EPA Celebrates 100 Days with 100 Environmental Actions
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin released a recap of 100 environmental actions taken by the agency during President Trump’s First 100 Days in office, including the record Phase 1 hazardous materials clean up after the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires, the announcement of major actions to combat PFAS contamination, redevelopment at 21 Superfund sites across 13 states and removal of all, or a portion of 4 sites from the National Priorities List, completion of 25 State Implementation Plans, 16 of which were backlogged from the previous Administration, and so much more.
“EPA wasted no time following President Trump’s directive to pursue clean air, land, and water for all Americans. Since January 20th, EPA has taken significant actions to fulfill its statutory obligations of safeguarding human health and the environment to ensure cleaner, safer, and healthier air, land, and water for every American while we work to Power the Great American Comeback,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin.
While accomplishing EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment, the agency is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to unleash American energy, lower cost of living for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to states to make their own decisions.
- Issued immediate action items for Mexico to permanently end the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
- Responded quickly to a citizen complaint about discharges into New York’s Hutchinson River; inspected and ordered corrective action.
- Developed a Clean Water Act permit for hotels, condominiums, and apartment complexes to protect water quality in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Finalized Arkansas 2022 Section 303(d) list assessing statewide water quality.
- Approved Kansas Triennial Water Quality Standards Package.
- Approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan in South Dakota to protect Big Sioux River quality from E. coli.
- Announced plans to finalize outdated clean water standards for 38 miles of the Delaware River.
- Approved removal of the Drinking Water Beneficial Use Impairment in Wisconsin’s Green Bay and Fox River Area of Concern.
- Advanced Navajo Nation’s first in the country water permitting (“Treatment as a State”) authority.
- Completed Phase 1 hazardous materials clean up after the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires. EPA cleared 13,612 residential properties and 305 commercial properties, and removed 645 electric and hybrid vehicles and 420 energy storage systems in under 30 days.
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Supported redevelopment at 21 Superfund sites across 13 states.
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Completed a contaminated site cleanup in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, and Stratford, Connecticut.
- Oversaw U.S. Navy’s time-critical removal of 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil at the Naval Education Training Center Superfund Site in Newport, Rhode Island.
- Cleared all or a portion of 4 sites from the Superfund National Priorities List.
- Cut two years from the cleanup timeline at West Lake Landfill, a Superfund site in St. Louis, Missouri.
- Completed 55 property cleanups at Region 8 Brownfields. This is 31% of the national goal and 131% of Region 8’s Fiscal Year 2025 goal.
- Completed laboratory work required for selecting a remedy at Lower Darby Creek Area Superfund Site in Pennsylvania. EPA collected 1500 sediment and water samples.
- Responded to a mercury incident in Fremont, Ohio; safely removed and disposed of a 60-pound overpack and 15-pound bucket containing jars of elemental mercury and mercury containing devices.
- Provided air monitoring support at the Chicago Magnesium Casting Co. after a large magnesium fire.
- Completed Emergency Removal Action at the Marion Ohio Mercury Spill site in Ohio.
- Oversaw Navy cleanup operations at Red Hill Fuel Facility in Hawaii, including removal of all sludge and pressure washing at two 12.5 million-gallon tanks.
- Developed a method to detect 40 PFAS compounds in water sources.
- Finalized eight Water Quality Standard Actions for Region 6 states.
- Completed a second round of PFAS sampling at Region 7 Tribal Drinking Water Systems.
- Provided interim PFAS lab certification for Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC).
- Signed an agreement to connect Joint Base Lewis-McChord residences to municipal water system if PFAS exceeds standards.
- Started Final Remedial Actions for Jackson Ceramix Superfund in Falls Creek Borough, Pennsylvania, with construction to begin in the Spring of 2025.
- Provided training to help New Mexico administer the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, a permit program established by EPA under the Clean Water Act to regulate water pollution by controlling point sources that discharge pollutants into U.S. waters.
- Coordinated PFAS drinking water well sampling around Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Utilized EPA lab Method 522 to test tribal drinking water systems for PFAS; performed 62 analyses.
- Completed lead testing assistance (3T’s Protocol) for Puerto Rico schools and childcare facilities.
- Reviewed 29 public water systems that had lead action level exceedance notifications in Region 4.
- Completed 25 State Implementation Plans allowing environmental requirements to go into effect faster, 16 of which were backlogged from the previous Administration.
- Finalized air quality rulemaking in the Washington D.C. Area ensuring ozone compliance.
- Conducted ambient air monitoring technical system audits (TSAs) across Region 9.
- Upgraded the RadNet monitoring station in Edison, New Jersey, to detect airborne radioactivity.
- Awarded $165,000 to San Diego Air Pollution Control District for air filters and $1.26M for hydrogen sulfide monitoring to address air quality at the border and concerns with sulfur odors from Tijuana River sewage.
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Promoted clean air quality compliance for new chip manufacturing projects in Phoenix, Arizona.
- 27 Brownfields sites were made Ready for Anticipated Use, boosting property values and economic opportunities in Hartshorne, Oklahoma, Minden, Louisiana, West Memphis, Arkansas, and more.
- Completed 107 assessments of Brownfield properties in Region 7, which is 82% of their Fiscal Year 2025 goal.
- Achieved 21 contaminated Brownfield redevelopment successes in Region 9.
- Held a Superfund Job Training at Missouri’s Ozark Correctional Center.
- Completed review of 81 New Chemicals to ensure they are safe for human health and the environment.
- Conducted a safety review of 14 pesticides to set tolerances to support a safe and reliable food supply.
- Approved 48 pesticides to provide growers with necessary tools while ensuring appropriate restrictions were imposed to protect human health, the environment, and endangered species.
- Proposed 35 significant new use rules (SNURs) for chemical oversight to ensure chemicals do not pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.
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Led a Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Week-In-Residence Enforcement Training event for newly hired state inspectors to equip new inspectors with the knowledge necessary to uphold consistent inspection standards.
- Blocked illegal pesticide imports totaling over 200,000 pounds across multiple regions.
- Announced approval of Texas’s clean-air plan to address vehicle emissions and improve air quality in the San Antonio area.
- Issued amended PCB risk-based disposal approvals to expedite repairs at public schools.
- Led a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) State Authorization Conference to strengthen the hazardous waste program across all states.
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Sent mobile drinking water lab to flood-impacted Eastern Kentucky.
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Cleared more than 1,700 orphan containers of oil, propane, and other hazardous materials from land and waterways around the French Broad River after Hurricane Helene.
- Tested over 1,500 private wells in North Carolina’s Buncombe and Watauga counties.
- Assisted in restoring drinking water service to 150,000 people in North Carolina.
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Concluded 297 enforcement cases reducing 15 million pounds of pollution.
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Superfund enforcement secured $296 million worth of cleanups addressing more than 700,000 cubic yards of contamination.
- Completed cleanup at Metals Refining Co. hazardous waste site in Indiana after discovering thirty-two, 55-gallon drums most of which were damaged and some leaking and an additional 200 to 300 miscellaneous containers of hazardous waste
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Removed approximately 10,000 tons of soil and debris contaminated with asbestos containing material from an unsecured 10-acre property in Indiana.
- Collaborated to replace lead-contaminated soil at Atlanta’s Lindsay Street Park.
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Analyzed children's blood lead data to improve South Dakota lead prevention efforts.
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Supported tribal waste management programs with multiple trainings to address dangerous materials like refrigerants, mercury switches, PCBs, and petroleum components.
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Conducted 6,000 1-on-1 engagements with communities impacted by fires.
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Held 104 public meetings or community events for fire response updates.
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Provided training, guidance, and support to monitor and cleanup Underground Storage Tanks on Navajo Nation lands.
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Started cleanup of radium-contaminated soil at the Silbert Watch Co. Superfund Site in Elgin, Illinois.
- Developed EPA Method TO-15 to analyze 65 toxic Volatile Organic Compounds in indoor and outdoor air in support of Superfund and Clean Air Act.
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Supported Los Alamos National Lab in transporting hazardous tritium containers for cleanup.
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Conducted lead contamination studies at the Bunker Hill Superfund site.
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Completed the review of the Houston area Ozone Exceptional that allows the state to proceed with their Air Program planning and implementation.
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Worked with U.S. Customs to stop illegal pesticide imports at multiple ports.
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Blocked over 56,000 pounds of unregistered pesticide products from entering through Region 4 ports.
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Provided technical assistance support to communities at 31 Superfund sites across the country.
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Cleanup of the HPI Chemical Products in Missouri, where thousands of containers of pesticide and herbicide containing hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants were housed.
- Began a Remedial Investigation of the Historic Potteries site in Trenton, New Jersey
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Completed 7 property cleanups in Brownfields in the First 100 Days in Region 7.
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Approved updated Comprehensive Conservation & Management plan for the Long Island Sound Partnership, to further restore and protect the Sound.
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Initiated sediment removal projects at the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site removing approximately 13,700 cubic yards of contaminated sediment.
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Oversaw cleanups at tribal and local jurisdictions under CERCLA and Clean Water Act.
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Supported redevelopment at the Mississippi Phosphate Superfund site with a new treatment plant.
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Completed analysis for wood treating contaminants at 181 residential properties around the Union Pacific Railroad Superfund site in Houston, Texas, with seventy four percent found to be safe for use.
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Managed post-disaster hazardous materials spills in Ohio and North Carolina.
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Inspected and mitigated vapor intrusion impacting Los Angeles from a former Superfund site.
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Obtained court settlement for cleanup work at the San Fernando Valley Superfund Site located in North Hollywood-Burbank to restore a critical drinking water supply for the city of Los Angeles.
- Responded to hydraulic oil spill into a creek in Whitehouse, Ohio.
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Supported voluntary cleanups under consent decrees.
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Began a removal action in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, to excavate and dispose of contaminated soil at three residential properties as part of a larger ongoing cleanup effort.
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Approved eight plans for cleanup and disposal of toxic Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) materials to facilitate reuse and economic development across properties in New England.
- Finalized Native Green Grow Air Permit for large greenhouse facility in North Dakota, providing the Tribe with food security.
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Advanced Native American environmental oversight efforts.
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Granted a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, for drinking water infrastructure to over 20% of Utah’s population while creating local jobs to support the projects.
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Supported grant programs to monitor and clean up abandoned USTs.
- Provided federal funds to conduct Highway 24 lead and arsenic clean up in Colorado.
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Helped prevent spread of hazardous materials from warehouse fires including sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium hypochlorite, potassium cyanide, sodium cyanide, and lead.
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Collaborated with fire rescue teams in North Carolina to retrieve containers from flooded rivers.
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Provided technical guidance to local water operators, supporting efforts to restore and maintain drinking water systems and other essential services during Hurricane Helene Recovery efforts.
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Completed all residential soil and indoor dust cleanup at the Colorado Smelter Superfund site.
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Completed the 5-Year Review for Puerto Rico’s Corozal Superfund Site, paving the way for its deletion from the CERCLA Superfund National Priority List.
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Submitted a demand for information to a start-up company called “Make Sunsets,” which is launching balloons filled with sulfur dioxide (SO2) seeking to geoengineer the planet and generate “cooling” credits to sell.
100. Announced major actions to combat PFAS contamination.
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