"WASHINGTON -- In the three years since President Barack Obama took office, Republicans have made the Environmental Protection Agency a lightning rod for complaints that his administration has been too tough on oil and gas producers. But an Associated Press analysis of enforcement data over the past decade finds that's not the case. In fact, the EPA went after producers more often in the years of Republican President George W. Bush, a former Texas oilman, than under Obama."
"Also, the agency's enforcement actions have declined overall since 2002 and reached their lowest point last year, the review found.
Accusations of EPA overzealousness peaked in April. That's when a regional administrator resigned after a two-year-old video surfaced in which he compared enforcement of oil and gas regulations with how the Romans used to conquer villages, by finding 'the first five guys they saw and they'd crucify them.'"
Dina Cappiello and Ramit Plushnick-Masti report for the Associated Press June 12, 2012.
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