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So your probably sitting there with this EPA information request or DOJ environmental crimes subpoena and your entire business is about to be destroyed. Maybe you had a chemical spill you didn’t report properly. Maybe your wastewater discharge exceeded permit limits. Or maybe your just caught up in there latest environmental enforcement sweep. Look, we get it. Your ABSOLUTELY PETRIFIED. And you should be! Because criminal environmental violations are FELONIES carrying years in federal prison and civil penalties can reach $100,000 PER DAY!
Let me explain the environmental nightmare your facing. EPA has both civil and criminal enforcement powers that can destroy you simultaneously!
Civil violations are STRICT LIABILITY – no intent needed! Exceeded your discharge permit by 0.01%? Violation! Stored hazardous waste one day too long? VIOLATION! Forgot to file monthly monitoring report? That’s a separate violation for EVERY DAY it was late! We’ve seen companies face million-dollar penalties for paperwork errors!
Criminal enforcement is even worse! All federal environmental crimes are FELONIES except pesticide violations! “Knowing” violations mean prison time – and “knowing” just means you knew you were discharging something, not that it was illegal!
Hold onto your permits because these numbers will bankrupt your company overnight!
Clean Water Act violations carry civil penalties up to $65,000 per day per violation! Had unpermitted discharge for a month? That’s $2 MILLION! Criminal violations add 3 years prison for negligent violations, 15 years for knowing violations, and if someone gets hurt? 30 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON!
Clean Air Act penalties are equally devastating – $100,000 per day civil penalties! RCRA hazardous waste violations? $75,000 per day PLUS cleanup costs that can reach hundreds of millions! We’ve seen small manufacturers face $50 million penalties for violations they didn’t even know were happening!
Your probably wondering “How did EPA find out?” Let me tell you what puts companies in there crosshairs:
Employee whistleblowers are the biggest threat! EPA has robust whistleblower programs that reward employees for reporting violations! That disgruntled worker who knows about your waste practices? They could get rich destroying you!
Citizen suits allow ANYONE to sue you for environmental violations! Environmental groups monitor discharge reports looking for violations to sue over. Competitors report each other to eliminate competition. Even routine inspections turn criminal when inspectors find unreported violations!
RCRA violations are particularly DEVASTATING! Criminal RCRA violations include prison time for executives!
Stored waste without proper permit? Criminal violation! Didn’t maintain proper manifests? CRIMINAL! Mixed incompatible wastes? That’s “knowing endangerment” carrying 15 years prison! We had a client imprisoned for 5 years because his employee put solvent rags in the wrong dumpster!
The “cradle to grave” liability means your responsible FOREVER! That waste you properly disposed of 20 years ago? If the disposal facility has problems now, YOUR liable! We’ve seen retired executives pulled back into criminal prosecutions for waste disposed decades earlier!
ABSOLUTELY! And EPA increasingly pursues criminal charges! DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section aggressively prosecutes violations!
In October 2024 alone, multiple executives were criminally charged for RCRA violations! Benjamin Gathercole pled guilty to illegally transporting hazardous waste. Visionary Bowling Products owners face criminal charges for improper storage. These aren’t giant corporations – there small businesses destroyed by environmental crimes!
The really scary part? “Responsible corporate officer” doctrine means executives go to prison for violations they didn’t personally commit! CEO didn’t know about illegal discharge? TOO BAD! Plant manager tried to fix the problem? STILL GUILTY! We’ve seen VPs imprisoned for violations by employees they’d never met!
The scope of EPA information requests is absolutley overwhelming! EPA can demand virtually ANY information:
All discharge monitoring reports and permit applications, waste manifests and disposal records, internal environmental audits (yes, your own audits become evidence against you!), emails mentioning ANY environmental issue, training records and SOPs, financial records showing “economic benefit” of non-compliance, even personal phones and computers of employees!
The worst part? You have 30 days to produce EVERYTHING! Can’t find a document from 5 years ago? That’s obstruction! Deleted routine emails? DESTROYING EVIDENCE! We’ve seen companies criminally prosecuted for not producing documents that may never have existed!
This is a DEADLY TRAP! Internal investigations often provide evidence for prosecution!
Hire environmental consultant to assess compliance? There report becomes evidence! Conduct internal audit to find problems? You’ve just created a roadmap for EPA! Interview employees about practices? Those statements become grand jury testimony!
Even attorney-client privilege doesn’t protect you! The “crime-fraud exception” means if EPA claims ongoing violations, privilege disappears! We’ve seen companies’ own environmental lawyers forced to testify against them! Your good-faith effort to comply becomes proof of knowing violations!
State agencies are often WORSE than EPA! States have independent enforcement authority and love high-profile cases!
State penalties stack ON TOP of federal! California adds $25,000 per day for water violations! New York criminal environmental laws add more prison time! New Jersey DEP is notorious for aggressive enforcement! We’ve seen companies pay EPA millions, then get hit with equal state penalties!
Plus states share everything with EPA! Report minor violation to state agency thinking there more reasonable? EPA gets the report immediately! Now your facing parallel federal and state enforcement! Its double jeopardy but perfectly legal!
Buckle up for YEARS of regulatory hell! Environmental investigations are incredibly complex:
Initial information request response (30-60 days of document production), EPA/DOJ review and follow-up demands (6-12 months), sampling and technical analysis (6-12 months), settlement negotiations or enforcement action (12-24 months), if criminal referral add another 2-3 years!
Your looking at 3-5 years MINIMUM of paralysis! During this time, permits get scrutinized, every discharge monitored, inspections increase dramatically! Banks won’t lend to companies under environmental investigation. Insurance companies cancel coverage. Legal fees? Expect $1-3 MILLION just for defense!
Environmental investigations don’t just cost money – they SHUT YOU DOWN! EPA has broad injunctive powers!
Administrative orders can halt production immediately! Consent decrees impose impossible compliance requirements! Supplemental Environmental Projects force you to spend millions on community projects! We’ve seen profitable factories forced to close because compliance costs exceeded there entire revenue!
Criminal convictions trigger automatic permit revocations! Can’t operate without permits! Environmental felons can’t hold permits for LIFE! One executive’s conviction destroys the entire company’s ability to operate! We had client with 500 employees shut down because the owner got misdemeanor conviction!
This is the most terrifying part – executives face PERSONAL criminal liability! The responsible corporate officer doctrine destroys executives!
You don’t need to personally pollute to go to prison! Just being in position of authority is enough! Plant managers, environmental managers, even CFOs get prosecuted! “Should have known” = guilty! “Could have prevented” = GUILTY!
We’ve seen executives lose everything – homes seized for restitution, retirement accounts drained for fines, professional licenses revoked, and industry blacklisting! Environmental felony = career death sentence! One client went from CEO to working minimum wage because no company will hire environmental felon!
Look, we’re not your typical environmental lawyers who just do permit applications. We’re criminal defense attorneys who specialize in keeping executives out of federal prison when environmental issues become criminal prosecutions.
We understand EPA’s enforcement priorities and how to navigate them. We know how to challenge sampling procedures and technical violations. We can demonstrate that complex regulations make perfect compliance impossible. Most importantly, we prevent civil violations from becoming criminal cases!
Other firms tell you to cooperate and fix the problems. That’s EXACTLY how executives end up in prison! EPA doesn’t care about your remediation efforts – they want convictions and massive penalties. We fight strategically, forcing them to prove knowing criminal intent while protecting you from personal liability!
Call us RIGHT NOW at 212-300-5196
Environmental investigations destroy companies overnight!
Former EPA prosecutors – Criminal defense experts – Available 24/7!
Don’t wait another second! Environmental investigations accelerate rapidly. EPA is testing your discharge right now. Criminal prosecutors are reviewing your permits. Employees are being interviewed by federal agents. The walls are closing in!
Remember – environmental crimes are FELONIES with mandatory prison time. One discharge violation can destroy your business and send you to federal prison. You need someone who understands both environmental law complexity AND criminal defense. Call us NOW before that information request becomes an indictment!
Very diligent, organized associates; got my case dismissed. Hard working attorneys who can put up with your anxiousness. I was accused of robbing a gemstone dealer. Definitely A law group that lays out all possible options and best alternative routes. Recommended for sure.
- ROBIN, GUN CHARGES ROBIN
NJ CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS