The Bush administration's EPA enforcement record during its first 14 months shows an 80 percent drop in penalties and remedies recovered and a 40- to 50-percent drop in EPA administrative actions compared with the final 13.5 months of the Clinton administration, according to a recent report by Representative Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

Average settling costs of the Bush EPA's administrative actions also declined compared with the Clinton EPA's costs, by 63 percent over the same periods, Markey's report shows.