Attorneys Warn OECA Criminal-Civil Policy May Chill Industry Cooperation

Some industry attorneys are warning that EPA’s Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance’s (OECA) new policy to bolster coordination between criminal and civil enforcers may chill industry’s willingness to cooperate with civil investigators over concerns that a civil probe could more easily shift to criminal. But other industry attorneys downplay those concerns and note that such a threat has always existed and the policy is intended only to boost internal coordination while also respecting the necessary “firewall” between civil and...