EPA criminal investigations sag under Obama

Contrary to promises to beef up prosecution of polluters, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criminal enforcement program is withering under the Obama administration, according to records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The number of EPA criminal investigators has fallen below Bush administration levels as the management of the criminal enforcement program continues to lack focus. The EPA Criminal Investigation Division (CID) investigates the most serious environmental crimes. Its investigators are armed, badge-carrying special agents who probe corporate pollution offenses. From 205 special agents in 2003, there were only 173 agents in 2010, according to EPA statistics, but this number includes vacant slots, reducing the number of actual agents down to 160, according to a hand count of the latest agent directory. The U.S. Pollution Prosecution Act of 1990 requires a minimum of 200 CID agents, a goal the Obama administration vowed but failed to reach. The FY 2010 EPA budget summary states: "The program will increase the number of agents to complete its three-year hiring strategy of raising its special agent workforce to 200 criminal investigators." Yet, CID is shrinking rather than growing. The drop-off in special agents is also reflected in a decline in new criminal cases referred for federal prosecution, with only 339 such referrals in 2009, a nearly 40% decline from 1999 case production, according to Justice Department figures. Criminal prosecutions filed from EPA cases and convictions obtained are both down more than 25% from 1999 to 2009. "It is simple–without pollution cops on the beat, polluters go free," said Florida PEER Director Jerry Phillips, a former state enforcement attorney. "Besides staffing and resources, CID needs leadership that helps rather than hinders its special agents in making busts that stick."