The United States Congress passes various laws aimed at protecting our nation’s water, air, and wildlife. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for investigating potential environmental crimes. If the EPA finds a violation of the environmental laws, a person or corporation could be criminally prosecuted by the Department of Justice. A successful prosecution can lead to prison time and/or hefty fines.
Common statutes for prosecution of environmental crimes include the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Clean Air Act. These three statutes are the basis for the majority of environmental criminal indictments. Violations under these statutes include cases involving oil spills, asbestos removal, failure to properly dispose of hazardous waste, discharging pollutants into water, and tampering with the drinking supply.
Environmental cases often involve defendant individuals as well as defendant corporations. In this way, they are much like other white collar criminal cases from investigation through prosecution. These prosecutions offer unique defenses that are not found in other areas of federal law. A person or corporation accused of an environmental crime needs to hire a criminal defense lawyer that has experience in handling EPA investigators and dealing with the unique standards involved in the burdens of proof.
Odom, Davis & Hobson
The environmental crimes lawyers at Odom, Davis & Hobson have over 40 years of experience in dealing with violations of federal environmental law. Our criminal defense attorneys have represented both individuals and corporations that are facing federal criminal prosecution for environmental crimes, including British Petroleum in the 2005 refinery explosion in Texas City and Black Elk Energy following an explosion on their West Delta platform in 2012.
Our firm’s goal is to push the case away from the criminal process early in the investigation. We try our best settle these cases monetarily with no risk of prison time and hefty fines. However, our firm does focus on trial litigation. If the government files charges we are prepared to build an effective defense and put the facts before a jury.
Get in touch with us today for your consultation.