Media Coverage
Source: Law360
Media Coverage
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Olivia Thomas
05.08.24
A new policy issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was recently launched in an effort to promote communication and coordination between its civil and criminal enforcement offices. However, Environmental & Natural Resources partner Matthew Morrison told Law360 that, due to the new policy, the EPA may see an increase in criminal enforcement actions.
“The new policy establishes a coordination framework that seems likely to result in EPA’s civil program referring the more egregious and knowing violations to EPA’s criminal program, rather than keeping the case only in the civil docket and simply seeking a higher penalty or enhanced injunctive relief,” Morrison said.
Morrison noted that there is still at least one implementation hurtle despite the agency’s well-intentioned changes and formalization included in the policy. While the civil and criminal sides have usually viewed enforcement and compliance issues differently, that is not likely to change under the new policy, Morrison added.
“It’s not that the criminal enforcement program can’t adjust its lens toward the traditional [National Enforcement Investigation Center] framework of significant noncompliance and impact to human health and environment, but theirs has been a different lens that looks for patterns of intentional or criminally negligent conduct,” he said. “This difference in focus has always been a challenge and I think it will continue to be a challenge.”
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