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Environmental Law

Environmental Crimes Blog

All about environmental crimes and enforcement, from pre-trial to trial strategy.

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Last Entry: March 31, 2011 at 12:35:06

Lying to Stay Out of Jail?

Posted on December 29, 2008
In my blog post on June 6, 2008, I wrote about Gerald Lakota, a former environmental compliance employee at the Fujicolor facility in Terrell, Texas, who pled guilty to federal charges of falsifying water sample reports in an effort to...

Should the USEPA have a ?Help Wanted? List Rather than a ?Most Wanted? List?

Posted on December 22, 2008
That is the opinion of Steven Milloy, a junk science expert and the publisher of Junk Science.com. Mr. Milloy writes: It?s little wonder why the FBI?s ?Most Wanted? list doesn?t include anyone accused of breaking federal environmental laws. It?s hard...

Another Arrow in the Ongoing Pollution From Ships Battle?

Posted on December 19, 2008
On December 18, 2008, the USEPA announced that a new general permit (in effect starting today) will be required for twenty-six types of discharges from vessels operating in the waters of the United States. By the USEPA?s estimate, this will...

A Bush Administration Cover-up or Prosecutorial Discretion?

Posted on December 17, 2008
In a copyrighted story, the Environment News Service reports as follows (and for more on the story, you can get the actual documents at http://www.oversight.house.gov/): Bush Administration Covered Up 500+ Blocked Water Pollution Cases Updated 2:36 AM CST, Wed, Dec...

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Lisa P. Jackson ? Who Is She?

Posted on December 11, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama also appears ready to name Lisa P. Jackson, as the new administrator of the USEPA. Will that mean more enforcement? Who knows may be the best answer. So, what do we know about Ms. Jackson? Ms. Jackson...

News Articles that Make You Think?

Posted on December 10, 2008
On November 24, the Associated Press reported that President Bush granted pardoned to fourteen individuals, including three convicted of environmental crimes. The full story is at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27895909. Of those pardoned were Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Missouri (convicted for unauthorized...

An Open Request to Eric Holder?

Posted on December 04, 2008
Eric Holder, Marc Rich and THE Memorandum. Marc Rich, Marc Rich, Marc Rich. Mention Eric Holder and that may be all you hear. You probably pass over the fact that he will be the first black attorney general. And, you...

A Clean Water Act Conviction

Posted on December 03, 2008
On December 2, 2008, the USDOJ, Johnson Matthey Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation, was sentenced for a felony violation of the Clean Water Act at its Salt Lake City precious metals refining facility. Matthey was sentenced to pay a $3,000,000.00 fine.....

American Bar Association Survey

Posted on November 18, 2008
The ABA Journal is surveying lawyers about the job market and the current state of the economy. We'd appreciate it if you could let readers know about our survey with a mention on your blog. Here is the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9Dhw2g7bX_2bxfq4mW8eB1Cg_3d_3d...

What does Obama Do for Enforcement?

Posted on November 12, 2008
What is the perspective of a Barack Obama administration on enforcement? Pre-election, Michael Gerrard, a partner at Arnold & Porter authored an article entitled "Politics and the Environment" in which he did an outstanding job of describing and comparing where...

Target or Subject?

Posted on October 30, 2008
When there is an investigation into an environmental crime, typically, witnesses are called before the grand jury. On occasion, I have been asked the question by appearing witnesses: ?Am I a target?? Being a ?target? or a ?subject? has different...

USEPA Cover-Up ? Part 2?

Posted on October 22, 2008
The Government Accountability Office report has been release regarding the overstatement of enforcement of environmental penalties by the USEPA. Here is a link to the twenty-one (21) page report http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d081111r.pdf. The GAO report finds that the USEPA has overstated its...

USEPA Cover-Up?

Posted on October 21, 2008
The Associated Press is reporting this morning that congressional investigators are looking into the accounting practices at the USEPA which have helped mask how much the Bush administration has slashed penalties against polluters. The Government Accountability Office (?GAO?) report which...

An Arizona Land Developer

Posted on October 09, 2008
Although this is not an environmental criminal matter, it could have been. An old adage is that the only difference between an environmental crime and an environmental civil violation is who gets to your door first. On October 7, 2008,...

BP and the Crime Victims Act

Posted on October 08, 2008
As previously discussed on this blog, the United States District Court in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division had scheduled a hearing for October 7, 2008, in the plea agreement that the United States had reached with BP PLC...

Largest Fine for Clean Water Act Misdemeanor

Posted on September 18, 2008
The $13,000,000.00 fine levied against CITGO, a Delaware corporation, on September 17, 2008, is the largest ever for a criminal misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA?). CITGO pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Lake Charles, Louisiana,...

Internal USEPA Memo Details Clean Water Act Enforcement Problems

Posted on September 17, 2008
This may be old news to some; however, from my discussions with various practitioners the issues are not out in the community - yet. An internal USEPA memorandum has surfaced that details impacts to USEPA?s Clean Water Act enforcement program...

Environmental Crime - The Rape of a Mountain Range

Posted on September 11, 2008
This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of the best criminal justice programs. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24@gmail.com. Every wronged individual is entitled to his/her day in court ? they can hire lawyers and...

Another Clean Water Act Conviction

Posted on September 10, 2008
On September 4, 2008, Comprehensive Environmental Solutions, Inc. (?CESI?), pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Michigan for violations of the Clean Water Act and for making false statements in connection with illegal discharges of untreated liquid wastes from its...

McNulty, Filip and the Attorney-Client Communication Privilege

Posted on September 07, 2008
I agree with the opinion expressed in the editorial below which appeared in the Los Angeles Times on September 4, 2008. Regardless of new policy, loopholes abound and the potential for abuse exists. What follows is the editorial in its...

Isenhour Follow-up

Posted on September 06, 2008
Tripp Isenhour, the professional golfer, accepted a no-contest plea to two misdemeanor charges arising out of the death of a federally protected red-shouldered hawk. See March 6, 2008 Blog Post, Professional Golfer Charged for Killing Migratory Bird with Golf Shot...

Gold and Silver Company Pleads to CWA Violations

Posted on September 05, 2008
While reading this post, keep in mind that the fact that there were exceedences of permit limitations is not the crime; rather, it is the manipulation of the data and the falsification of the reporting. On September 3, 2008, Johnson...

USDOJ Revises Corporate Charging Guidelines

Posted on August 29, 2008
On Thursday, August 28, 208, Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip announced that the USDOJ has revised its corporate charging guidelines. The new guidelines address one issues of particular interest, the area of cooperation credit. The revised guidelines state that...

USEPA Announces Web-Based System for Companies to Self-Disclose Environmental Violations

Posted on August 15, 2008
The USEPA recently announced a pilot project that allows regulated facilities nationwide to self-disclose environmental violations in a secure environment on the USEPA?s website under the agency?s audit policy. This electronic self-disclosure system (called eDisclosure) is expected to reduce transaction...

USEPA Encourages New Owners to Audit, Make ?Clean Start?

Posted on August 14, 2008
The USEPA is launching an interim policy that offers incentives to new owners who correct environmental violations at recently acquired regulated facilities. Under the interim policy, new owners may receive lower penalties than long-time owners. Under the current USEPA Audit...

Mens Rea ? The Final Word?

Posted on August 13, 2008
The previous few posts have talked about the basis for the mens rea under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and how that mens rea is based upon an application of old ?public welfare? regulatory enforcement actions. The upshot is...

More Mens Rea

Posted on August 12, 2008
A group of business, legal and defense organizations are undertaking an amicus effort in United States v. Ionia Management, No. 07-5801, pending on appeal in the 2d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The goal is to persuade federal courts to...

RCRA and Public Welfare ? What is the Mens Rea?

Posted on August 11, 2008
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (?RCRA?) criminal provisions, the mens rea is the ?knowing? standard. See 42 U.S.C. � 6928(d). That is, anyone who ?knowingly? does the prohibited acts is guilty of a felony. Originally, administrative police regulations...

Superfund Bid-rigging?

Posted on July 30, 2008
On July 24, 2008, JMJ Environmental Inc. (?JMJ?), its owner John Drimak Jr., and Norman Stoerr pleaded guilty to bid rigging, fraud and tax charges in connection with sub-contracts for wastewater treatment supplies and services at two Superfund sites in...

USEPA Stonewalling An Investigation?

Posted on July 29, 2008
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (?USEPA?) advised employees last month in an e-mail that they were not to answer questions from journalists, the Government Accountability Office or the agency's inspector general. The USEPA e-mail was made public on Monday,...

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