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On June 25, the Department of Labor (DOL) outlined its policies for referring regulatory enforcement cases to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal prosecution (90 Fed. Reg. 27057). The DOL’s Office of the Solicitor published its policies in response to the May 9 Executive Order “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations” (E.O. 14294; 90 Fed. […]
The EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced two settlements with energy operators located in Pennsylvania. XTO Energy Inc. (XTO) and Hilcorp Energy Company (Hilcorp) agreed to resolve alleged Clean Air Act (CAA) and Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act violations involving their oil and gas production operations in the state. Under the settlement, […]
In May 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Zeus Lines Management S.A., a vessel-operating company, pled guilty to maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge and for failing to report a hazardous condition on board the oil tanker Galissas. The company’s chief engineer, Roberto Cayabyab Penaflor, and Captain Jose […]
The Biden administration made it clear from day 1 that addressing environmental justice (EJ) issues would be a top priority. With the initial groundwork completed, the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced an interim resolution agreement in their EJ investigation into the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Lowndes […]
In March 2023, the Environmental Crimes Section (ECS) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) issued revisions to its Voluntary Self-Disclosure (VSD) Policy. The revisions set forth: Standards for what constitutes a VSD of misconduct to the ECS, A description of benefits ECS prosecutors will confer on companies that […]
The EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with Logan Square Aluminum Supply Inc., resolving alleged violations of the federal Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) regulations at renovation projects Logan Square and its contractors performed in Chicago and Chicago suburbs. Under the court settlement, Logan Square will: Implement a comprehensive program […]
On July 21, the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced the release of a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the BJS, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) titled “Indicators of Workplace Violence, 2019” (NCJ 250748; NIOSH 2022-124). According to the report, workplace homicides peaked […]
Early in March 2022, the EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the return of the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEP) as part of the available resources that can be utilized in enforcement actions. “An SEP is an enforcement tool that EPA used for more than 30 years until the previous administration brought […]
Risk managers take note: Environmental enforcement, particularly criminal enforcement, is expected to rise in the coming months. In their remarks at the American Bar Association’s annual National Environmental Enforcement Conference, Chief of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Environmental Crimes Section Deborah Harris and Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim, head of the DOJ Environment and Natural […]
Settlement Preserves Rare Wetlands In mid-August 2014, the EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement with the owners of a California ranch for violations of the CWA involving the destruction of more than 80 acres of rare wetlands in Tehama County. According to the EPA, the wetlands, known as “vernal pool” wetlands […]