Making Bad Decisions with Toxic Emissions: Exploring the Prosecution of Companies for Superfund Crimes

Marginalized communities in the United States bear the brunt of toxic pollution from Superfund sites. Criminal provisions in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, allow prosecutors to seek penalties for environmental crimes involving significant harm and/or culpable conduct, but we know little about how companies have been prosecuted for Superfund crimes. We utilize content analysis of 2,728 environmental crime prosecutions stemming from U.S. EPA criminal investigations from 1983-2021, and select cases of companies prosecuted for Superfund crimes. We found that across 41 prosecutions, 126 defendants were prosecuted, resulting in 68 years of probation and over $47 million in criminal penalties assessed at sentencing, but penalties are significantly impacted by a few large-penalty prosecutions. Fifty-one percent of prosecutions centered on hazardous waste crimes, followed by asbestos crimes (24 percent), chemical spill crimes (15 percent), and emissions crimes (10 percent). We conclude with a discussion of the value of Superfund criminal enforcement for deterring environmental crime and make suggestions for expanding Superfund criminal prosecutions

Toxic Criminals: Prosecuting Individuals for Hazardous Waste Crimes Under the United States Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

The U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) contains criminal provisions which allow prosecutors to seek substantial penalties when individuals commit hazardous waste crimes involving significant harm or culpable conduct. However, our empirical understanding of enforcement outcomes is limited. We used content analysis of 2,728 criminal prosecutions derived from U.S. EPA criminal investigations from 1983 to 2021 and examined all prosecutions of individual defendants for RCRA violations. Our results show that 222 prosecutions were adjudicated, with over $72.9 million in monetary penalties, 755 years of probation, and 451 years of incarceration levied at sentencing. Seventeen percent of prosecutions centered on unlawful disposal of hazardous waste, sixteen percent unlawful storage, nine percent unlawful transport, and fifty-six percent a combination of these crimes. We conclude with recommendations to enhance criminal enforcement efforts via increased budgetary appropriations

Lone Star Crime: The Criminal Enforcement of Environmental Law in the State of Texas

Most transgressions of environmental law in the United States are remedied with civil or administrative tools. When crimes involve significant harm or culpable conduct, criminal enforcement tools may be applied. With the importance of environmental criminal enforcement for punishing offenders and deterring future offenses, we still have little empirical understanding of this phenomenon in Texas. We use content analysis of 2,588 federal environmental criminal prosecutions that result from EPA criminal investigations from 1983 to 2019 and select all prosecutions occurring in Texas. Our approach allows us to explore prosecution patterns over time, examine charging and sentencing trends, and draw out the broader themes of environmental crimes prosecuted in the state. Our findings show that across 122 adjudicated cases, prosecutors obtained over $371 million in monetary penalties, roughly 483 years of probation, and 125 years of incarceration at sentencing. We find that hazardous waste crimes comprise 29% of prosecutions; water pollution crimes comprise 24% of prosecutions; air pollution crimes comprise 22% of prosecutions; and state-level crimes comprise 19% of prosecutions. This Article concludes with suggestions for bolstering the criminal enforcement apparatus through greater resources, media salience, and community policing

Lone Star Crime: The Criminal Enforcement of Environmental Law in the State of Texas

Most transgressions of environmental law in the United States are remedied with civil or administrative tools. When crimes involve significant harm or culpable conduct, criminal enforcement tools may be applied. With the importance of environmental criminal enforcement for punishing offenders and deterring future offenses, we still have little empirical understanding of this phenomenon in Texas. We use content analysis of 2,588 federal environmental criminal prosecutions that result from EPA criminal investigations from 1983 to 2019 and select all prosecutions occurring in Texas. Our approach allows us to explore prosecution patterns over time, examine charging and sentencing trends, and draw out the broader themes of environmental crimes prosecuted in the state. Our findings show that across 122 adjudicated cases, prosecutors obtained over $371 million in monetary penalties, roughly 483 years of probation, and 125 years of incarceration at sentencing. We find that hazardous waste crimes comprise 29% of prosecutions; water pollution crimes comprise 24% of prosecutions; air pollution crimes comprise 22% of prosecutions; and state-level crimes comprise 19% of prosecutions. This Article concludes with suggestions for bolstering the criminal enforcement apparatus through greater resources, media salience, and community policing

Politics and the Criminal Enforcement of The Toxic Substances Control Act

Environmental crimes related to chemical substances are governed under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). When these violations involve significant harm or culpable conduct they may be remedied through criminal prosecution. While Democratic and Republican presidents have offered historically varied support for criminal enforcement, we know very little about how politics affects TSCA enforcement outcomes or TSCA criminal enforcement generally. To address these issues, we performed a content analysis of 2,728 criminal prosecutions from 1983-2021 that derive from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criminal investigations and select all TSCA prosecutions. Results show 75 prosecutions were adjudicated, involving 137 defendants who were assessed 161 years in prison, 277 years of probation and directed to pay over $170 million in monetary penalties. Prosecutions and penalties trend upward for Republican presidents, but the stronger trend is one of structural disinvestment in criminal enforcement over decades spanning both political parties

\u3cstrong\u3eDoes the Criminal Enforcement of Federal Environmental Law Deter Environmental Crime? The Case of The U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act\u3c/strong\u3e

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice are tasked with the investigation and prosecution of hazardous waste crimes occurring under the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). For criminal sanctions to be effective, the probability of detection and severity of punishment must be significant enough to raise the cost to benefit ratio to deter environmental crimes. While research examines sanctioning under RCRA, little work examines the plausibility of the deterrent effect of criminal sanctions. Through content analysis of all environmental crime prosecutions resulting from EPA criminal investigations, 1983-2019, we explore the probability of detection and prosecution under RCRA. Results show the probability of detection and prosecution to be sub-optimal. We conclude by offering three remedies for improving the plausibility of deterrence for future RCRA crimes including enhancing enforcement resources, developing a greater community policing effort, and raising the profile and salience of criminal enforcement activities