On Oct. 25, Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reported that federal criminal prosecutions under environmental laws dropped 10 percent in the 2018 fiscal year from 2017 levels. According to TRAC, federal prosecutions for crimes are down 40 percent from 2013 levels.

Federal prosecution of environmental crimes has always been somewhat limited. At its peak, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuted fewer than 300 cases per year in the categories analyzed by TRAC. The 109 new environmental cases brought by federal prosecutors last fiscal year is approximately half the number from two decades ago.