This blogpost is about a useful research tool for all political activists and operatives out there doing opposition research on candidates, campaign contributors and corporations.
The tool is U.S. EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) Database which is publicly available here:
https://echo.epa.gov
EPA’s ECHO system contains environmental violation records in detail for the last 3 years in a graphically presented format, and less detailed but still useful supplementary environmental enforcement information going back 5-6 years. The listings would include such things as violations of the federal Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Safe Drinking Water Act (and others) or violation of state laws, regulations and permits that are issued pursuant to such federal requirements.
All of your favorite villains are listed in EPA-ECHO…..the Kochs (and their progeny i.e. Georgia Pacific), ExxonMobil, most every electric utility company in the nation, etc. etc. ….but for this particular blogpost…..
…...Try It Out On DONALD TRUMP
Select “More Search Options” on the main EPA-ECHO menu, and you get a more detailed screen to search many of the fields of the EPA ECHO database. Under “Facility Characteristics” and “Facility Name” ...type in Trump to the “Add More” box, hit the “search” box and you will get both a national map and a table showing all facilities in the United States with “Trump” somewhere in the name or ownership. Not everything shown is owned or connected to Donald Trump since Donald Trump doesn’t have a monopoly on the name “Trump”….but it is fairly easy to separate out which are actual Donald Trump-connected facilities and which are not.
The table that is generated (you can hide either the table or the map with menu commands) shows each identified facility and such things as the Facility Registration Number, whether it is a current significant violator, number of quarters in non-compliance over the last three years and number of formal enforcement matters.
Here’s my review of what EPA-ECHO shows that is notable for environmental violations over the past 5 years at Donald Trump-owned/managed facilities (Trump facilities without any indicated violation records are not shown below):
Atlantic Piers Amusements, Inc., Atlantic City, NJ — [connected to TRUMP TAJ MAHAL HOTEL & CASINO]
echo.epa.gov/...
The record shows a High Priority Violation (HPV) for the first three quarters of 2014 in the 3 year record, a flunking of a stack test for nitrogen oxide emissions in September of 2013 that apparently reflects non-compliance starting in 2012.
Listed under “Historic Violations” is “CFC tracking” [probably reflecting older/past violation of emission control requirements for regulated refridgerant].
The record shows New Jersey Notices of Violation in 2016, 2015 and 2012 related to four environmental enforcement orders and penalties totaling $15,900 -— all for Clean Air Act violations.
Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago, IL
echo.epa.gov/...
EPA-ECHO shows that this facility was the subject of a Clean Water Act violation and an Illinois EPA administrative consent order in December of 2012 with a penalty paid of $46,000.
Trump National Golf Club, Colts Neck, NJ
echo.epa.gov/...
The record shows this facility in violation of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements under the Total Coliform Rule for the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2014 for Maximum Contaminant Level violations, and a total of 5 informal enforcement actions by New Jersey in the last 5 years.
There were also monitoring and reporting requirement violations from 2012 for the matter of nitrates in drinking water systems.
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The above three facilities were the only ones ID’d with the Trump organization that showed environmental violations searching on the character string for “Trump” at EPA ECHO. However, Trump published a “disclosure” [and has not published his tax returns] ….
assets.documentcloud.org/…
…..which contains a list of Trump-connected/managed business entities which contains many listings that do not include the character string, “Trump”….. I haven’t had time to run these names from the Trump disclosure through EPA-ECHO [several facilities listed are in foreign countries and would not be shown in ECHO].
In any event, try EPA’s ECHO system out to see the environmental enforcement records of your local home town industries, businesses and municipalities to see what is listed.
Finally, while doing research on this I stumbled upon an occupational health matter involving Trump that everyone should know about….. Trump was involved with litigation that addressed undocumented, underpaid/not-paid Polish immigrant workers that were doing demolition work for Trump and that were exposed to asbestos:
www.nytimes.com/…
www.vox.com/...