"Fewer Polluters Criminally Prosecuted as EPA Cowers From GOP Attacks"

"Fewer polluters were criminally prosecuted based on referrals from the Environmental Protection Agency this year than in any year in the past two decades, including during the George W. Bush administration.

Justice Department data collected by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) show that the feds are on pace to prosecute 88 cases that came from EPA referrals this year, compared to 182 in 2011.

The reason, former insiders say, is obvious. 'The EPA is a piñata,' said Doug Parker, who left a position as head of the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division in April after working more than two decades as a special agent for the agency. 'There was a material effort to downplay criminal enforcement, because they thought it would exacerbate tensions.'"

Alleen Brown reports for the Intercept October 26, 2016.