Pollution Rules Not Enforced to Aid EPA Probe
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WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it halted enforcement against a polluting Louisiana waste-burning plant for more than two years because it did not want to damage a criminal investigation.
The action frustrated parents whose children had a higher-than-usual incidence of cancer, the House Government Operations environment subcommittee was told.
The enforcement halt also stymied state officials, who aggressively sought civil penalties against the Marine Shale Processors plant, near Morgan City, La.
Edward E. Reich, acting assistant EPA administrator for enforcement, said the agency declined to take action under an agreement with the Justice Department, which believed any civil enforcement could lead to dismissal of criminal evidence.
The investigation ran from November, 1986, when the EPA and FBI searched the plant, to last July 24, when the company pleaded guilty to three pollution violations--one felony and two misdemeanors--and was fined $1 million.
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