The New York Times’ Felicity Barringer reports on a struggle between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers—and local citizens—on how to best use 67,000 acres of Mississippi Delta wetland. The Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of federal flood control projects, has proposed since 1941 the installation of two pumps that would drain the area in order to produce arable land.

The project looked like it was finally going forward as a way to salvage the struggling local economy. EPA , though, argued that the area is one of the best aquatic resources in the nation. Barringer portrays the story as a genuine struggle between preserving economic well-being and preserving the environment. Read Barringer here. MB

The U.S. Border Patrol announced yesterday that in just the last six months apprehensions at the Mexican border had dropped 17 percent to 347,000. Shockingly, The Department of Homeland Security’s border patrol was not instantly credited for its brilliance in cracking down on illegal immigration.

Instead, the Wall Street Journal’s Miriam Jordan reports that less people are crossing the border because the U.S. economy stinks. Some credit is given to DHS security and surveillance. But even more is attributed to a new Arizona state law that harshly punishes businesses who hire undocumented immigrants. Read Jordan here. MB

The Food and Drug Administration put on their agency Web site yesterday that 62 people have died from the contaminated blood thinner heparin. All the cases the FDA is now counting as a heparin-caused death relate to allergic reactions or a decrease in blood pressure.

The shipment of the contaminated blood thinner from a not inspected Chinese factory has been the lowlight of a troubling 2008 for the agency. As the Washington Post’s Marc Kaufman writes, the case alarmed “the public about the globalization of drug-manufacturing in lightly regulated nations.” Read Kaufman here. MB

If the days of the Justice Department throwing the book at rogue corporations ever began, they’re now over. The New York Times’ Eric Lichtblau reports that instead of prosecuting corporations suspected of wrongdoing, Justice is entering into so-called deferred prosecution agreements with the companies. The agreements allow companies from Monsanto to American Express to get off with a fine and some hassle from the F.B.I.

Justice defends the program as a way to stop companies from getting financially devastated, which could mean the dismissal of all the company’s employees. The deferred arrangements may stay in the news—Justice is debating whether to use them on as many as 17 companies linked to the subprime mortgage crisis. Read Lichtblau here. MB