II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 481

To increase penalties and strengthen enforcement of environmental crimes,

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 25, 1999

Mr. SCHUMER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To increase penalties and strengthen enforcement of

environmental crimes, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Environmental Crimes

5 and Enforcement Act of 1999’’.
2

•S 481 IS

1 SEC. 2. REIMBURSEMENT OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL

2 GOVERNMENT COSTS FOR ASSISTANCE IN

3 FEDERAL INVESTIGATION AND PROSECU4 TION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 232 of title 18, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing:

8 ‘‘§ 3674. Reimbursement of State, local, or tribal gov9 ernment costs for assistance in Federal

10 investigation and prosecution of environ11 mental crimes

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME.—In

13 this section, the term ‘environmental crime’ means an of14 fense that is punishable under—

15 ‘‘(1) section 14(b) of the Federal Insecticide,

16 Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136l(b));

17 ‘‘(2) section 16(b) of the Toxic Substances Con18 trol Act (15 U.S.C. 2615(b));

19 ‘‘(3) section 10, 12, 13, or 16 of the Act of

20 March 3, 1899 (commonly known as the ‘Rivers and

21 Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899’) (33 U.S.C.

22 403, 406, 407, 411);

23 ‘‘(4) section 309(c) or 311(b)(5) of the Federal

24 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1319(c),

25 1321(b)(5));
3

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1 ‘‘(5) section 105(b) of the Marine Protection,

2 Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C.

3 1415(b));

4 ‘‘(6) section 9(a) of the Act to Prevent Pollu5 tion from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1908(a));

6 ‘‘(7) section 4109(c) of the Shore Protection

7 Act of 1988 (33 U.S.C. 2609(c));

8 ‘‘(8) section 1423(b)(2) or subsection (a) or (b)

9 of section 1432 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42

10 U.S.C. 300h–2(b)(2), 300i–1);

11 ‘‘(9) subsection (d), (e), or (i) of section 3008

12 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6928);

13 ‘‘(10) section 113(c) of the Clean Air Act (42

14 U.S.C. 7413(c));

15 ‘‘(11) subsection (b) or (d) of section 103 of the

16 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa17 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9603);

18 ‘‘(12) section 325(b)(4) of the Emergency Plan19 ning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986

20 (42 U.S.C. 11045(b)(4));

21 ‘‘(13) section 303(a) of the Federal Land Pol22 icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.

23 1733(a)); or

24 ‘‘(14) section 5124 or subsection (a) or (b) of

25 section 60123 of title 49, United States Code.
4

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1 ‘‘(b) REIMBURSEMENT.—On the motion of the

2 United States, a person convicted of an environmental

3 crime shall be ordered to pay the costs incurred by a State,

4 local, or tribal government in assisting in the investigation

5 and prosecution of the case by the United States.

6 ‘‘(c) USE OF AMOUNTS PAID.—An amount paid to

7 a State, local, or tribal government under subsection (b)

8 shall be used solely for the enforcement of environmental

9 laws.’’.

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

11 chapter 232 of title 18, United States Code, is amended

12 by adding at the end the following:

‘‘3674. Reimbursement of State, local, or tribal government costs for assistance

in Federal investigation and prosecution of environmental

crimes.’’.

13 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND

14 THE PUBLIC FROM ENVIRONMENTAL

15 CRIMES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 39 of title 18, United

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow18 ing:

19 ‘‘§ 837. Protection of government employees and the

20 public from environmental crimes

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

22 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME.—The term ‘envi23 ronmental crime’ means an offense that is punish24 able under—
5

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1 ‘‘(A) section 14(b) of the Federal Insecti2 cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C.

3 136l(b));

4 ‘‘(B) section 16(b) of the Toxic Substances

5 Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2615(b));

6 ‘‘(C) paragraph (2) or (4) of section

7 309(c) or section 311(b)(5) of the Federal

8 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

9 1319(c), 1321(b)(5));

10 ‘‘(D) section 105(b) of the Marine Protec11 tion, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972

12 (33 U.S.C. 1415(b));

13 ‘‘(E) section 1423(b)(2) or subsection (a)

14 or (b) of section 1432 of the Safe Drinking

15 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300h–2(b)(2), 300i–1);

16 ‘‘(F) section 3008(d) of the Solid Waste

17 Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6928(d));

18 ‘‘(G) paragraph (1) or (2) of section

19 113(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

20 7413(c));

21 ‘‘(H) subsection (b) or (d) of section 103

22 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

23 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

24 U.S.C. 9603);
6

•S 481 IS

1 ‘‘(I) section 325(b)(4) of the Emergency

2 Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act

3 of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11045(b)(4)); or

4 ‘‘(J) section 5124 or subsection (a) or (b)

5 of section 60123 of title 49, United States

6 Code.

7 ‘‘(2) ORGANIZATION.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘organiza9 tion’ means a legal entity (other than a govern10 ment) organized for any purpose.

11 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘organiza12 tion’ includes a corporation, company, associa13 tion, firm, partnership, joint stock company,

14 foundation, institution, trust, society, union, or

15 any other association of persons.

16 ‘‘(3) SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.—The term ‘seri17 ous bodily injury’ means bodily injury that

18 involves—

19 ‘‘(A) unconsciousness;

20 ‘‘(B) extreme physical pain;

21 ‘‘(C) protracted and obvious disfigurement;

22 or

23 ‘‘(D) protracted loss or impairment of the

24 function of a bodily member, organ, or mental

25 faculty.
7

•S 481 IS

1 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—A person convicted of an environ2 mental crime that is the proximate cause of serious bodily

3 injury to or the death of any person—

4 ‘‘(1) in the case of an environmental crime de5 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection

6 (a)(1)—

7 ‘‘(A) shall be imprisoned not more than 5

8 years, fined under this title, or both; or

9 ‘‘(B) if the person is an organization, shall

10 be fined not more than $1,000,000; and

11 ‘‘(2) in the case of an environmental crime de12 scribed in subparagraph (C), (D), (E), (F), (G),

13 (H), (I), or (J) of subsection (a)(1)—

14 ‘‘(A) shall be imprisoned not more than 20

15 years, fined not more than $500,000, or both;

16 or

17 ‘‘(B) if the person is an organization, shall

18 be fined not more than $2,000,000.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

20 chapter 39 of title 18, United States Code, is amended

21 by adding at the end the following:

‘‘837. Protection of government employees and the public from environmental

crimes.’’.
8

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1 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES TRAINING FOR STATE,

2 LOCAL, AND TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

3 PERSONNEL.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Environmental Crimes Training Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL.—In this sec7 tion, the term ‘‘law enforcement personnel’’ includes in8 spectors, civil and criminal investigators, technical experts,

9 regulators, government lawyers, and police.

10 (c) PROGRAM.—

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—As soon as

12 practicable after the date of enactment of this Act,

13 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection

14 Agency shall establish within the Office of Enforce15 ment and Compliance Assurance a program to be

16 known as the ‘‘State, Local, and Tribal Environ17 mental Enforcement Training Program’’ (referred to

18 in this section as the ‘‘program’’).

19 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The program shall be

20 administered by the National Enforcement Training

21 Institute of the Office of Criminal Enforcement,

22 Forensics, and Training.

23 (3) FUNCTION.—The program shall train State,

24 local, and tribal law enforcement personnel to inves25 tigate environmental crimes.
9

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1 (4) TRAINING SITE.—Training shall be con2 ducted at the Federal Law Enforcement Training

3 Center in Glynn County, Georgia, or at other train4 ing sites that are accessible to State, local, and trib5 al law enforcement personnel.

6 SEC. 5. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 213 of title 18, United

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow9 ing:

10 ‘‘§ 3296. Environmental crimes

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME.—In

12 this section, the term ‘environmental crime’ means an of13 fense that is punishable under—

14 ‘‘(1) paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of section 309(c)

15 or section 311(b)(5) of the Federal Water Pollution

16 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1319(c), 1321(b)(5));

17 ‘‘(2) section 105(b) of the Marine Protection,

18 Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C.

19 1415(b));

20 ‘‘(3) section 9(a) of the Act to Prevent Pollu21 tion from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1908(a));

22 ‘‘(4) section 4109(c) of the Shore Protection

23 Act of 1988 (33 U.S.C. 2609(c));
10

•S 481 IS

1 ‘‘(5) section 1423(b)(2) or subsection (a) or (b)

2 of section 1432 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42

3 U.S.C. 300h–2(b)(2), 300i–1);

4 ‘‘(6) section 3008(d) of the Solid Waste Dis5 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6928(d));

6 ‘‘(7) paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 113(c)

7 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7413(c));

8 ‘‘(8) subsection (b) or (d) of section 103 of the

9 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa10 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9603);

11 ‘‘(9) section 325(b)(4) of the Emergency Plan12 ning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986

13 (42 U.S.C. 11045(b)(4)); or

14 ‘‘(10) section 5124 or subsection (a) or (b) of

15 section 60123 of title 49, United States Code.

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—A person may not be prosecuted,

17 tried, or punished for the commission of, or a conspiracy

18 to commit, an environmental crime unless the indictment

19 is returned or the information is filed—

20 ‘‘(1) within 5 years after the date on which the

21 environmental crime is committed; or

22 ‘‘(2) if the person commits an affirmative act

23 that conceals the environmental crime from any

24 Federal, State, local, or tribal government agency,

25 before the earlier of—
11

•S 481 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the later of—

2 ‘‘(i) 5 years after the date on which

3 the offense is committed; or

4 ‘‘(ii) 3 years after the date on which

5 the offense is discovered by a government

6 agency; or

7 ‘‘(B) 8 years after the date on which the

8 environmental crime is committed.’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

10 chapter 213 of title 18, United States Code, is amended

11 by adding at the end the following:

‘‘3296. Environmental crimes.’’.

12 SEC. 6. ATTEMPTS.

13 (a) FEDERAL INSECTICIDE, FUNGICIDE, AND

14 RODENTICIDE ACT.—Section 14(b) of the Federal Insecti15 cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136l(b))

16 is amended by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(5) ATTEMPTS.—A person that attempts to

18 commit the conduct that constitutes an offense

19 under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the same

20 penalties as those prescribed for the offense.’’.

21 (b) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT.—Section

22 16(b) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C.

23 2615(b)), is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘Any’’ and inserting the follow25 ing:
12

•S 481 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any’’; and

2 (2) by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(2) ATTEMPTS.—A person that attempts to

4 commit the conduct that constitutes an offense

5 under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the same

6 penalties as those prescribed for the offense.’’.

7 (c) FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT.—

8 Section 309(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

9 (33 U.S.C. 1319(c)) is amended by adding at the end the

10 following:

11 ‘‘(8) ATTEMPTS.—A person that attempts to

12 commit the conduct that constitutes an offense

13 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) shall be subject to

14 the same penalties as those prescribed for the of15 fense.’’.

16 (d) OCEAN DUMPING.—Section 105(b) of the Marine

17 Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33

18 U.S.C. 1415(b)) is amended—

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’;

20 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

22 (3) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(3) a person that attempts to commit the con24 duct that constitutes an offense under paragraph (1)
13

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1 shall be subject to the same penalties as those pre2 scribed for the offense.’’.

3 (e) MARPOL.—Section 9(a) of the Act to Prevent

4 Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1908(a)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘(1) A person’’ and inserting

6 the following:

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person’’; and

8 (2) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(2) ATTEMPTS.—A person that attempts to

10 commit conduct that constitutes an offense under

11 paragraph (1) shall be subject to the same penalties

12 as those prescribed for the offense.’’.

13 (f) SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT.—Section 3008 of

14 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6928) is amend15 ed by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(i) ATTEMPTS.—A person that attempts to commit

17 the conduct that constitutes an offense under subsection

18 (d) or (e) shall be subject to the same penalties as those

19 prescribed for the offense.’’.

20 (g) CLEAN AIR ACT.—Section 113(c) of the Clean

21 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7413(c)) is amended by adding at the

22 end the following:

23 ‘‘(7) ATTEMPTS.—A person that attempts to

24 commit the conduct that constitutes an offense

25 under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall be subject to
14

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1 the same penalties as those prescribed for the of2 fense.’’.

3 SEC. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES RESTITUTION.

4 Section 3663(b) of title 18, United States Code, is

5 amended—

6 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

7 end;

8 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at

9 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

10 (3) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(6) in the case of an offense resulting in pollu12 tion of or damage to the environment, pay for re13 moval and remediation of the environmental pollu14 tion or damage and restoration of the environment,

15 to the extent that the pollution or damage results

16 from the offense (for which purpose, the term ‘vic17 tim’ in subsection (a)(2) shall be considered to in18 clude a municipality or other political subdivision in

19 which the pollution occurred or in which the damage

20 was suffered whether or not any person residing or

21 doing business in the political subdivision is identi22 fied as having suffered damage).’’.
15

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1 SEC. 8. PREJUDGMENT ORDERS TO SECURE PAYMENT FOR

2 ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 39 of title 18, United

4 States Code (as amended by section 3(a)), is amended by

5 adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘§ 838. Prejudgment orders to secure payment for en7 vironmental damage

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF PROPERTY.—In this section, the

9 term ‘property’ includes—

10 ‘‘(1) real property (including things growing on,

11 affixed to, or found on the real property); and

12 ‘‘(2) tangible and intangible personal property

13 (including claims, interests, money, privileges, rights,

14 and securities).

15 ‘‘(b) PREJUDGMENT ORDER.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the time of the filing of

17 an indictment or information charging the commis18 sion of an environmental crime (as defined in section

19 837(a)), or at any time thereafter, the court may

20 order the defendant not to alienate or dispose of any

21 property, or place any property outside the jurisdic22 tion of the district courts of the United States, with23 out leave of the court, if, after notice to the defend24 ant, the United States shows probable cause to be25 lieve that—
16

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1 ‘‘(A) the defendant will conceal, alienate,

2 or dispose of the property, or place the property

3 outside the jurisdiction of the district courts of

4 the United States; and

5 ‘‘(B) the defendant will thereby reduce or

6 impair the ability of the defendant to pay res7 titution, in whole or in part, including removal

8 and remediation of environmental pollution or

9 damage and restoration of the environment re10 sulting from the violation.

11 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In seeking an order

12 under paragraph (1), the United States shall bear

13 the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the

14 evidence, the projected cost for the removal and re15 mediation of the environmental pollution or damage

16 and restoration of the environment.

17 ‘‘(3) DEFENSES.—In response to a motion by

18 the United States under paragraph (1), it shall be

19 an affirmative defense that—

20 ‘‘(A) the defendant possesses other assets

21 sufficient to pay restitution, including the costs

22 of removal and remediation of the environ23 mental pollution or damage and restoration of

24 the environment resulting from the violation, if
17

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1 the defendant places those other assets under

2 the control of the court; or

3 ‘‘(B) the defendant has made full restitu4 tion, including the removal and remediation of

5 the environmental pollution or damage and res6 toration of the environment.

7 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—Any proceeding under this sec8 tion shall be governed by the Federal Rules of Criminal

9 Procedure.

10 ‘‘(d) AMENDMENT OF ORDER.—The court may

11 amend an order issued under this section at any time.

12 ‘‘(e) EXPIRATION OF ORDER.—An order under this

13 section shall expire on the date of an entry of an order

14 of dismissal or of an entry of judgment in the case.

15 ‘‘(f) ALL WRITS ACT.—Nothing in this section dimin16 ishes the powers of the court available under section 1651

17 of title 28.’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

19 chapter 39 of title 18, United States Code (as amended

20 by section 3(b)), is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing:

‘‘838. Prejudgment orders to secure payment for environmental damage.’’.

Æ