ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS

Criminal Enforcement of Environmental Violations

The Cogdell Law Firm has represented clients in connection with criminal investigations under most major federal environmental laws. In many criminal prosecutions the government may target not only the company employees who engaged in improper activities (such as the unauthorized dumping or discharge of pollutants), but also any high-level corporate officers aware of the activities, regardless of whether they knew these activities violated environmental requirements. Thus, the government’s emphasis on criminal enforcement as a primary tool for ensuring compliance with environmental regulations demands constant vigilance and attention in order to protect companies and their officials from the threat of possible criminal liability.

Our lawyers have the essential skills and experience necessary to help clients address the difficult issues that arise in the criminal enforcement setting. We possess a clear knowledge of the governmental players and the criminal enforcement process based on our prior representation of a number of clients in connection with criminal investigations spanning most major federal environmental laws.

Given our comprehensive understanding of the federal environmental laws and corresponding state programs, we also understand that a decision not to prosecute a company for an environmental crime is only a partial victory if the company is exposed to a multimillion-dollar civil penalty or onerous operating conditions imposed by a consent decree. At the same time, we recognize that continued uncertainty about a matter’s outcome, even if the issue of criminal liability is favorably resolved, is often unacceptable to a corporation and its directors, officers, employees, and shareholders. Thus, although our first effort is to deter a criminal prosecution, we are mindful of the possibility of far-reaching civil liability under environmental statutes. Where appropriate, we work to achieve global settlements addressing both criminal and civil liability so that a client can resolve this uncertainty, and focus on preventing future instances of noncompliance through the implementation of appropriate environmental programs.