Drop In EPA Criminal Enforcement Cases Linked To New Tiering' System

摘要

EPA's number of new criminal enforcement cases dropped between fiscal year 2009 and FY10, but the decrease is intentional and attributable to a new "tiering" system the agency is using to better target criminal enforcement on cases with the best deterrent effect, a key EPA enforcement official says. Fred Burnside, the retiring director of the agency's Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics & Training (OCEFT), said in a Dec. 7 interview with Inside EPA that the agency's recently released FY10 enforcement figures showing a drop in new cases initiated "doesn't reflect a lack of work." Burnside also said that the criminal division is focusing on higher-profile cases, including potential enforcement relating to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.