NCJ Number
129587
Date Published
1991
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Criminal provisions of major Federal environmental statutes are reviewed, and the extent to which individual corporate officials can be prosecuted under each statute is discussed.
Abstract
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 regulates hazardous waste storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal through a "cradle to grave" system of permits and monitoring. The core of the act's approach is a requirement that all hazardous waste be handled at facilities with Environmental Protection Agency permits. Generators of hazardous waste are also required to prepare a manifest to accompany each hazardous waste shipment. The Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) established the Superfund to clean up existing hazardous waste sites. Most legal activity under this statute involves civil litigation over sharing liability for the enormous cost of cleaning up waste sites. Criminal cases under the statute center on its requirement for reporting hazardous substance releases. The Clean Water Act regulates discharges of pollutants into navigable waters. It provides for the issuance of permits to point sources such as industrial plants and municipal sewage treatment plants that establish permissible discharge levels for pollutants. Under the Clean Air Act, the system of air pollution control is similar to water pollution regulation in that a system of regulated emissions and performance standards is established and knowing violations are subject to criminal sanctions. The Toxic Substances Control Act provides for extensive testing and recordkeeping with respect to the manufacture of toxic chemical substances. An appendix notes criminal provisions of CERCLA and RCRA.