />New York's workforce has
<br />been cut by nearly a quar
<br />ter, Michigan's by a fifth.
<br />N.C. ENFORCEMENT
<br />The Clean Air Act itself
<br />remains contentious.
<br />North Carolina is among
<br />27 states suing the EPA to
<br />block the Clean Power
<br />Plan, a cornerstone of
<br />President Obama's cli-
<br />mate policy that would use
<br />the act to curb emissions
<br />at coal -fired power plants.
<br />Van der Vaart, known for
<br />continuing a business
<br />friendly approach to reg-
<br />ulation first fostered by his
<br />predecessor, has called
<br />the plan a federal "take-
<br />over."
<br />Three of North Car-
<br />olina's coal -fired power
<br />plants were among the
<br />nation's top 100 emitters .
<br />of greenhouse -gases in
<br />2014, a Center analysis
<br />found. Domtar's Plymouth
<br />facility ranked in the top
<br />200 for toxic air emitters
<br />nationwide.
<br />THE SYSTEM COS STRETCHED,
<br />THINNER AND THINNER AND THINNER.
<br />Shari Filson, deputy assistant administrator for the
<br />EPA's enforcement division
<br />Yet, by the EPA's count,
<br />air- related penalties at the
<br />DEQ dropped 93 percent
<br />from 2011 to 2014, while
<br />enforcement actions de-
<br />creased by51 percent.
<br />The DEQ fined Domtar
<br />$100,000 in June 2015
<br />for air violations but the
<br />Plymouth biofuel plant
<br />has been allowed to con-
<br />tinue to operate despite
<br />lacking the proper permit.
<br />Such a document would
<br />cap the facility's emissions
<br />and set other operational
<br />conditions. This summer,
<br />state regulators gave
<br />Domtar another pass,
<br />giving the company until
<br />November to submit a
<br />permit application that
<br />was due in September.
<br />A Domtar spokesman
<br />said the company is
<br />"working diligently with
<br />the state."
<br />The DEQ's Stephanie
<br />Hawco declined to re-
<br />spond to questions from
<br />the Center and said the
<br />agency will reply to the
<br />EPA's May letter later this
<br />fall. Hawco also declined
<br />to answer questions about
<br />Domtar, saying only that
<br />"DEQ has protected pub-
<br />lic health by ... ensuring
<br />[Domtar is] on a path
<br />toward getting into com-
<br />pliance."
<br />Van der Vaart, in an
<br />opinion article published
<br />last year in The Charlotte
<br />Observer, defended the
<br />administration's approach
<br />to regulating pollution.
<br />He said success
<br />shouldn't be measured in
<br />terms of how many re-
<br />strictions are imposed. He
<br />said advancements in
<br />technology make it impor-
<br />tart to constantly review
<br />the science behind envi-
<br />ronmental protections and
<br />to make sure the public's
<br />money is effectively spent.
<br />Recent laws have made
<br />it easier for polluters to
<br />avoid penalties if they
<br />report violations to state
<br />regulators first.
<br />FEWER COPS
<br />ON THE BEAT
<br />Heads of state agencies
<br />are typically nominated by
<br />governors, while budgets
<br />are subject to gubernato-
<br />rial approval - throwing
<br />regulators into the politi-
<br />cal fray. John Quigley was
<br />forced out as chief of
<br />Pennsylvania's'
<br />Department of
<br />Environmental Protection
<br />in May after a
<br />profanity - filled email he
<br />sent to activists raised
<br />questions about his ob-
<br />jectivity in a big oil and
<br />gas state. Though hand-
<br />picked for the position by
<br />Gov. Tom Wolf; a
<br />Democrat, Quigley barely
<br />lasted a year and a half on
<br />the job.
<br />Quigley was vocal about
<br />deep cutbacks at his agen-
<br />cy. Last year, the EPA
<br />flagged the DEP for
<br />inadequate
<br />air- enforcement staffing.
<br />New York's Department
<br />of Environmental Conser-
<br />vation has fewer than
<br />2,900 full -time employ-
<br />ees, down from 3,775 in
<br />2007. Last year, the DEC
<br />referred just 85 air - related
<br />cases for enforcement in
<br />civil courts, compared to
<br />467 in 2007. Its flat - lining
<br />budget was the subject of
<br />a 2014 report by the state
<br />comptroller, who warned
<br />that unchecked emissions
<br />would put residents at
<br />greater risk of death and
<br />illnesses such as cancer
<br />and asthma.
<br />"It's pretty clear they're
<br />doing less with less," said
<br />Peter Iwanowicz, a former
<br />DEC acting commissioner
<br />who now heads the Alba-
<br />ny-based Environmental'
<br />Advocates of New York.`
<br />2=KJ
<br />Florida's Department of
<br />Environmental Protection
<br />has faced a slide nearly
<br />identical to New York's,
<br />even as the state's econo-
<br />my has grown. The agency
<br />employs just over 2,900
<br />people, compared to
<br />3,600 in 2007. Repub-
<br />lican Gov. Rick Scott —
<br />who reportedly prohibited
<br />state workers from using
<br />the terms "climate
<br />change" or "global
<br />warming" — has touted
<br />shorter turnaround times
<br />for permits as a sign of
<br />greater efficiency.
<br />But Florida's chapter of
<br />Public Employees for
<br />Environmental
<br />Responsibility, which
<br />advocates for stronger
<br />enforcement, blamed
<br />Scott's business- friendly
<br />politics for a "severely
<br />crippled" department that
<br />allows polluters to skirt
<br />citations. The group's
<br />annual report-found that
<br />18 air - pollution enforce7
<br />ment cases were opened
<br />in 2015, compared to an
<br />annual average of 93 in
<br />previous decades.
<br />Bill Becker, director of
<br />the National Association
<br />of Clean Air Agencies,
<br />testified before Congress
<br />in March that states have
<br />borne the brunt of re-
<br />duced federal funding.
<br />While the Clean Air Act
<br />calls for federal grants to
<br />cover up to 60 percent of
<br />state air programs, in
<br />reality states have shoul-
<br />dered 75 percent of the
<br />costs. The gap has caused
<br />"agencies to reduce or
<br />eliminate important air
<br />pollution programs, post -
<br />pone. necessary air -mon-
<br />itoring expenditures and
<br />even reduce their work -
<br />forces," Becker said.
<br />Shari Wilson, deputy
<br />assistant administrator for
<br />the EPA's enforcement
<br />division, said in an
<br />interview that the impacts
<br />of state budget shortfalls
<br />are magnified by increas-
<br />ing numbers of facilities
<br />
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