In this week’s edition, we discuss the ever-increasing focus on greenwashing by way of enforcement action taken by regulatory authorities and incoming legislation aimed at enhancing consumer protection. The EU confirmed the...more
The EPA Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) February 15, 2024, report on EPA’s practices in collecting, retaining, and producing criminal discovery materials in environmental cases found that EPA’s special agents largely...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a June 16th news release stating that Clearwater Utility Services of Tumwater, Washington, and its owner pleaded guilty to...more
On 15 December 2021, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU Directive1 aimed at tightening compliance with EU environmental laws through the introduction of new criminal offences, increased sanctions and...more
The Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section Chief, Deborah Harris, recently discussed environmental crime enforcement during an American Bar Association virtual conference. Ms. Harris told attendees that...more
In a significant environmental crime enforcement action, the Justice Department resolved criminal charges under the Clean Water Act against Summit Midstream Partners LLC, a North Dakota pipeline company that discharged 29...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training publishes an Environmental Case Crimes Bulletin (“Bulletin”) that summarizes publicized investigative activity...more
“Operation Pay Dirt” was a joint investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and the Suffolk County Police Department. It investigated...more
The Environment and Natural Resources Division (“ENRD”) of the United States Department of Justice released on April 30th its “Accomplishments Report” (“Report”) for 2017. ENRD describes the Report as highlighting its...more
At last week’s IBA War and Justice Conference, ICC judge Howard Morrison said that international criminal law must develop to accommodate the changing nature of atrocities and the changing nature of conflict. ...more
A trilogy of recent federal and state enforcement actions show just how far agencies will go to enforce environmental regulations. Now may be a good time for a compliance audit....more
On June 7, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum to all Department of Justice (DOJ) components and 94 United States Attorney’s Offices prohibiting them from entering into any agreement on...more
The headlines generated by the Volkswagen emissions scandal continue to amaze the environmental community and the general public, both here and abroad. The events are shocking in part because they involve a household name in...more
Regardless of whether you are a Trump supporter or Trump hater, and there certainly seems to be very few people who are indifferent to the guy, trying to prognosticate what he will do is very difficult. He is a political...more
Powerday plc was issued a record fine in April this year for offences relating to operations involving over 17,000 tonnes of waste deposited and stored illegally. Powerday – one of the biggest waste-management companies in...more
Recently, John C. Cruden, DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environmental and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), which oversees DOJ’s environmental litigation, voiced a heightened commitment to enforcing...more
The Department of Justice announced on December 17, 2015, that it would intensify enforcement of environmental and safety laws by adding in environmental criminal counts to worker safety prosecutions. The worker safety issues...more
The US Department of Justice has issued a memorandum to all of its prosecuting Divisions, directing changes to the principles applied by DOJ in prosecuting civilly or criminally individuals who engage in corporate misconduct....more