Environmental Enforcement Chief: Some Cases Best Left Out of Court

The top environmental official at the Justice Department wants his attorneys to avoid taking enforcement cases to court when possible and encourage companies to self-report their problems.

The approach is part of a memo on environmental enforcement priorities from Jeffrey Wood, the acting assistant attorney general in charge of the department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). Wood also also called for more focus on organized crime and on acts of sabotage against energy infrastructure.

“The prior administration had begun to do work in that area, but seeing it called out is a little bit new,” said Ron Tempas, a ...