Environmental Crimes Unit
1800 Washington Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-1719
The Environmental Crimes Unit (ECU) of the Office
of the Attorney General is a part of the Attorney General's
Criminal Investigations Division. The Unit currently includes
three Assistant Attorneys General, one civilian investigator
with extensive environmental science and investigation backgrounds,
and one Maryland State Police trooper assigned as an investigator.
Police investigators maintain their normal police qualifications
and acquire the training necessary to enable them to fully
investigate environmental crimes, including sampling and safety
protocols. The Maryland Department of the Environment provides
support to the ECU, promoting regular interaction with Department
of the Environment's inspectors and other technical experts. |
Attorney General Gansler teaches
students
at a mock environmental crime scene.
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Criminal investigation of environmental crimes was implemented
as a result of the federal passage in 1976 of the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA). The unit, which was then known as the
Hazardous Waste Strike Force came into existence in 1982 to investigate
hazardous waste violations under RCRA. The unit became the Environmental
Crimes Unit in 1987 because, as a result of additional federal
regulations and laws, investigations now covered a broad range
of environmental matters. The federal laws governing the environment,
including the RCRA, the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Clean Air
Act (CAA), among others, require each State to have environmental
regulatory programs and to have a criminal enforcement component.
The Environmental Crimes Unit operates as would any traditional
law enforcement office. Investigators and police officers conduct
investigations which result in criminal cases prosecuted by attorneys.
In any given case, a surveillance of an individual or corporation
may be initiated, a search warrant may be obtained, documents or
witnesses may be subpoenaed before a Grand Jury, and arrests may
be made.
In addition to typical investigative tools, environmental crimes
often require sampling and laboratory analysis in order to establish
an essential element of the crime. One example is a hazardous waste
case, which would require proof at trial that the substance fits
the statutory and regulatory definition of a hazardous waste.
WHAT
IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME?
When
the United States Congress enacted the major environmental
statutes; the Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),
the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Clean Air Act (CAA), it envisioned
an enforcement system which would be delegated to the states.
Under this delegation, the State of Maryland is authorized
to administer and enforce its own environmental laws and regulations
in lieu of the federal government. Thus, state environmental
laws tend to parallel the federal laws upon which they are
based.
In
Maryland, the majority of environmental criminal laws can be
found in the Environment
Article of the Annotated Code
of Maryland.
Applicable laws are also found in the Criminal
Law Article and
the Natural
Resources Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland,
as well as in Code of Maryland Regulations(COMAR).
Under the typical environmental statute or regulation, conduct
that is violative of that provision may be dealt with in either
a civil or criminal action, or both. Criminal investigations
are independent of civil cases. Neither the outcome of civil
cases, nor the presence of civil penalty dictate any criminal
determination. In a criminal action, charges may be filed against
both a corporate entity and any individuals responsible for the
crime.
Criminal convictions against corporate entities can result in
fines and probation. Criminal convictions against individuals
can result in jail time against that person. Other criminal penalties
can include fines, restitution, community service and probation.
WHERE CASES COME FROM
The majority of cases investigated by ECU come from referrals
through the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), as
a result of findings during inspections, or complaints that they
receive. Cases also come as referrals from other agencies, including
police agencies and the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) or
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); as well as individual
citizen or citizen group complaints and independent investigations
initiated by ECU. police agencies and the federal Department
of Justice (DOJ) or
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); as well as individual
citizen or citizen group complaints and independent investigations
initiated by ECU.
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