Ironically, it is now easier to hold a corporation accountable. For one thing, governmental agencies charged with the enforcement of environmental law are extremely reluctant to prosecute other governmental agencies. The E.P.A., for example, actually has a policy that does not allow it to prosecute sister governmental agencies. In New York State there is a written policy that requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to go through a labyrinthine negotiation process before it actually files suit against a sister agency. In truth, it just never happens.
Enforcement now occurs only when citizens bring lawsuits against agencies to force compliance.
So you can force government to follow the law. Unfortunately, that option is becoming increasingly difficult. A couple of years ago we suffered the biggest blow yet, a decision by the Supreme Court stating that federal agencies could not be penalized in citizen suits for violating federal environmental laws. Sure, we can still sue them to force compliance. But without any penalties, the incentive for every government agency is to continue to break the law until they're caught and prosecuted and there's a judgment against them.