Environment and Natural Resources Division (USDOJ)
The Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the U.S. Department of Justice serves as the federal government's environmental legal authority, focusing on a wide range of issues related to environmental protection and the management of natural resources. It enforces both civil and criminal environmental laws aimed at safeguarding human health and the environment. The division is tasked with prosecuting violations of environmental statutes, defending government environmental programs against legal challenges, and ensuring fair application of environmental laws across various contexts.
ENRD is organized into multiple sections, each specializing in different areas such as environmental crimes, wildlife protection, and land management. The division plays a crucial role in holding individuals and companies accountable for environmental violations and in managing complex legal matters involving public lands and resources. Additionally, the division addresses the rights and claims of Indigenous tribes in relation to natural resources, ensuring that their interests are represented in legal matters. Through its various functions, ENRD aims to foster compliance with environmental regulations while balancing the needs of the community, government, and natural ecosystems.
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Environment and Natural Resources Division (USDOJ)
- DATE: Established 1909 as Public Lands Division
The Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice represents the U.S. government in a wide variety of litigation, both civil and criminal, involving the environment, natural resources, and public lands. It litigates cases for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Definition
The Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice litigates cases ranging from the protection of endangered species to the cleaning up of hazardous waste sites. In other words, it serves as the nation’s environmental lawyer. It enforces civil and criminal environmental laws to protect human health and the environment. It also defends the government against legal challenges to its environmental programs and attempts to ensure that the laws are applied fairly. The division represents the U.S. government in matters concerning the protection, use, and development of natural resources and public lands, wildlife protection, Indian rights and claims, and the acquisition of property by the government. The division, formerly known as the Land and Natural Resources Division, and before that as the Public Lands Division, is organized into nine sections.
Overview
The Environmental Crimes Section prosecutes individuals and corporations who violate environmental protection laws; it works with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and with investigators from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Among the statutes it has enforced are the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or “Superfund”). The Environmental Enforcement Section is responsible for bringing civil litigation on behalf of the EPA, for claims for damage filed by government agencies, for claims regarding contamination of public land, and for the recoupment of money spent to clean up oil spills on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard. Its role is to provide a credible deterrent against violation of environmental statutes.
The Environmental Defense Section represents the government—primarily the EPA—in suits challenging its administration of federal environmental laws. These suits include claims by industries that regulations are too strict and, conversely, by environmental groups claiming they are too lax. Suits are also sometimes brought by states or individuals alleging that federal agencies themselves are not complying with environmental regulations. The Wildlife and Marines Resources Section tries civil and criminal cases involving federal wildlife laws and laws protecting marine life. Smugglers and black-market dealers in protected wildlife are prosecuted. Civil litigation involving the Endangered Species Act may pit the requirements of species protection against the interests of either private concerns or government agencies.
The Policy, Legislation, and Special Litigation Section advises and assists the U.S. assistant attorney general regarding policy issues. It also directs the division’s legislative program—testimony before congressional committees and representation of the division in congressional and interagency policy meetings. The division undertakes specially assigned projects and serves as the division’s ethics office. The Appellate Section handles appeals of cases tried in lower courts by any of the division’s other sections. It drafts briefs for any division cases that reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The Executive Office is the administrator of the division, providing financial management, personnel, planning, and litigation support services.
The division’s General Litigation Section is responsible for litigation involving federally owned public lands and natural resources. Cases may arise regarding more than eighty laws covering land management and natural resources. Issues include water rights, land-use plans, timber and production, landowner compensation, and trust obligations to Indian tribes. The Indian Resources Section represents the United States in its trust capacity regarding Indian tribes. Suits include such issues as water rights, hunting and fishing rights, damages for trespassing on American Indian lands, and reservation boundaries and land rights. The Land Acquisition Section acquires land for the government through purchase or condemnation proceedings. Land is acquired for a variety of purposes, ranging from parks to missile sites. A number of issues may be raised in such cases, including balancing the rights of individual property owners against the needs of the government, ascertaining the fair market value of property, and determining the applicability of local zoning regulations.
Bibliography
"Environmental Economics." EPA, www.epa.gov/environmental-economics. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
"Natural Resources & Environment." USDA, 24 Oct. 2024, www.ers.usda.gov/topics/natural-resources-environment/. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.