"The Justice Department may end a nearly 30-year practice of letting companies make amends for pollution-related violations by performing environmentally beneficial projects, a department official told Bloomberg Environment.

Stopping the use of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) would go against the wishes of many in the business community, because the projects offer a way to lower the amount of fines while serving as positive public relations for a company.

SEPs have traditionally been used to let businesses and individuals volunteer to do environmentally beneficial projects in exchange for lower fines for transgressions. The Trump administration has already set new restrictions on the use of SEPs in cases involving state or local governments, and is now weighing whether to restrict their use even further."

Stephen Lee and Stephen Lee report for Bloomberg Environment October 30, 2019. [2]