"U.S. EPA has failed to provide adequate oversight of state regulatory programs, leading to inconsistent environmental protections, the agency's inspector general said in an unusually pointed audit."

""State enforcement programs frequently do not meet national goals and states do not always take necessary enforcement actions," the Office of Inspector General said in the report released Friday. "State enforcement programs are underperforming: EPA data indicate that noncompliance is high and the level of enforcement is low."

The report examined enforcement of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). While EPA sets the standards for these programs, it relies on states to enforce them."

Jeremy P. Jacobs reports for Greenwire December 13, 2011. [2]