States Undercharge Polluters

A report was released today saying that many states across the United States have been undercharging major polluters and has shortchanged efforts to fight air pollution up to $50 million dollars. According to the report, it was found that states have either been charging emission fees lower than the mandated federal minimum or set a limit on how much businesses could pay in such fees. Environmental Integrity Project's Eric Schaeffer stated "Only the polluters come out ahead of the game under an arrangement where states let them off the hook rather than doing what they are supposed to do under federal law." The reason for this failure is because the implementation of the policy was far from ideal. The lack of regulation could be seen in the eyes of many as a lack of funding and I agree. Without proper federal funding to carefully regulate such polluters, this policy will never be fully effective.