Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Results for FY 2025: Improving Health for All Americans

Reducing exposure to lead-based paint

Reducing lead exposure in children is vital for preventing chronic diseases and promoting healthier developmental outcomes. In FY 2025, EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program continued its efforts to reduce harmful lead-based paint exposure through 127 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) lead-based paint case conclusions. 

Protecting our military families from lead-based paint exposure

During FY 2025, EPA’s federal facilities enforcement and compliance program continued its work to increase compliance with TSCA’s lead-based paint regulations. EPA conducted 29 compliance monitoring activities at military installations to ensure that property management companies and contractors servicing privatized military housing adhere to lead-safety regulations. Through these comprehensive efforts, EPA ensures that service members and their families, as well as residents in affected communities, are safeguarded against the hazards of lead-based paint.  

Addressing noncompliance with pre-1978 residential housing regulations

In FY 2025, EPA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) finalized a first-of-its-kind settlement with the Newark Housing Authority (NHA) to address violations of TSCA lead-based paint regulations. The agreements require NHA to conduct lead testing and abatement across its pre-1978 properties, enhance its lead hazard disclosure practices, improve staff training, and ensure safer renovations. The settlement with a public housing authority will protect residents, particularly children, from the risks of exposure to lead-based paint.

Read more: EPA and HUD protect Newark Housing Authority residents from lead paint press release.

Preventing exposure to illegal pesticides and devices

Preventing exposure to illegal, dangerous pesticides and pesticidal devices is vital to the health and well-being of all Americans, especially children in early development. In FY 2025, EPA assessed over $10.6 million in penalties under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to prevent bad actors from profiting from the use, sale, and import of illegal chemicals that poison American communities. 

Halting sales and distribution of illegal products

Americans should be able to shop in-store and online secure in the knowledge that any chemical they buy is safe, will perform as intended, and will not harm them or their children when used as directed. Under FIFRA, companies must register pesticides (including ingredients) and their production facilities with EPA and include such critical safety information on a label before a pesticide can be legally sold, distributed, or imported in the United States. In FY 2025, EPA cracked down on companies trying to sell illegal pesticides through: 

• 54 “Expedited” Settlement Agreements (ESA)
• 94 Consent Agreements and Final Orders (CAFOs)
• 36 Stop Sale, Use, or Removal Orders (SSUROs) 
• 469 Notices of Refusal of Admission (NORAs)

EPA’s FIFRA compliance assurance work protects Americans, including children, from pesticides (including disinfectants) that that do not comply with U.S. laws and pose unknown or grave risks to their health. 

Ensuring appropriate labeling of pesticides

EPA’s FIFRA compliance assurance work is a strong example of cooperative federalism, as EPA coordinates closely with states to inspect production facilities to confirm that only registered pesticides from registered facilities enter the chain of commerce. In FY 2025, EPA reviewed over 1,500 applications to verify pesticide production facility compliance with FIFRA.  

Keeping drinking water safe 

Ensuring the safety of our nation’s drinking water is paramount to protecting public health and maintaining the well-being of all Americans. Water is everywhere, from health and hygiene, to cooking and cleaning, and in agriculture and industry. Maintaining clean water is critical for sustaining economic development. Working with the states on inspections, self-reported data, monitoring, and compliance assurance are vital to preserving the integrity of our water systems. 

Reducing exposure to lead in drinking water

The Trump Administration’s commitment to tackling lead in drinking water is a throughline from the first term, when EPA issued the first regulation in 30 years to strengthen lead protections.  

“The Flint community has been working hard in close partnership with EPA, state officials and others to ensure the safety of their drinking water supply. EPA remains fully engaged as the community completes massive strides towards a stronger future.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin

In May 2025, EPA Administrator Zeldin announced that the agency was lifting the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) emergency order for the city of Flint, Michigan, to mark the completion of all requirements put in place since the order was issued in January 2016. This milestone signifies that Flint's water system is in compliance with all federal lead standards. EPA will continue to provide ongoing support to ensure Flint's water remains safe, reflecting nearly a decade of cooperative federalism between the state, local, and federal government. Information on the 2016 emergency order is available on EPA’s Flint Drinking Water webpage. Read more: EPA Lifts 2016 Emergency Order on Drinking Water in Flint, Michigan press release.  

EPA is rigorously enforcing the SDWA Lead and Copper Rule to further curtail harmful lead exposure in drinking water. Under the 2021 Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) Revisions, public water systems must submit detailed service line inventories, educate the public on potential lead exposure, and swiftly report any exceedances of lead action levels. EPA has taken action to address system noncompliance—concluding over 300 enforcement cases pertaining to LCR service line inventories in FY 2025.

Addressing PFAS contamination

To tackle the pressing issue of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, the EPA's federal facilities enforcement program launched a groundbreaking joint project with the U.S. Department of the Army (Army) to assess and safeguard drinking water near Army installations. PFAS are man-made chemicals that break down very slowly in the environment and have been linked to health concerns when people are exposed to high levels over long periods of time. In FY 2025, EPA conducted extensive sampling of private drinking water wells near five key Army installations. By collaborating closely with states and Tribes, EPA is taking a comprehensive approach to identifying and mitigating PFAS risks. EPA is more generally pursuing enforcement actions to ensure those most responsible for PFAS contamination are held accountable.