NCJ Number
174601
Date Published
Unknown
Length
112 pages
Annotation
Divided into eight chapters, this manual is intended to give prosecutors a general overview of environmental crimes and to encourage prosecutors to recognize environmental crimes and to pursue the criminal enforcement of environmental laws.
Abstract
The first chapter, an introduction and overview, addresses key issues in environmental criminal enforcement and identifies commonly encountered environmental crimes related to solid waste, hazardous waste, water pollution, air quality, pesticides and other dangerous substances, protected lands, and traditional crimes stemming from environmental incidents. The second chapter is concerned with environmental laws, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Pollution Prevention Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act. The third chapter focuses on the prosecution of businesses, with emphasis on corporate criminal liability, types of evidence establishing corporate criminal liability, and the government as criminal defendant. Subsequent chapters cover the investigation of environmental crimes, charging and pretrial prosecution, the actual trial, and defenses. The final chapter discusses settlement, negotiation, and sentencing considerations in environmental crime case dispositions. 218 footnotes