If faced with an enforcement action, there are new policies available from many agencies which allow the use of supplemental environmental projects as partial mitigation. McCutchen has considerable experience negotiating with agencies in the face of civil enforcement, and looks for creative solutions which benefit all involved parties, including the use of supplemental environmental projects. Most major environmental laws allow private citizens, including environmental groups, to file suit to remedy violations of permit standards and environmental requirements. Citizen plaintiffs can seek civil penalties and injunctive relief the same way that EPA can. McCutchen has defended a number of high profile citizen suits, and is extremely experienced in handling the many unique procedural and strategic issues associated with citizen suits.
Most environmental statutes have criminal provisions.
Since 1982, over 340 corporations have been indicted of criminal violations of federal environmental laws. Thus far, at least 265 corporations have been convicted. In the 1994 year alone, EPA initiated 525 cases. These indictments and convictions are the result of the increased investigative resources available to the federal government. The Pollution Protection Act of 1990 increased the number of investigators and established an institute specifically for training investigators at the federal, state and local level.