Source: http://guides.law.fsu.edu/environmentalcrimes/waterpollution
Timestamp: 2017-09-21 17:41:56
Document Index: 626429139

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 407', '§ 1232', '§ 1311', '§ 1312', '§ 1319', '§ 1342', '§ 1362', '§ 300', '§ 407', '§1232', '§ 1232', '§ 1311', '§ 301', '§1311', '§ 1312', '§ 302', '§1312', '§1319', '§ 1342', '§ 1362', '§ 502', '§1362', '§ 300', '§300', '§ 1321', '§ 1319']

Water Pollution - Environmental Crimes - Research Guides at Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Environmental Crimes: Water Pollution
Most criminal enforcement statutes regarding water pollution are contained in Title 33, United States Code. A few statutes are in Titles 18 and 42. Set out below in the left column are:
33 U.S.C. § 407 (Refuse Act)
33 U.S.C. § 1232 (Ports and Waterways Safety Act)
33 U.S.C. § 1311 (discharge of pollutants)
33 U.S.C. § 1312 (water quality related effluent limitations)
33 U.S.C. § 1319 (enforcement)
33 U.S.C. 1321(a)-(i) (oil and hazardous substance liability)
33 U.S.C. § 1342 (national pollutant discharge elimination system)
33 U.S.C. § 1362 (definitions)
42 U.S.C. § 300h-2 (Safe Drinking Water Act)
In the right column are cases from the book, along with citations and links to cases from the 11th Circuit and Florida courts citing either the case from the book or the statute relied on in that case.
33 U.S.C. § 407 - Deposit of refuse in navigable waters generally
Title 33-NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
Chapter 9. Protection of Navigable Waters & of Harbor and River Improvements Generally
33 U.S.C. §1232 - Enforcement Provisions
Chapter 25. Ports and Waterways Safety Program
§ 1232. Enforcement Provisions
(1) Any person who is found by the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, to have violated this chapter or a regulation issued hereunder shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty, not to exceed $25,000 for each violation. Each day of a continuing violation shall constitute a separate violation. The amount of such civil penalty shall be assessed by the Secretary, or his designee, by written notice. In determining the amount of such penalty, the Secretary shall take into account the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the prohibited acts committed and, with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and such other matters as justice may require.
(2) The Secretary may compromise, modify, or remit, with or without conditions, any civil penalty which is subject to imposition or which has been imposed under this section.
(3) If any person fails to pay an assessment of a civil penalty after it has become final, the Secretary may refer the matter to the Attorney General of the United States, for collection in any appropriate district court of the United States.
(1) Any person who willfully and knowingly violates this chapter or any regulation issued hereunder commits a class D felony.
(2) Any person who, in the willfull1 and knowing violation of this chapter or of any regulation issued hereunder, uses a dangerous weapon, or engages in conduct that causes bodily injury or fear of imminent bodily injury to any officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter or the regulations issued hereunder, commits a class C felony.
Except as provided in section 1228 of this title, the Secretary may, subject to recognized principles of international law, deny entry into the navigable waters of the United States to any port or place under the jurisdiction of the United States or to any vessel not in compliance with the provisions of this chapter or the regulations issued hereunder.
(1) If any owner, operator, or individual in charge of a vessel is liable for a penalty or fine under this section, or if reasonable cause exists to believe that the owner, operator, or individual in charge may be subject to a penalty or fine under this section, the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the request of the Secretary, shall with respect to such vessel refuse or revoke any clearance required by section 60105 of Title 46.
(2) Clearance refused or revoked under this subsection may be granted upon filing of a bond or other surety satisfactory to the Secretary
33 U.S.C. § 1311 - Offense: Discharge of Pollutants [CWA § 301]
§1311. Effluent limitations.
33 U.S.C. § 1312(a) - Water quality related effluent limitations [CWA § 302]
§1312. Water quality related effluent limitations
Whenever, in the judgment of the Administrator or as identified under section 1314(l) of this title, discharges of pollutants from a point source or group of point sources, with the application of effluent limitations required under section 1311(b)(2) of this title, would interfere with the attainment or maintenance of that water quality in a specific portion of the navigable waters which shall assure protection of public health, public water supplies, agricultural and industrial uses, and the protection and propagation of a balanced population of shellfish, fish and wildlife, and allow recreational activities in and on the water, effluent limitations (including alternative effluent control strategies) for such point source or sources shall be established which can reasonably be expected to contribute to the attainment or maintenance of such water quality.
(b) Modifications of effluent limitations
(1) Notice and hearing
Prior to establishment of any effluent limitation pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Administrator shall publish such proposed limitation and within 90 days of such publication hold a public hearing.
(A) No reasonable relationship
The Administrator, with the concurrence of the State, may issue a permit which modifies the effluent limitations required by subsection (a) of this section for pollutants other than toxic pollutants if the applicant demonstrates at such hearing that (whether or not technology or other alternative control strategies are available) there is no reasonable relationship between the economic and social costs and the benefits to be obtained (including attainment of the objective of this chapter) from achieving such limitation.
(B) Reasonable progress
The Administrator, with the concurrence of the State, may issue a permit which modifies the effluent limitations required by subsection (a) of this section for toxic pollutants for a single period not to exceed 5 years if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Administrator that such modified requirements (i) will represent the maximum degree of control within the economic capability of the owner and operator of the source, and (ii) will result in reasonable further progress beyond the requirements of section 1311(b)(2) of this title toward the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Delay in application of other limitations
The establishment of effluent limitations under this section shall not operate to delay the application of any effluent limitation established under section 1311 of this title.
Water Pollution Prevention & Control - Enforcement: 33 U.S.C. §1319
Chapter 26-Water Pollution Prevention and Control
Subchapter III-Standards and Enforcement
(A) knowingly violates section 1311, 1312, 1316, 1317, 1318, 1321(b)(3), 1328, or 1345 of this title, or any permit condition or limitation implementing any of such sections in a permit issued under section 1342 of this titleby the Administrator or by a State, or any requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved undersection 1342(a)(3) or 1342(b)(8) of this title or in a permit issued under section 1344 of this title by the Secretary of the Army or by a State; or
(iii) the term "organization" means a legal entity, other than a government, established or organized for any purpose, and such term includes a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, joint stock company, foundation, institution, trust, society, union, or any other association of persons; and (iv) the term "serious bodily injury" means bodily injury which involves a substantial risk of death, unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
(B) the Secretary of the Army (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the "Secretary") finds that any person has violated any permit condition or limitation in a permit issued under section 1344 of this title by the Secretary, the Administrator or Secretary, as the case may be, may, after consultation with the State in which the violation occurs, assess a class I civil penalty or a class II civil penalty under this subsection.
(A) Class I The amount of a class I civil penalty under paragraph (1) may not exceed $10,000 per violation, except that the maximum amount of any class I civil penalty under this subparagraph shall not exceed $25,000. Before issuing an order assessing a civil penalty under this subparagraph, the Administrator or the Secretary, as the case may be, shall give to the person to be assessed such penalty written notice of the Administrator's or Secretary's proposal to issue such order and the opportunity to request, within 30 days of the date the notice is received by such person, a hearing on the proposed order. Such hearing shall not be subject to section 554 or 556 of title 5, but shall provide a reasonable opportunity to be heard and to present evidence.
(B) Class II The amount of a class II civil penalty under paragraph (1) may not exceed $10,000 per day for each day during which the violation continues; except that the maximum amount of any class II civil penalty under this subparagraph shall not exceed $125,000. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a class II civil penalty shall be assessed and collected in the same manner, and subject to the same provisions, as in the case of civil penalties assessed and collected after notice and opportunity for a hearing on the record in accordance withsection 554 of title 5. The Administrator and the Secretary may issue rules for discovery procedures for hearings under this subparagraph.
Source: Office of the Law Revision Counsel.
33 U.S.C. 1342 - National pollutant discharge elimination system
13 U.S.C. § 1342
33 U.S.C. § 1362 - Definitions [CWA § 502]
§1362. Definitions.
42 U.S.C. § 300h-2 - Enforcement of Program
§300h-2. Enforcement of program
(a) Notice to State and violator; issuance of administrative order; civil action
(1) Whenever the Administrator finds during a period during which a State has primary enforcement responsibility for underground water sources (within the meaning of section 300h-1(b)(3) of this title or section300h-4(c) of this title) that any person who is subject to a requirement of an applicable underground injection control program in such State is violating such requirement, he shall so notify the State and the person violating such requirement. If beyond the thirtieth day after the Administrator's notification the State has not commenced appropriate enforcement action, the Administrator shall issue an order under subsection (c) of this section requiring the person to comply with such requirement or the Administrator shall commence a civil action under subsection (b) of this section.
(2) Whenever the Administrator finds during a period during which a State does not have primary enforcement responsibility for underground water sources that any person subject to any requirement of any applicable underground injection control program in such State is violating such requirement, the Administrator shall issue an order under subsection (c) of this section requiring the person to comply with such requirement or the Administrator shall commence a civil action under subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Civil and criminal actions
Civil actions referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this section shall be brought in the appropriate United States district court. Such court shall have jurisdiction to require compliance with any requirement of an applicable underground injection program or with an order issued under subsection (c) of this section. The court may enter such judgment as protection of public health may require. Any person who violates any requirement of an applicable underground injection control program or an order requiring compliance under subsection (c) of this section--
(1) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day of such violation, and
(2) if such violation is willful, such person may, in addition to or in lieu of the civil penalty authorized by paragraph (1), be imprisoned for not more than 3 years, or fined in accordance with Title 18, or both.
(c) Administrative orders
(1) In any case in which the Administrator is authorized to bring a civil action under this section with respect to any regulation or other requirement of this part other than those relating to--
(A) the underground injection of brine or other fluids which are brought to the surface in connection with oil or natural gas production, or
the Administrator may also issue an order under this subsection either assessing a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each day of violation for any past or current violation, up to a maximum administrative penalty of $125,000, or requiring compliance with such regulation or other requirement, or both.
(2) In any case in which the Administrator is authorized to bring a civil action under this section with respect to any regulation, or other requirement of this part relating to--
the Administrator may also issue an order under this subsection either assessing a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each day of violation for any past or current violation, up to a maximum administrative penalty of $125,000, or requiring compliance with such regulation or other requirement, or both.
(3)(A) An order under this subsection shall be issued by the Administrator after opportunity (provided in accordance with this subparagraph) for a hearing. Before issuing the order, the Administrator shall give to the person to whom it is directed written notice of the Administrator's proposal to issue such order and the opportunity to request, within 30 days of the date the notice is received by such person, a hearing on the order. Such hearing shall not be subject to section 554 or 556 of Title 5, but shall provide a reasonable opportunity to be heard and to present evidence.
(B) The Administrator shall provide public notice of, and reasonable opportunity to comment on, any proposed order.
(C) Any citizen who comments on any proposed order under subparagraph (B) shall be given notice of any hearing under this subsection and of any order. In any hearing held under subparagraph (A), such citizen shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard and to present evidence.
(D) Any order issued under this subsection shall become effective 30 days following its issuance unless an appeal is taken pursuant to paragraph (6).
(4)(A) Any order issued under this subsection shall state with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation and may specify a reasonable time for compliance.
(B) In assessing any civil penalty under this subsection, the Administrator shall take into account appropriate factors, including (i) the seriousness of the violation; (ii) the economic benefit (if any) resulting from the violation; (iii) any history of such violations; (iv) any good-faith efforts to comply with the applicable requirements; (v) the economic impact of the penalty on the violator; and (vi) such other matters as justice may require.
(5) Any violation with respect to which the Administrator has commenced and is diligently prosecuting an action, or has issued an order under this subsection assessing a penalty, shall not be subject to an action under subsection (b) of this section or section 300h-3(c) or 300j-8 of this title, except that the foregoing limitation on civil actions under section 300j-8 of this title shall not apply with respect to any violation for which--
(A) a civil action under section 300j-8(a)(1) of this title has been filed prior to commencement of an action under this subsection, or
(B) a notice of violation under section 300j-8(b)(1) of this title has been given before commencement of an action under this subsection and an action under section 300j-8(a)(1) of this title is filed before 120 days after such notice is given.
(6) Any person against whom an order is issued or who commented on a proposed order pursuant to paragraph (3) may file an appeal of such order with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or the district in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. Such an appeal may only be filed within the 30-day period beginning on the date the order is issued. Appellant shall simultaneously send a copy of the appeal by certified mail to the Administrator and to the Attorney General. The Administrator shall promptly file in such court a certified copy of the record on which such order was imposed. The district court shall not set aside or remand such order unless there is not substantial evidence on the record, taken as a whole, to support the finding of a violation or, unless the Administrator's assessment of penalty or requirement for compliance constitutes an abuse of discretion. The district court shall not impose additional civil penalties for the same violation unless the Administrator's assessment of a penalty constitutes an abuse of discretion. Notwithstanding section 300j-7(a)(2) of this title, any order issued under paragraph (3) shall be subject to judicial review exclusively under this paragraph.
(7) If any person fails to pay an assessment of a civil penalty--
(A) after the order becomes effective under paragraph (3), or
(B) after a court, in an action brought under paragraph (6), has entered a final judgment in favor of the Administrator,
the Administrator may request the Attorney General to bring a civil action in an appropriate district court to recover the amount assessed (plus costs, attorneys' fees, and interest at currently prevailing rates from the date the order is effective or the date of such final judgment, as the case may be). In such an action, the validity, amount, and appropriateness of such penalty shall not be subject to review.
(8) The Administrator may, in connection with administrative proceedings under this subsection, issue subpoenas compelling the attendance and testimony of witnesses and subpoenas duces tecum, and may request the Attorney General to bring an action to enforce any subpoena under this section. The district courts shall have jurisdiction to enforce such subpoenas and impose sanction.
(d) State authority to adopt or enforce laws or regulations respecting underground injection unaffected
Nothing in this subchapter shall diminish any authority of a State or political subdivision to adopt or enforce any law or regulation respecting underground injection but no such law or regulation shall relieve any person of any requirement otherwise applicable under this subchapter.
33 U.S.C. § 1321 - Oil and Hazardous Substance Liability
False Statementss to Environmental Protection Agency
33 U.S.C. § 1319. Enforcement
U.S. v. Fern, 155 F.3d 1318 (11th Cir. 1998) (sufficiency of indictment)
EPA, Water: Pollution Prevention & Control
EPA, Water: Online Publications (look under Nonpoint)
Rodgers' Environmental Law, Ch. 4: Water Pollution (Westlaw)
Grad, Treatise on Environmental Law, Ch. 3: Water Pollution (Lexis)
Etymology: < Greek βουστροϕηδόν, adverb < βουστρόϕος ox-turning.
(Written) alternately from right to left and from left to right, like the course of the plough in successive furrows; as in various ancient inscriptions in Greek and other languages.
Fla. Standard Jury Instruction 3.3(h) Willful Blindness
Do not give if there is no evidence supporting an inference of deliberate ignorance or if the evidence is consistent only with a theory of actual knowledge.
In some cases, the issue to be determined is whether the defendant had knowledge of a certain fact. Florida law recognizes a concept known as willful blindness, which is sometimes referred to as “deliberate avoidance of positive knowledge.” Willful blindness occurs when a person has his or her suspicion aroused about a particular fact, realized its probability, but deliberately refrained from obtaining confirmation because he or she wanted to remain in ignorance. A person who engages in willful blindness is deemed to have knowledge of that fact.
See Desilien v. State, 595 So. 2d 1046 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); Hallman v. State, 633 So. 2d 1116 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); Hale v. State, 838 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003).
This instruction was adopted in 2013.
Source: Florida Supreme Court Standard Jury Instructions
Individual and Organizational Liability
Cases: Point Source
Avoyelles Sportsmen's League, Inc. v. Marsh, 715 F.2d 897 (5th Cir. 1983)
Accord, U.S. v. M.C.C. of Florida, Inc., 772 F.2d 1501 (11th Cir. 1985), readopted in relevant part on remand, 848 F.2d 1133 (11th Cir. 1988) ("Given the broad objectives of the Clean Water Act, we are in agreement with the Fifth Circuit that the “word ‘addition’ as used in the definition of the term ‘discharge,’ may reasonably be understood to include ‘redeposit.’ ”); and Parker v. Scrap Metal Processors, Inc., 386 F.3d 993 (11th Cir. 2004) ("Storm-water runoff does not, in all circumstances, originate from a point source, but several courts have concluded that it does when storm water collects in piles of industrial debris and eventually enters navigable waters. Avoyelles Sportsmen's League v. Marsh, 715 F.2d 897, 922 (5th Cir. 1983) ("[W]e agree with the district court that the bulldozers and backhoes were ‘point sources,’ since they collected into windrows and piles material that may ultimately have found its way back into the waters."). The piles of debris in this case collected water, which then flowed into the stream...They are, therefore, point sources within the meaning of the CWA. Moreover, the plaintiffs produced photographs of backhoes and other earth-moving equipment, which are also point sources.")
U.S. v. Plaza Health Laboratories, Inc. 3 F.3d 643 (2d Cir. 1993)
Cases: Permts
U.S. v. Frezzo Bros., Inc., 602 F.2d 1123 (3d Cir. 1979)
Cases: Mental State
U.S. v. Ahmad, 101 F.3d 386 (5th Cir. 1996) (factual knowledge)
U.S. v. Sinskey, 119 F.3d 712 (8th cir. 1997) (knowledge of illegality)
U.S. v. Hansen, 262 F.3d 1217 (11th Cir. 2001) (knowledge under s. 1319(d)(2)(A))
Dollar Steamship Co. v. U.S., 101 F.2d 638 (9th Cir. 1939) (strict liability)
U.S. v. Florida Cities Water Co., 1995 WL 340980 (M.D. Fla. 1995).
Cites with approval U.S. v. Weitzenhoff, 35 F.3d 1275 (9th Cir. 1994) ("In Weitzenhoff, the Court construed the term “knowingly” to require that a person know that he was discharging the pollutants in question, not that he knew that his conduct was violating the terms of the Act or a permit. 35 F.3d at 1284. The Defendant asserts that in light of the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari, Defendant's counsel concluded that past and present employees of the Defendant would have to be informed of their Fifth Amendment privileges against self incrimination before giving deposition testimony.")
Cases: Individual and Organizational Liability
U.S. v. Hansen, 262 F.3d 1217 (11th Cir. 2001) ("responsible corporate officer" liability)
Cases: Waters of the United States
U.S. v. Evans, 2006 WL 2221629 (M.D. Fla. 2006)
U.S. v. Robison, 521 F.3d 1319 (11th Cir. 2008)
Cases: Discharge of Pollutants
Friends of the Everglades v. South Fla. Water Mgmt. Dist., 570 F.3d 1210 (11th Cir. 2009)
Cases: Sentencing
U.S. v. Mills, 817 F.Supp. 1546 (N.D. Fla. 1993)
Cases: Incidental Fallback
U.S. v. Sartori, 62 F.Supp.2d 1362 (S.D. Fla. 1999)
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