The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) is a left-of-center watchdog organization that advocates tougher enforcement of environmental laws. It is composed of former U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement attorneys, analysts, public interest lawyers, and investigators. The EIP assists in enforcing environmental laws through taking legal action against suspected offenders. ¹ The EIP is funded by left-of-center organizations such as the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. ²

The EIP’s executive director, Eric Schaeffer, was the director of the EPA, a federal agency involved in environmental regulation ³ and R. John Dawes, the president of its board of directors, is the executive director of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds. ⁴

Activities

Environmental Integrity Project lawsuits target those it has accused of being major polluters such as coal-fired power plants, factory farms, oil and gas industries, refineries, and factories. ⁵ It will also take legal action against government agencies if they do not abide by environmental laws and regulations. ⁶

In July 2022, EIP, the Sierra Club, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., against the EPA, claiming that its formulas undercount releases of emissions and had not been updated since 1998. Federal law states that the EPA must reconsider them every three years. On February 9, 2023, the EPA agreed to reevaluate its methods for estimating landfill emissions. ⁷

The EIP created a scholarship at the University of Texas School of Law called the Scholarship in Environmental Justice Law. It includes networking and mentorship opportunities with attorneys from the EIP. ⁸

Funding

Environmental Integrity Project has received funding from left-of-center grantmaking organizations such as the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, ⁹ a foundation created by David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard in 1964. ¹⁰ The EIP also received funding from 2009 to 2018 from the Town Creek Foundation, ¹¹ a grantmaking organization founded by Edmund Stanley in 1981 that provides grants to support left-of-center changes to environmental policy in Maryland. ¹²

People

Eric Schaeffer has been the executive director and co-founder of the Environmental Integrity Project since 2002. From 1997 to 2002, he was the director of the Environmental Protection Agency. ¹³ While working for the EPA, Schaeffer spent six years working for members of Congress on Capitol Hill. ¹⁴

John Dawes is the president of the EIP’s board of directors. Since 1994, Dawes has been the executive director of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, ¹⁵ an environmentalist grantmaking organization that supports pollution cleanup nonprofits in Pennsylvania. ¹⁶

1. “Who We Are.” Environmental Integrity Project. Accessed April 28, 2023. https://environmentalintegrity.org/who-we-are/
2. “Environmental Integrity Project.” The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Last modified April 18, 2023. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/environmental-integrity-project/.
3.  “Our Staff.” Environmental Integrity Project. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://environmentalintegrity.org/who-we-are/our-staff/.
4. “Our Board of Directors.” Environmental Integrity Project. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://environmentalintegrity.org/who-we-are/our-board/.
5. “EIP Focuses on Four Major Issue Areas.” Environmental Integrity Project. Accessed April 27, 2023. https://environmentalintegrity.org/what-we-do/.
6. “Enforcement Actions.” Environmental Integrity Project. Accessed May 1, 2023. https://environmentalintegrity.org/enforcement-actions/.
7. Mindock, Clark. “EPA Agrees to Reevaluate How It Counts Landfill Emissions.” Reuters. Last modified February 9, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/epa-agrees-reevaluate-how-it-counts-landfill-emissions-2023-02-09/.
8. “Environmental Integrity Project – Scholarship in Environmental Justice Law.” The University of Texas School of Law. Accessed April 27, 2023. https://law.utexas.edu/publicinterest/scholarships/environmental-integrity-project-scholarship-in-environmental-justice-law/.
9. “Environmental Integrity Project.” The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Last modified April 18, 2023. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/environmental-integrity-project/.
10. “Our History.” The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Last modified June 23, 2017. https://www.packard.org/about-the-foundation/our-history/.
11. “Environmental Integrity Project.” Town Creek Foundation. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://towncreekfdn.org/recipients/environmental-integrity-project/.
12.  “History & Mission.” Town Creek Foundation. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://towncreekfdn.org/about-us/history-mission/.
13. “Our Staff.” Environmental Integrity Project. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://environmentalintegrity.org/who-we-are/our-staff/.
14. “Our Staff.” Environmental Integrity Project. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://environmentalintegrity.org/who-we-are/our-staff/.
15. “Our Board of Directors.” Environmental Integrity Project. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://environmentalintegrity.org/who-we-are/our-board/.
16. “Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds.” Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. Last modified March 29, 2022. https://www.cfalleghenies.org/foundation-for-pennsylvania-watersheds/.