Environmental crimes

SIGNIFICANCE: Modern industrialization, technological advances, overdevelopment, and illegal business activities have contributed to environmental degradation, making enforcement of environmental laws increasingly important to the protection of public health and the preservation of natural resources.

In response to modern threats to the natural environment and public health, the U.S. Congress has enacted numerous environmental laws to protect the public health and natural resources. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section, and state governments enforce these laws. In the twenty-first century, the amounts of fines that are levied and lengths of prison sentences awarded under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for environmental crimes have increased. In addition, in 2016, the Hague's International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it would begin prosecuting governments and individuals for environmental crimes.

Air and Water Quality

The federal Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970 and its amendments have two major components: the establishment and enforcement of air quality standards and the regulation of mobile source emissions. The EPA is responsible for determining which adverse pollutants should be controlled and establishing national ambient air-quality standards to be attained within the hundreds of air-quality regions in the United States. Each state has responsibility for adopting a state implementation plan, establishing regulations, and enforcing its plan. The CAA requires operating permits for sources of air pollution and places limits on their emissions. The mobile source emissions portion of the CAA requires motor vehicle manufacturers to comply with EPA emission standards. In addition, the EPA requires the fuel industry to reformulate fuel products to reduce air-polluting emissions.

Criminal violations under the CAA include failure to obtain or comply with operating permits. Both acts are considered felonies that may subject violators to fines or imprisonment. Civil penalties, injunctive relief, and remedies for criminal negligence are also available under the CAA. Citizens may file actions against violators and are encouraged to report violations to appropriate officials.

The most significant water-quality laws include the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1977 and its amendments, which protect surface waters from pollution, and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974, which is designed to ensure safe domestic drinking water through the protection of ground water. The CWA regulates discharges into surface waters through a permitting process that protects chemical, biological, and physical water quality; fisheries and habitats; and recreational uses of water.

Most violations of water-quality laws are failures to obtain discharge permits or violations of such permits. Violators may be subject to civil and criminal penalties including fines, injunctive relief, and imprisonment for criminal negligence and willful violations. An enforcement order may also include recovery of any economic benefit gained through noncompliance.

Toxic Substances

The EPA has authority to prohibit or permit development, distribution, and use of substances that may be harmful to humans and wildlife. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 requires companies to provide scientific data and file premanufacturing notices with the EPA before producing toxic substances, while the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) of 1948 and its amendments require companies to register with the EPA and properly label pesticide products that are used in the United States.

Most violations of these laws are falsified records or failures to report to the EPA. In addition to the original registrant, violators might include wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and users of illegal substances. The laws provide for civil penalties and criminal fines and imprisonment for knowing violations. The EPA may also stop sales of illegal substances and seize them.

Resource Protection

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 regulates disposal, transportation, storage, and treatment of wastes, including trash and hazardous wastes such as paint products. Regulation of hazardous wastes continues through generation to final disposal—a cradle-to-grave manifest tracking and management system in which any person coming in contact with the waste can be held liable for illegal handling, even without knowledge of a violation. Any treatment, disposal, or storage facility must also obtain a license to operate.

Most RCRA violations involve illegal dumping or operating without, or in violation of, permits. Civil and criminal penalties such as enforcement orders might provide for injunctive relief to stop improper activity. Criminal penalties for knowingly violating RCRA include daily fines, imprisonment, or both, and fines and prison terms are increased when there is the potential for immediate death or serious bodily injury to people.

Cleanup

The purpose of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 is prevention and remediation of hazardous waste sites that might threaten serious harm to human health and the environment. Also known as the “Superfund Law,” the act requires the EPA to establish a national priority list (NPL) of the most dangerous sites. The EPA then develops plans for remediation and assigns liability to potentially responsible parties (PRPs). The PRPs may include present and past owners of contaminated sites, even if they are not responsible for, and have no knowledge of, the disposal of illegal hazardous wastes.

All PRPs are subject to monetary penalties under CERCLA in order to replenish the Superfund and are likely to enter into consent decrees with the government to apportion damages and limit liability. Employees who commit environmental crimes subject their companies to liability, and many lawsuits brought under CERCLA encompass multiple PRPs and environmental crimes. Citizens also have the right to file suits under CERCLA and may sue the government and PRPs for environmental violations.

The EPA has declared the second full week in April of each year as the National Crime Prevention Week. All citizens, and especially students, are encouraged to take active roles in discovering and reporting environmental crimes to appropriate agencies during that week.

Bibliography

Burns, Ronald G., and Michael J. Lynch. Environmental Crime: A Sourcebook. New York: LFB Scholarly Pub., 2004. General reference work on environmental crime investigation techniques.

"Crimes Against Nature: United Nations Agency Puts Environmental Legislation Under Scrutiny." United Nations, 17 May 2024, news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149881. Accessed 26 June 2024.

Grosz, Terry. Defending Our Wildlife Heritage: The Life and Times of a Special Agent. Boulder, Colo.: Johnson Books, 2001. Memoir of a person of who spent his career as a special agent responsible for enforcing federal wildlife protection laws.

Hersh, Heather B. Environmental Crimes and Corporate Responsibility: A Legal Research Guide. Buffalo, N.Y.: William Hein, 2001. Manual for legal professionals on environmental crime research methodologies.

Nolan, Andrea J. Understanding Garbage and Our Environment. New York: Terrific Science Press, 2004. Reader-friendly exploration of issues surrounding hazardous waste disposal.

Situ, Yingyi, and David Emmons. Environmental Crime: The Criminal Justice System’s Role in Protecting the Environment. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2001. Guide to the enforcement and prosecution of environmental crimes.

Vidal, John, and Owen Bowcott. "ICC Widens Remit to Include Environmental Destruction Cases." The Guardian, 15 Sept. 2016, www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/15/hague-court-widens-remit-to-include-environmental-destruction-cases. Accessed 26 June 2024.