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and regulations. The In a written statement, the EPA said that its rela- system gets stretched, tionship with the states is thinner and thinner and strong." But it provided thinner," she said. few internal records on The EPA itself has been state performance re- pared down. Its full -time ' quested by the Center. workforce is under 14,400 The documents it pro - employees, down from duced show that it's not 16,600 a decade ago. uncommon for enforce - Staffing across all 10 re- ment inadequacies to go gional EPA offices — _ = unresolved long after which work directly with they've been identified. states — has also declined. ", While the EPA has re- STARK DIFFERENCES sisted recommendations to radically shake up over BETWEEN STATES sight of states, it has tried ' people the dozens of people other ways to improve. Its interviewed for this n'' ,. nascent Next Generation no two could agree on = l Compliance strategy is which states or EPA re- aimed at boosting enforce- gions were excelling or ment with enhanced failing. Annual enforce - J tracking that enables facil- ment metrics provided by _ 3 ities to "identify and fix states — such as inspec- pollution problems before tions, violations and pe- they become violations," nalties — are riddled with the EPA says. "widespread and persist - The agency has visited ent data inaccuracy and 20 states to promote incompleteness ... which "Next Gen" and has given make it hard to identify 11 funds for infrared cam - when serious problems eras that detect otherwise exist or to track state ac invisible pollution. Efforts tions," the EPA wrote in a� to beef up air monitoring 2013-memo. are crucial, says the The EPA's Office of American Lung ' Inspector General has kj Association, because repeatedly raised concerns fewer than a third of U.S. over uneven enforcement counties have smog or Ina 2011 audit, the office particle- pollution mon- found - that even top -per- itors, leaving many con- forming state agencies munities in the dark about ' failed to meet EPA goals basic air quality. for basic duties like in- Janice Nolen, an spections and wrote that A assistant vice president of the EPA "cannot assure national policy at the asso- that Americans in all ciation, said underfunded = states are equally protect- .' states may not want to ed from the health effects ' expand monitoring. of pollution." "When you put a mon- Auditor Kathlene Butler itor in a place and it shows ` said in an interview that a problem," she said, the differences among the "then something's got to states were stark. "It be done." - seemed some states were very clear on what was jie Jenny Zou is a reporter expected of them in terms with the Center for Public of performance from the Integrity, a nonprofit [EPA] region," she said.. investigative news "Other states knew there organization in was an ability to nego- , Washington, D.C. tiate."