Environmentalists Worry About EPA Enforcement Shuffle.

Efforts of the United States Environmental Protection Agency to reform the agency's enforcement office has raised concerns among the enforcement staff and environmentalists. They are worried that the "Smart Enforcement" plan will reduce criminal and civil actions against polluters in favor of compliance assistance partnerships with industry. EPA enforcement sources and environmentalists said the plan is part of a larger effort to weaken traditional enforcement in favor of policies that are friendlier to business and aimed at boosting compliance levels.