"Assistant U.S. Attorney General Ignacia Moreno, the point person at the Justice Department for prosecuting environmental crimes, says she will leave government service next month."

"Moreno, the first Latina to lead the department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in November 2009. Her tenure spanned one of the worst disasters in U.S. history, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April 20110. Eleven men died in that firestorm. The Justice Department extracted a record $1 billion civil penalty from Transocean, the rig owner, earlier this year. And a civil trial continues in New Orleans over other environmental damages.

'To date, we have already achieved significant resolutions for liability in the Gulf,' Moreno said in an exit interview with NPR. 'We are focused on holding those responsible accountable to the fullest extent of the law.'"

Carrie Johnson reports for NPR May 8, 2013. [2]