Environmental Crimes Enforcement Act- RESPONSE
This is a guest post from Fred Burnside.
It is true that I have retired from the federal government (with very little reluctance I must add) and now find myself looking at environmental enforcement from a different perspective. The fact is that our way of life depends on a clean healthy environment no matter which side of the fence you find yourself on.
It has been my experience that, by far, most corporations want to abide by environmental laws and regulations but find themselves caught between government regulators and the “bad actors” such as those the Environmental Crimes Enforcement Act is trying to influence with increased penalties. These bad actors often gain an unfair financial advantage over their competitors by violating the law.
But the regulators are not without fault either especially when they allow the end-of-year “bean count” and “statistics” to influence their approach to environmental enforcement. I saw this process at work on a routine basis while working for the EPA. This need to produce and show value encourages a system where nominal violators are easy targets and significant violators may go undetected.
Walt, if being on the side of “truth and justice” means that I can assist clients in holding the regulators accountable for their actions and judgment count me in.
Fred Burnside
Fred Burnside & Associates
Environmental Investigators and Consultants