EPA is a captured entity and not doing anything about it. They trusted Norfolk Southern's own tests rather than doing their own. They're following the corporate line on this and not doing anything about it, similar to everyone else involved whose in a position of power.
This is how the EPA works and they do it that way because that is what the law says. EPA does not show up and test soil, they order responsible parties to test the soil.
That's a major gap, there's no third party oversight, and they have all kinds of incentives to fudge the testing in their favor, including how they collect the samples, what's done in the labs, etc.
If criminal investigative agencies have been caught faking DNA results in criminal cases (SBI lab in NC) because there was a conflict of interest between prosecuting cases and the defendent, you certainly can't trust corporations.
Conservatives have gutted enforcement agency regulations and replaced them with corporate self enforcement/self governance. Don't like it? Push for tougher corporate regulation and rewriting the statutes to give power back to the enforcement agencies (that were originally created as a response to events like this happening over and over and over).
The EPA levies millions of dollars in fines against auto shops that do as much as list a few unapproved parts on eBay. They don’t investigate squat.
The idea the EPA needs to follow some vetted and lengthy process with responsible experts is completely false. They have chosen to downplay this on purpose and the actions they are taking are are 100% political.
It's a problem for most government institutions we rely on to protect us. There is a revolving door between them and the companies they're supposed to keep in check/regulate when it comes to those in high positions.
