Environmental Law

Enforcement by the TCEQ is a Joke

Posted on November 19, 2009
The other day, I received an e-mail from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (?TCEQ?). I am a subscriber to its notification services. The e-mail screams out: ?TCEQ APPROVES FINES TOTALING $816,375.? You think: Wow, they are really doing something...

A Win for the Good Guys?

Posted on November 16, 2009
On Friday, October 20th, United States District Judge Henry Lee Adams conducted a post-conviction hearing and at the close of the evidence issued a ruling from the bench that immediately terminated Kassian Navigation?s probation. The company had previously voluntarily accepted...

A Budding Turf War???

Posted on October 26, 2009
On October 21, 2009, Senator Urbin introduced a bill that would purportedly require cruise ships and other vessels to obtain an NPDES permit to dischage sewage (toilet waste) and other waste waters. The permit would be issued by the USEPA....

A Rant of Sorts

Posted on October 17, 2009
This post has nothing to do with environmental criminal law ? it has to do with Federal judges and what Federal judges need to do more of ? levy sanctions on stupid, idiotic, incompetent lawyering. The back drop to this...

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More CWA Enforcement Promised?

Posted on October 16, 2009
On October 15, 2009, Lisa P. Jackson, the USEPA Administrator, announced that the USEPA is stepping up its enforcement efforts under the CWA. Dubbed the ?Clean Water Action Enforcement Plan,? the USEPA claims it is revamping its compliance and enforcement...

Illegal Importation of Coral

Posted on October 16, 2009
On October 14, 2009, the USDOJ announced that Gunther Wenzek, a German national, pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, to one count of smuggling coral into the United States. Sentencing is scheduled for...

Baggett Sentenced

Posted on October 15, 2009
Sorry about the period with no posts ? I just plain got busy . . .. On October 14, 2009, the USEPA announced that Larkin Baggett was sentenced to twenty (20) years in prison by the United States District Court...

More Enforcement from the Feds on the Horizon?

Posted on September 14, 2009
On Monday, July 6, 2009, Inside EPA reported that the USEPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, in a July 2, 2009, memorandum sent to Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles, wrote that water in the United States was...

A Name and a Face Behind Enforcement ? Meet the Regulators

Posted on September 08, 2009
You have probably never heard of him. Walter Benjamin Fisherow. He is one of the career lawyers at the USDOJ in the Environmental Enforcement Section and there is an article on him in today?s Washington Post. Mr. Fisherow is the...

Clean Water Act Civil Enforcement

Posted on August 24, 2009
On August 18, 2009, the USDOJ announced that Cooper Land Development, Inc., a luxury home development company, headquartered in Rogers, Ark., had agreed to settle allegations that Cooper had violated the Clean Water Act. According to the Consent Decree, Cooper...

An Interesting Article

Posted on August 10, 2009
In today?s Fort Worth Business Press, Cheryl Coon, a partner with Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller LLP, writes an interesting article on why businesses should hire an environmental lawyer. The reasons include: 1. Environmental attorneys speak the language...

The Cosco Busan

Posted on July 21, 2009
On Friday, July 17, 2009, the USDOJ announced that John Joseph Cota, the pilot of the Cosco Busan was sentenced to serve ten (10) months in federal prison. The Cosco Busan, a 900-foot long container ship, collided with the San...

Not an Environmental Crime, but a Crime Nonetheless

Posted on July 06, 2009
I recently returned from a long weekend trip to San Diego, California with my wife to escape the 100º heat in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I got in some great golf at Torrey Pines and the wife got in some...

W.R. Grace Redux

Posted on July 01, 2009
The National Law Journal sat down with David Krakoff, wh represented Harry Eschenbach, the former director of health and safety for W.R. Grace?s industrial chemicals group. The interview is an interesting read on how the case turned in favor of...

W.R. Grace ? A Follow-up

Posted on June 19, 2009
On June 18, 2009, the USEPA announced that it was declaring a ?clean-up emergency? for Libby, Montana for the asbestos contamination resulting from mining operations. You can read the full article here http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/17/montana.asbestos/index...

This Goes Under The Category Of Just Plain Stupid

Posted on June 06, 2009
The Tyler Morning Telegraph is reporting that three men have been arrested for allegedly dumping gasoline into a creek. The Van Zandt County Sheriff?s office and the Grand Saline Police Department responded to a citizen?s complaint of illegal dumping on...

An Illegal Search?

Posted on June 03, 2009
On June 3, 2009, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (?TCEQ?) announced that starting the first week of June 2009, it would use a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter to fly over many industrial facilities located on the Houston Ship Channel....

This Is Just Incredible - Follow-up

Posted on May 18, 2009
On February 15, 2008, I wrote an entry regarding a case in East Texas regarding a family dairy farm. The case was started by a complaint made by a neighbor (she alleged that he dairy farm was discharging material from...

W.R. Grace Instruction to the Jury Regarding Robert Locke Testimony

Posted on May 15, 2009
Below is the instruction given by the judge in the W.R. Grace case regarding the testimony of one of the government?s key witnesses. One expects better from our government . . .. Ladies and gentlemen, you are now going to...

A Chink In the Armor?

Posted on May 14, 2009
On May 4, 2009, the United States Supreme Court decided Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 555 U.S. ___, (2009). It was an identify theft criminal prosecution. What makes it of interest in the environmental crimes arena is that the Court found...

USEPA?s 2010 Budget

Posted on May 13, 2009
On May 12, 2009, Lisa P. Jackson, USEPA?s Administrator, appeared before the United States Senate?s Environment and Public Works Committee?s Hearing on EPA?s 2010 Budget Proposal. As to civil and criminal enforcement, Ms. Jackson is seeking an increase of $32,000,000...

W. R. Grace and The Executives Not-Guilty

Posted on May 11, 2009
On Friday, May 8, 2009, after about 36 hours of deliberations, the jury found W.R. Grace and the remaining executives not guilty on all counts. The verdict came after an eleven (11) week trial. The USDOJ had no comment and...

It Pays to Do Business in Texas?

Posted on May 07, 2009
I was sitting at my desk yesterday when at about 3:30 p.m. I get this email from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: ?The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality today approved penalties totaling $675,105 against 76 regulated entities for violations...

Is a Picture Really Worth a Thousand Words?

Posted on May 06, 2009
A Guest Post from Elizabeth Schell . . . In this age of digital communication this often seems to be the case. Research supports the contention that visual communication can be more powerful than verbal communication. This can also be...

You May Be a Criminal and Not Even Know It

Posted on May 05, 2009
Ever flushed the last of a prescription down the toilet? How about an out-of-date prescription? Ever throw them out in the trash? Until recently, federal guidelines recommended that these drugs be flushed down the toilet. That is just plain, flat...

A Wake Up Call for the USDOJ?

Posted on April 30, 2009
On April 28, 2009, Judge Malloy issued his order denying the motion to dismiss the indictment for prosecutorial misconduct. You can view the order here Judge Molloy?s order. There is one passage I found particularly interesting. Judge Malloy states: The...

Atlantic States Sentencing Continues

Posted on April 27, 2009
Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co. was fined $8,000,000.00 on Friday, April 24, 2009, stemming from its conviction on a number of environmental and worker safety charges. More later. As always, feel free to contact me via e-mail at walter.james@jamespllc...

Good Old-Fashioned Crime

Posted on April 25, 2009
The USDOJ also likes to add some of the ?good-old-fashion-crime? to any indictment. In addition to being able to argue its typical ?crimes against nature,? the government also likes to talk about ?good-old-fashion-crime.? What is ?good-old-fashion-crime? (in addition to environmental...

Atlantic States Sentencing Continues

Posted on April 24, 2009
Craig Davidson, 44, of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, a former manager at the Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co.?s Philipsburg facility was sentenced yesterday to six (6) months in prison. Again, no fine was imposed. Maury will surrender to the Bureau of...

Another Clean Water Act Sentencing

Posted on April 23, 2009
Yesterday, April 22, 2009, Michael Panyard, the former general manager of Comprehensive Environmental Solutions Inc. in Dearborn, Mich., was sentenced to fifteen (15) months in prison, two years of supervised release and was ordered to participate in a comprehensive drug...

Atlantic States Sentencing Continues

Posted on April 22, 2009
Jeff Maury, 41, of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, the former maintenance superintendent at the Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co.?s Philipsburg facility was sentenced today to thirty (30) months in prison. Again, no fine was imposed. Maury will surrender to the...

Atlantic States Sentencing Begins

Posted on April 21, 2009
The USDOJ issued a press release yesterday regarding the sentencing schedule in the Atlantic States case. On Monday, April 20, 2009, John Prisque, the former plant manager of the Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co. at Phillipsburg (a division of...

Atlantic States Sentencing Continues

Posted on April 21, 2009
Scott Faubert, 45, of Easton, Pennsylvania, the former human resources manager at the Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co.?s Philipsburg facility was sentenced today to forty-one (41) months in prison. Again, no fine was imposed. Faubert will surrender to the...

Again, In My Own Backyard . . .

Posted on April 17, 2009
On April 16, 2009, Texas Oil and Gathering Inc. and two of its executives pleaded guilty to illegally dumping refinery wastes at an underground injection well. The investigation began because of an explosion at the well which killed three workers....

W.R. Grace Trial, cont.

Posted on March 28, 2009
Yes, the world keeps revolving and the Grace trial continues. I have not posted on the Grace trial the last two weeks; rather, I have been following it on the University of Montana blog http://blog.umt.edu/gracecase/. I have said it before;...

Civil or Criminal: You Do Not Get To Choose?

Posted on March 27, 2009
I often get the question: ?How do the regulators decide to pursue a case in the criminal process rather than the civil process?? My stock answer is typically: ?It depends on who gets to your door first.? There is actually...

Who Are the Prosecutors?

Posted on March 26, 2009
Who typically prosecutes an environmental crime? The answer is, like so many in the law, it depends. Years ago, all environmental criminal prosecutions were coordinated and prosecuted out of the DOJ?s Environmental Crimes Section. That requirement has been loosened significantly...

A Kinder and Gentler Federal Government?

Posted on March 20, 2009
On March 19, 2009, United States Attorney General Eric Holder issued memorandum directing an application of a presumption of openness when responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. The memorandum directs the heads of the executive branch departments and agencies...

The Fugitive List ? It Does Work

Posted on March 15, 2009
I never thought it would work, but, I guess it does. The USEPA?s most-wanted list is now four fewer. According to published reports last week, one fugitive on the ten-most-wanted list, Bhavesh H. Kamdar, surrendered to authorities last month. Two...

BP Plea Deal Approved

Posted on March 13, 2009
The W.R. Grace trial is not the only prosecution going on . . .. On Thursday, March 12, 2009, United States District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal approved the plea agreement with BP. The agreement ended the criminal case and imposed...

W. R. Grace Trial cont.

Posted on March 10, 2009
A sick juror derailed any testimony on Monday. The juror went to the doctor and the doctor is to report on the health of the juror to the judge. Although no trial testimony, there was a lively discussion among counsel...

The W.R. Grace Trial

Posted on March 05, 2009

W. R. Grace Trial cont.

Posted on March 04, 2009

W.R. Grace and the Crime Victims? Rights Act

Posted on March 03, 2009

W.R. Grace Trial cont.

Posted on February 26, 2009
On Tuesday, February 24, 2009, (day two of the trial), the prosecutors called the government?s first witnesses and the objections flew fast and furious. By objecting, Barbara Harding, one of the Grace lawyers, is trying to maintain a narrow time...

W.R. Grace Goes to Trial

Posted on February 24, 2009
On February 23, 2009, the W.R. Grace trial began in Missoula, Montana. During opening statements, Kris McLean, the federal prosecutor, told the jurors Grace knew for years that its mining operation exposed residents of Libby, Montana, to asbestos and that...

Is A Shut-Down Order The New Hammer?

Posted on February 24, 2009
On February 6, 2009, the USEPA, in coordination with the LDEQ, ordered Global Environmental Methods LLC to cease all operations at its waste oil and industrial process waste management and treatment facility in New Iberia, Louisiana. The order entered as...

An Interesting Twist . . .

Posted on February 16, 2009
Review the case and history of United States v. McKittrick, 142, F3rd 1170 (9th Cir. 1998). Or, better yet, read Ed Newcomer and Marie Palladini?s article in the ABA SEER EECC?s newsletter on the Endangered Species Act. http://www.abanet.org/environ/committees/environcrimes/newsletter/jan09/EECC_Jan09...

What is the Status?

Posted on February 06, 2009
Lisa P. Jackson has been approved by the senate as the USEPA Administrator. Eric Holder has been approved as the Attorney General. So, why has not enforcement picked up? All I can do is counsel patience for those who will...

A New Sheriff in Town?

Posted on January 21, 2009
On January 5, 2009, Granta Nakayama introduced Adam Kushner as the USEPA?s new Director of the Office of Civil Enforcement (?OCE?) (effective January 11, 2009). Kushner was previously the Director of the Air Enforcement Division of OCE and oversaw the...

Lying to Stay Out of Jail?

Posted on December 29, 2008
In my blog post on June 6, 2008, I wrote about Gerald Lakota, a former environmental compliance employee at the Fujicolor facility in Terrell, Texas, who pled guilty to federal charges of falsifying water sample reports in an effort to...

Should the USEPA have a ?Help Wanted? List Rather than a ?Most Wanted? List?

Posted on December 22, 2008
That is the opinion of Steven Milloy, a junk science expert and the publisher of Junk Science.com. Mr. Milloy writes: It?s little wonder why the FBI?s ?Most Wanted? list doesn?t include anyone accused of breaking federal environmental laws. It?s hard...

Another Arrow in the Ongoing Pollution From Ships Battle?

Posted on December 19, 2008
On December 18, 2008, the USEPA announced that a new general permit (in effect starting today) will be required for twenty-six types of discharges from vessels operating in the waters of the United States. By the USEPA?s estimate, this will...

A Bush Administration Cover-up or Prosecutorial Discretion?

Posted on December 17, 2008
In a copyrighted story, the Environment News Service reports as follows (and for more on the story, you can get the actual documents at http://www.oversight.house.gov/): Bush Administration Covered Up 500+ Blocked Water Pollution Cases Updated 2:36 AM CST, Wed, Dec...

Lisa P. Jackson ? Who Is She?

Posted on December 11, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama also appears ready to name Lisa P. Jackson, as the new administrator of the USEPA. Will that mean more enforcement? Who knows may be the best answer. So, what do we know about Ms. Jackson? Ms. Jackson...

News Articles that Make You Think?

Posted on December 10, 2008
On November 24, the Associated Press reported that President Bush granted pardoned to fourteen individuals, including three convicted of environmental crimes. The full story is at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27895909. Of those pardoned were Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Missouri (convicted for unauthorized...

An Open Request to Eric Holder?

Posted on December 04, 2008
Eric Holder, Marc Rich and THE Memorandum. Marc Rich, Marc Rich, Marc Rich. Mention Eric Holder and that may be all you hear. You probably pass over the fact that he will be the first black attorney general. And, you...

A Clean Water Act Conviction

Posted on December 03, 2008
On December 2, 2008, the USDOJ, Johnson Matthey Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation, was sentenced for a felony violation of the Clean Water Act at its Salt Lake City precious metals refining facility. Matthey was sentenced to pay a $3,000,000.00 fine.....

American Bar Association Survey

Posted on November 18, 2008
The ABA Journal is surveying lawyers about the job market and the current state of the economy. We'd appreciate it if you could let readers know about our survey with a mention on your blog. Here is the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9Dhw2g7bX_2bxfq4mW8eB1Cg_3d_3d...

What does Obama Do for Enforcement?

Posted on November 12, 2008
What is the perspective of a Barack Obama administration on enforcement? Pre-election, Michael Gerrard, a partner at Arnold & Porter authored an article entitled "Politics and the Environment" in which he did an outstanding job of describing and comparing where...

Target or Subject?

Posted on October 30, 2008
When there is an investigation into an environmental crime, typically, witnesses are called before the grand jury. On occasion, I have been asked the question by appearing witnesses: ?Am I a target?? Being a ?target? or a ?subject? has different...

USEPA Cover-Up ? Part 2?

Posted on October 22, 2008
The Government Accountability Office report has been release regarding the overstatement of enforcement of environmental penalties by the USEPA. Here is a link to the twenty-one (21) page report http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d081111r.pdf. The GAO report finds that the USEPA has overstated its...

USEPA Cover-Up?

Posted on October 21, 2008
The Associated Press is reporting this morning that congressional investigators are looking into the accounting practices at the USEPA which have helped mask how much the Bush administration has slashed penalties against polluters. The Government Accountability Office (?GAO?) report which...

An Arizona Land Developer

Posted on October 09, 2008
Although this is not an environmental criminal matter, it could have been. An old adage is that the only difference between an environmental crime and an environmental civil violation is who gets to your door first. On October 7, 2008,...

BP and the Crime Victims Act

Posted on October 08, 2008
As previously discussed on this blog, the United States District Court in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division had scheduled a hearing for October 7, 2008, in the plea agreement that the United States had reached with BP PLC...

Largest Fine for Clean Water Act Misdemeanor

Posted on September 18, 2008
The $13,000,000.00 fine levied against CITGO, a Delaware corporation, on September 17, 2008, is the largest ever for a criminal misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA?). CITGO pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Lake Charles, Louisiana,...

Internal USEPA Memo Details Clean Water Act Enforcement Problems

Posted on September 17, 2008
This may be old news to some; however, from my discussions with various practitioners the issues are not out in the community - yet. An internal USEPA memorandum has surfaced that details impacts to USEPA?s Clean Water Act enforcement program...

Environmental Crime - The Rape of a Mountain Range

Posted on September 11, 2008
This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of the best criminal justice programs. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24@gmail.com. Every wronged individual is entitled to his/her day in court ? they can hire lawyers and...

Another Clean Water Act Conviction

Posted on September 10, 2008
On September 4, 2008, Comprehensive Environmental Solutions, Inc. (?CESI?), pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Michigan for violations of the Clean Water Act and for making false statements in connection with illegal discharges of untreated liquid wastes from its...

McNulty, Filip and the Attorney-Client Communication Privilege

Posted on September 07, 2008
I agree with the opinion expressed in the editorial below which appeared in the Los Angeles Times on September 4, 2008. Regardless of new policy, loopholes abound and the potential for abuse exists. What follows is the editorial in its...

Isenhour Follow-up

Posted on September 06, 2008
Tripp Isenhour, the professional golfer, accepted a no-contest plea to two misdemeanor charges arising out of the death of a federally protected red-shouldered hawk. See March 6, 2008 Blog Post, Professional Golfer Charged for Killing Migratory Bird with Golf Shot...

Gold and Silver Company Pleads to CWA Violations

Posted on September 05, 2008
While reading this post, keep in mind that the fact that there were exceedences of permit limitations is not the crime; rather, it is the manipulation of the data and the falsification of the reporting. On September 3, 2008, Johnson...

USDOJ Revises Corporate Charging Guidelines

Posted on August 29, 2008
On Thursday, August 28, 208, Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip announced that the USDOJ has revised its corporate charging guidelines. The new guidelines address one issues of particular interest, the area of cooperation credit. The revised guidelines state that...

USEPA Announces Web-Based System for Companies to Self-Disclose Environmental Violations

Posted on August 15, 2008
The USEPA recently announced a pilot project that allows regulated facilities nationwide to self-disclose environmental violations in a secure environment on the USEPA?s website under the agency?s audit policy. This electronic self-disclosure system (called eDisclosure) is expected to reduce transaction...

USEPA Encourages New Owners to Audit, Make ?Clean Start?

Posted on August 14, 2008
The USEPA is launching an interim policy that offers incentives to new owners who correct environmental violations at recently acquired regulated facilities. Under the interim policy, new owners may receive lower penalties than long-time owners. Under the current USEPA Audit...

Mens Rea ? The Final Word?

Posted on August 13, 2008
The previous few posts have talked about the basis for the mens rea under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and how that mens rea is based upon an application of old ?public welfare? regulatory enforcement actions. The upshot is...

More Mens Rea

Posted on August 12, 2008
A group of business, legal and defense organizations are undertaking an amicus effort in United States v. Ionia Management, No. 07-5801, pending on appeal in the 2d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The goal is to persuade federal courts to...

RCRA and Public Welfare ? What is the Mens Rea?

Posted on August 11, 2008
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (?RCRA?) criminal provisions, the mens rea is the ?knowing? standard. See 42 U.S.C. § 6928(d). That is, anyone who ?knowingly? does the prohibited acts is guilty of a felony. Originally, administrative police regulations...

Superfund Bid-rigging?

Posted on July 30, 2008
On July 24, 2008, JMJ Environmental Inc. (?JMJ?), its owner John Drimak Jr., and Norman Stoerr pleaded guilty to bid rigging, fraud and tax charges in connection with sub-contracts for wastewater treatment supplies and services at two Superfund sites in...

USEPA Stonewalling An Investigation?

Posted on July 29, 2008
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (?USEPA?) advised employees last month in an e-mail that they were not to answer questions from journalists, the Government Accountability Office or the agency's inspector general. The USEPA e-mail was made public on Monday,...

The Cosco Busan

Posted on July 29, 2008
On July 23, 2008, a federal grand jury in San Francisco returned a second superseding indictment charging Fleet Management Limited with negligently causing the discharge of 50,000 gallons of oil from the Cosco Busan and falsifying documents after the crash...

MARPOL Annex VI

Posted on July 23, 2008
On July 21, 2008, President Bush signed the Maritime Pollution Protection Act of 2008 (?MPPA?). President Bush's signature on the MPPA brings into statute form Annex VI to the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (known as...

Silent Thunder

Posted on July 21, 2008
Silent Thunder is billed as an ?eco-thriller.? It does not disappoint. It is a novel written by the bestselling mother/son writing team of Iris and Roy Johansen. The novel follows the exploits of Hannah Bryson as she works to prepare...

BP and the Crime Victims? Rights Act

Posted on July 19, 2008
United States District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal will examine medical bills and lost wages of people who died or were hurt in the 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City refinery to determine whether a $50,000,000.00 fine to resolve criminal liability...

What is the Crime Victims? Rights Act?

Posted on July 14, 2008
The Justice for All Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 30, 2004. The Act contained four major sections related to crime victims and the criminal justice process. Some purposes of the Act are to...

Concerned Canadians Help Trap Lobster Poachers

Posted on June 27, 2008
Lobster enforcement takes place in Canada as well as the United States. The Calgary Canada Globe and Mail reported on May 28, 2008 that the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans seized over 5,300 under sized lobster near the town...

No Silver Lining for Former Fujicolor Employee

Posted on June 26, 2008
The Dallas Morning News reported on June 2, 2008, that Gerald Lakota, a former environmental compliance employee at the Fujicolor facility in Terrell, Texas, plead guilty to federal charges of falsifying water sample reports in an effort to hide the....

Guest Post - Passive Smoke Equals Active Pollution

Posted on June 07, 2008
This is a guest post from Heather Johnson, a freelance writer. Crime and punishment go hand in hand, well, if the criminal is brought to book and convicted in a trial. But there are crimes that are often ignored, let...

Reporting Environmental Crimes

Posted on May 20, 2008
I periodically get inquiries from the blog scanners to the effect such as ?How do I report an environmental crime?? The easiest way to do it is to get on line at the USEPA?s website at http://www.epa.gov/tips/ and fill out...

The USEPA?s Mission in Photographs

Posted on April 23, 2008
The United States Environmental Protection Agency invited the public to share its best photos showing the USEPA?s mission to protect human health and the environment. Hundreds responded, sending in nearly 750 photos. Entries depicted scenes from around the world, including...

False Statements Lead to Additional Charges

Posted on April 23, 2008
On April 22, 2008, a federal grand jury in San Francisco returned an indictment charging John Joseph Cota, a ship pilot licensed by the United States Coast Guard and the State of California, with making false statements in 2006 and...

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act

Posted on March 18, 2008
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is general described as a strict liability crime (in laymen?s terms you do not need to prove that you intended to do the thing prohibited) and provides: "Unless and except as permitted by regulations made...

Professional Golfer Charged for Killing Migratory Bird with Golf Shot

Posted on March 06, 2008
From the wire services, PGA tour golfer John Henry (?Tripp?) Isenhour III was charged today in Orlando with killing a protected migratory hawk with a golf shot. It occurred in December 2007 when Isenhour was filming a video segment for...

Crimes and Hawksbill Turtles

Posted on February 29, 2008
On February 19, 2008, Wang Hong, a Chinese national, was sentenced in Denver, Colorado, to 167 days in prison and three years of supervised release after. On January 3, 2008, Wang had pleaded guilty to federal smuggling charges in connection...

This is Just Incredible!!!!

Posted on February 18, 2008
I had the great honor of representing a young woman before the grand jury on a matter in which her father and the family dairy farm were being investigated for environmental criminal activity. During these proceedings, the neighbor of the...

A Response, Of Sorts (thanks for commenting DaisyGirl)

Posted on February 12, 2008
Below is a comment that I received on one of my blog posts. I am re-posting it here, uncut and uneditted (except for correcting a few typos), as a part of the blog to give it some of the space...

Another Lacey Act Case

Posted on January 22, 2008
Contrary to, it seems, popular belief, the government prosecutes more than just Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships cases. On January 14, 2008, David S. Wong, a resident of Elk Grove Village, Ill., pleaded guilty in United States District Court...

More APPS

Posted on January 21, 2008
On January 10, 2008, Mark Humphries, the former chief engineer of the M/V Tanabata, was sentenced to six months in prison for conspiracy to make illegal discharges of oily waste and lying to the Coast Guard. The M/V Tanabata is...

Migratory Bird Treat Act Conviction

Posted on January 04, 2008
My apologies . . . work has goten in the way of blogging . . .. On January 3, 2007, the United States Department of Justice announced that Lyle Ravenkamp of Hugo, Colorado, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of...

A Call to Action

Posted on December 22, 2007
The following is a guest post from Gary Winston, Assistant State Attorney, Office of the State Attorney, Environmental Crime Unit, Miami, Florida. In 1993, at the urging of an aggressive, creative prosecutor, the (then) Dade County State Attorney?s Office created...

A $20,000,000.00 Penalty

Posted on December 04, 2007
On November 29, 2007, British Petroleum Exploration (Alaska), Inc., (?BPXA?) pleaded guilty to a one count information alleging a criminal violation of the Clean Water Act for spilling 200,000 gallons of crude oil from a pipeline onto the tundra and....

THANKS and Recognition!!!

Posted on November 26, 2007
On November 15, 2007, I was notified that this blog was selected by LexisNexis to be listed in the ?Top Blogs? section of its recently released LexisNexis Environmental Law and Climate Change Center. You can get to the web site...

Again with the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine

Posted on November 07, 2007
Sorry for the length of time between posts - real life got in the way - I have been traveling and been in trial. Now I am back!!! How is it that a person sitting in an office in New...

More APPS Convictions

Posted on October 17, 2007
On October 16, 2007, Mark Humphries, the chief engineer of the M/V Tanabata, was found guilty of: 1) conspiring to violate four different laws (making illegal discharges of oil-contaminated bilge waste, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from...

Oil Rigs and Environmental Crimes

Posted on October 10, 2007
On October 9, 2007, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division, Rowan Companies, Inc. pled guilty to three felonies under the Clean Water Act in connection with the routine discharge of pollutants and...

Fewer Cases Being Investigated and Prosecuted

Posted on October 01, 2007
Criminal prosecutions are down. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/nation/story/5CE8C09824FE8F87862573670006FA06?OpenDocument This story ran yesterday in a lot of newspapers. Now, the USEPA and the DOJ claim that they are getting more "quality" prosecutions...

Anatomy of an Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships Criminal Charge

Posted on September 27, 2007
In the last year, there have been a number of prosecutions under the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (?APPS?). What is the legal standard at play here? The statutory authority is set out at Title 33 of the United...

Clean Air Act Initiatives

Posted on September 19, 2007
Last week I reported that one of the DOJ?s priorities was going to be a continued focus on Clean Air Act cases. That, coupled with the fact that the DOJ has about eighty (80) percent of the refinery capacity under...