ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND ENFORCEMENT
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington enforces federal laws to protect environmental quality, human health, and wildlife in all communities within the district. In coordination with components of the Justice Department, the United States Attorney’s Office will hold violators accountable for their actions, prioritizing cases that will reduce environmental harms to the health of historically underserved, overburdened and marginalized communities.
The district’s Environmental Justice Coordinators will lead efforts to enforce both criminal and civil environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and hazardous waste laws. An intentional decision to violate these laws may be a federal crime. For example, intentionally discharging pollutants into a river without a permit, or bypassing a required pollution control device, is a criminal act that carries the possibility of incarceration and monetary fines.
The district’s Environmental Justice Coordinators also will lead efforts to remedy environmental violations and contaminations by pursuing actions under the civil rights laws, worker safety and consumer protection statutes, and the False Claims Act. For example, a federal contractor who violates a contractual provision mandating the proper disposal of hazardous waste may be subject to liability under the False Claims Act;a landlord who leases a home without disclosing known information...
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