Guidelines and Resources for Conducting an Environmental Crime Investigation in the United States |
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| Institution: | 1. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals & Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain;2. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA;3. School of Science, Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia;4. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany;5. Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany;6. Finnish Meteorological Institute, 00560 Helsinki, Finland;7. Oceans Institute and School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;1. University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Restorative Sciences, 1919 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0007, USA;2. University of Florida, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, Room D9-6, P.O. Box 100415, Gainesville, FL 32610-0415, USA;3. University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Clinical and Community Sciences, 1919 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0007, USA;4. Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, 3800 N Interstate Avenue, Portland, OR 97227, USA;5. HealthPartners Institute for Education and Research, 8170 33rd Avenue South, Mail Stop 21111R, PO Box 1524, Bloomington, MN 55440-1524, USA;1. First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao 266061, China;2. Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China;1. College of Marine Life, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China;2. Division of Polar Ocean Environment, Korea Polar Research Institute, 213-3 Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea |
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| Abstract: | Common environmental crimes in the United States include the illegal disposal of hazardous waste, unpermitted discharges to sewer systems or surface water, discharge of oil by vessels to waters within United States jurisdiction, the misapplication of pesticides, the illegal importation of ozone-depleting substances, data falsification, and laboratory fraud. Federal, state, and sometimes local statutes and regulations are in place to protect the water, air, land, and human health. From a federal perspective, these include the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for hazardous wastes, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for toxic substances, the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for abandoned waste sites, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for pesticides. Each of these laws contains some standard methods for sampling and analyses to prove environmental crimes. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the specific requirements of the laws. Within the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training (OCEFT) has the responsibility to investigate criminal offenses.Criminal offenses are more serious in nature than civil violations in the United States. To successfully prosecute an environmental criminal case, the government has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a corporation or person knowingly violated an environmental statute containing criminal sanctions. The same environmental forensic techniques used to provide scientifically defensible data prevail in both civil and criminal cases; the only distinction between the two types of cases is legal. |
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