Environmental Crimes

• Author: Macon Bianucci/Robert Cetrino/Ciara Cooney/Lindsay Martin/Elizabeth Pianucci/Victoria Sheber/Stephanie West
• Pages: 719-791

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721

A. Criminal Versus Civil Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723

B. Criminal Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724

C. Interaction with Other Criminal Violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725

II. GENERAL ISSUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

A. Overview of the Elements of an Environmental Criminal

Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

B. Liability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

1. Individual Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

2. Corporate Liability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728

C. Common Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 730

1. Constitutional and Procedural Defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . 730

2. Other Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

D. Voluntary Compliance and Sentencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736

E. Sentencing Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738

III. CLEAN AIR ACT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740

A. Purpose & Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740

B. Violations of CAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741

1. Substantive Violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742

a. Implementation Plans for National Ambient Air

Quality Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742

b. Other CAA Provisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744

i. National Emission Standards for Hazardous

Air Pollutants (“NESHAP”). . . . . . . . . . . . 744

ii. New Source Performance Standards

(“NSPS”). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745

iii. Sulfur Dioxide Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746

iv. Stratospheric Ozone Protection. . . . . . . . . . 747

2. Statement and Filing-related Violations. . . . . . . . . . . . . 747

3. Endangerment Violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

C. Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750

IV. CLEAN WATER ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751

A. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751

B. Elements of a CWA Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752

1. Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752

a. Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752

i. Person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752

ii. Pollutants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752

iii. Point Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753

719

iv. Navigable Waters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755

v. Discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755

b. Criminal Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756

i. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination

System (“NPDES”) Permit Program . . . . . . 756

ii. Monitoring, Reporting, and Regulatory

Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757

iii. Discharge of Oil and Hazardous Substances 758

2. Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760

a. Negligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760

b. Knowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760

c. Knowing Endangerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761

C. Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762

D. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764

V. SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765

A. Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765

B. Elements of SDWA Offenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766

1. Enforcement of Ban on Tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766

2. Underground Injection of Contaminants . . . . . . . . . . . . 767

VI. COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION, AND

LIABILITY ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768

A. Purpose & Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768

B. CERCLA Offenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769

C. Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772

D. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 774

VII. RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775

A. Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775

B. Elements of a RCRA Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776

1. Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776

2. Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777

a. Knowing Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777

b. Knowing Endangerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780

C. Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780

D. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 782

VIII. TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783

A. Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783

B. Elements of a TSCA Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783

1. Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783

2. Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785

C. Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785

D. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786

IX. THE FEDERAL INSECTICIDE, FUNGICIDE, AND RODENTICIDE ACT . . . . . . 786

720 AMERICAN CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 59:719

A. Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786

B. Elements of a FIFRA Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788

1. Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788

2. Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790

C. Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790

D. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790

I. INTRODUCTION

The criminal environmental enforcement regime is multi-faceted and complex.

It involves the overlapping authority of multiple federal, state, and local agencies;

penalties ranging from fines to prison sentences; civil and criminal liability for

both individuals and the corporations that employ them; and a wide array of stat-

utes under which enforcement can be brought.

1

These statutes structure the

enforcement regime according to the pollution type, with separate rules governing

air, water, solid waste, and other types of pollution.

2

Although the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) under the Trump

administration pursued the lowest number of environmental prosecutions since the

mid-1990s,

3

the Biden administration has indicated a desire for a more aggressive

approach to environmental justice.

4

President Biden campaigned on establishing

an Environmental and Climate Justice Division within the Department of Justice

1. See generally Joshua Ozymy & Melissa L. Jarrell, Comment, EPA’s Criminal Prosecution and Punishment

of Environmental Crimes, 50 ENV’T L. REP. 10452, 10452–53 (2020) (providing an overview of the criminal

enforcement process); David M. Uhlmann, Environmental Crime Comes of Age: The Evolution of Criminal

Enforcement in the Environmental Regulatory Scheme, 2009 UTAH L. REV. 1223, 1224–26 (2009) (giving

general background on rise of statutes criminalizing environmental crimes and causing concern over associated

expansion of prosecutorial discretion); see also Environmental Law Violations, LEGAL INFO. INST., https://www.

law.cornell.edu/wex/environmental_law_violations (last visited Jan. 26, 2022) (providing an overview of

environmental violations and listing relevant federal and state law).

2. See generally Laws and Executive Orders, U.S. EPA, https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-

executive-orders (last visited Jan. 26, 2022) (listing laws and executive orders governing federal regulation);

David M. Bearden, Claudia Copeland, Linda Luther, James E. McCarthy, Mary Tiemann, Robert Esworthy &

Jerry H. Yen, Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection

Agency, CONGR. RSCH. SERV. (2013), https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30798.pdf (providing an overview of the

statutes for each type of pollutant); cf. Todd S. Aagaard, Environmental Law Outside the Canon, 89 IND. L.J.

1239, 1274 (2014) (urging evolution towards a more holistic approach rather than a media-based approach).

3. Fewer Criminal Prosecution of Environmental Crimes Under Trump, TRAC REPS., https://trac.syr.edu/

tracreports/crim/581/ (last visited Jan. 26, 2022) (discussing enforcement of environmental laws from FY2017 to

FY 2019); Ellen Knickmeyer, EPA Criminal Action against Polluters Hits 30-Year Low, ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Jan. 15, 2019), https://apnews.com/article/d72a4d3dfb584d15949c88917b48ddf9#:�:text=WASHINGTON%

20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20The%20Environmental,prosecution%2C%20Justice%20Department%20data%

20show.

4. See Emily Mallen & Simone Jones, Environmental Justice to Get a Boost in the Biden Administration, BL

(Feb. 3, 2021), https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/environmental-justice-to-get-a-boost-

in-the-biden-administration (describing the Biden administration’s promise to ensure environmental justice). But

see Coral Davenport, Restoring Environmental Rules Rolled Back by Trump Could Take Years, N.Y. TIMES (Jan.

22, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/climate/biden-environment.html (arguing President Biden’s

environmental goals will take longer to achieve than expected).

2022] ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES 721