Foreword

• Author: John C. Cruden
• Profession: President. Environmental Law Institute
• Pages: 15-15

Page xv

Foreword

e federal Environmental Criminal Enforcement Program is a highly successful cooperative eort

between federal prosecutors in the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

in Washington, D.C., line prosecutors in the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ oces, and criminal investigators at the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies including the United States Coast

Guard, the Customs Service, and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service. Over

the last t wo decades, these groups have established a solid foundation for the crimina l enforcement eort

by establishing clear policies for instituting criminal prosecutions, devising sensible enforcement priorities,

and achiev ing a series of court victories that have created an eect ive deterrent threat. e progra m has

enjoyed broad public support and achieved exceptional results.

Criminal environmental law relies on two areas of the law that are both complex a nd vital: history-

driven criminal law and science-based environmental law. e innovations of criminal environmental law

can, therefore, move beyond the basics familiar to many criminal practitioners. Traditional concepts of

knowledge and intent and employer responsibility have evolved rapidly and expansively, much to the cha-

grin of any corporate manager who runs afoul of the law. Above all, the sheer size and complexity of the

task of bridging the two elds challenges the novice and demands expert assistance.

Enter the Environmental Cr imes Deskbook 2nd Edition.  is Second Edition great ly expands upon the

rst edition, both in breadth of issues and depth of analysis, oering the insight and exper tise of Judson

W. Starr, Amy J. McMaster, John F. Cooney, David G. Dickman, David L. Feinberg, and Margaret K.

Kuhn—attorneys in the Washington, D.C., rm of Venable LLP—and recently retired Venable partner,

Joseph G. ( Jerry) Block, who have over a century of combined experience representing corporations and

individuals in crimina l environmental cases. ese attorneys are recognized leaders in this area with a

background in both government and private practice. I have had the pleasure of working with, learning

from, or associating with many of them.

In plain English, the authors lay out the basic concepts of criminal environmental law and how they

t into the larger context of environmental regulation. As specialists in criminal environmental law, the

authors relate how the emerging criminal and environmental law comes together. And, they illuminate

complex matters by placing policy decisions in the context of t he historica l development of the eld—

developments that they helped shape.

Divided into three main subparts, the rst discusses the history of the federa l environmental crimes

program, the various policies and factors considered by DOJ, EPA, and U.S. Attorneys’ Oces in decid-

ing whether to bring a criminal environmental c ase, and the primary means by which a case is initiated

including, voluntary disclosure, routine compliance information, audits, inspections, information requests,

anonymous tips, whistleblowers, and administrative and criminal warrants. e second is devoted to legal

theory and strategy, including a detailed discussion of the knowledge element a s it is particularly applied

in environmental criminal law, a detailed “how-to” guide for responding to an environmental criminal

investigation, and suggestions and issue-spotting in the pretrial, trial, and sentencing stages of the case. e

third subpart provides a detailed analysis of the primary environmental statutes, identifying key issues and

considerations for each, as well as a brief discussion of landmark cases.

In addition to the analysis, the Environmental Crimes Deskbook includes agency guidance on such issues

as general enforcement policy, specic EPA and DOJ investigative and prosecutorial procedures, parallel

proceedings, and environmental self-audits. It also includes sample forms a nd pleadings, such as search

warrants, indictments, deferred prosecution agreements, plea agreements, and jury instructions.

As w ith all ELI Deskbooks, the Environmental Crime s Deskbook should be your ready reference. It is

practice-oriented with expert advice that can assist you dai ly. All of us who practice environmental law

consider this to be the premier reference source.

John C Cruden

President

Environmental Law Institute