Future federal environmental settlements are likely to include more creative remedies to address the impacts of violations on communities, thanks to recent policy changes at the US Department of Justice (DOJ)....more
On Friday, U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division withdrew nine memoranda and policy documents issued by the previous administration related to environmental enforcement. Among those were...more
Companies should be aware that Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)—voluntary environmental or public health benefit projects in lieu of payment of civil penalties for violation of federal environmental laws—will no...more
Somewhat lost amidst all the (well deserved) COVID-19 pandemic news that comes out daily, is a decision by the Justice Department regarding the settlement of environmental enforcement cases that will likely have profound...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken three steps since June 2017 through August 2019 that severely limit the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in civil environmental settlements. Those actions are...more
Three memos with potentially important implications for enforcement were recently issued—one by EPA and two by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)....more
A recently-issued U.S. Department of Justice policy memorandum (“Policy Memo”) substantially narrows DOJ’s authority to approve settlements that include payments to or for the benefit of third-party non-governmental entities....more