Environmental crime is a unique white collar crime in that many environmental activist groups and individual citizens have extended the eye of government to aid in the identification of corporations, small businesses and individuals that are violating environmental regulations. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates and polices this area of federal law, in the case of a severe violation, the investigating agency, routinely the EPA, often will seek criminal sanctions through the Department of Justice.

An individual and/or organization may be charged under several statutes containing criminal penalties for wrongful acts committed against the environment.

1. Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1319) – This violation occurs when a person introduces or neglects to report a pollutant or hazardous substance in a body of water, sewer system, or public treatment plant which can cause personal bodily injuries or property damage.


2. Clean Air Act (42 USC § 7413) - A person who willfully and/or knowingly violates any requirement or ban of a government plan for clean air (such as burning waste when it is not allowed) is liable to receive criminal punishments.


3. Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (42 USC § 6928) - Any person who moves any type of dangerous waste without a permit, or who transports waste to a location that does not have a permit, is accountable to criminal punishments. False statements, destroying records, transporting hazardous waste without a manifest, exporting hazardous materials without permission of the receiving country, or failure to report endangerment of the environment due to hazardous waste is a violation under this act.


4. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (42 USC § 9603) - Any person who purposely destroys or falsifies records that announce the location or circumstances of a facility that contains dangerous waste is liable to criminal penalties.


5. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 USC § 135(d)-136(y)) – Any person who distributes pesticides without permission, purposely mislabels a pesticide and/or reveals the formula of a pesticide is subject to criminal punishments.


6. Rivers and Harbors Act (33 USC § 407) – This is a violation of federal law to throw refuse or discharge waste into the nations through waterways unless permission is given. This act is also known as the Refuse Act.


7. Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act (33 USC § 1401-1445) – Persons and/or corporations who unlawfully discharge waste and refuse from vessels into the ocean are subject to criminal penalties. This act is also known as the Ocean Dumping Act.


8. Noise Control Act (42 USC § 4910) - This act disallows violations of agreed noise emission standards. Individuals, who import noisy products, remove labels identifying the level of noise a machine produces, or whoever makes a product in violation of the standard, are subject to criminal punishments.

How have the courts defined environmental violations?

A A stubborn violator blatantly ignored government officials orders to stop dumping for more than year as he tried to fill wetlands for his growing truck business. As a punishment he received three years imprisonment, a five year term of probation, one year term of supervised released and a fine of $200,000, with a $5,000 fine imposed on each of 40 cents. United States v. Pozsgai, 757 F. Supp. 21 (E.D. Pa. 1991).

B. Courts have found that prosecution based on asbestos related violations of Clean Air Act and CERCLA does not violate the double jeopardy clause, since both Acts encompass separate offenses requiring differing elements of proof. United States v. Louisville Edible Oil Prods. Inc., 926 F.2d 584 (6th Cir. 1991).

C. A person can be a subject to criminal punishments even if he/she did not intend to violate the Clean Air Act. United States v. Fern, 155 F.3d 1318 (11th Cir. 1998).

Penalties:

The possible period of confinement and fines owed will depend on which of these above mentioned laws is violated.

"Often times,the State’s Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) will secure a Federal Indictment from a Federal Grand Jury and charge a defendant not only with environmental crimes, but also with mail fraud, wire fraud, RICO crimes, or money laundering, and conspiracy to commit the aforementioned crimes. One should also be aware that since 1987 parole has been abolished in the Federal System. Expungement (removal of conviction from public records) is also not available.