B&D Lawyers Author Environmental Liabilities Chapter of The Complete Compliance and Ethics Manual
Of Counsel Patrick Redmond (Baltimore, MD), Associates Astrika Adams (Washington, DC), Ning Hsu (Seattle, WA), Lauren Lankenau (Austin, TX), Elizabeth Nugent Morrow (Washington, DC), and Katy O'Keefe (Seattle, WA) authored the Environmental Liabilities chapter for the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics publication, The Complete Compliance and Ethics Manual.
Introduction and Overview
Unique Aspects and Challenges of Environmental Liabilities and Risks
Over the past 40 years, the scope of environmental law has continued to expand to reach almost every company and regulated industry. In this unique field, liabilities abound—as do opportunities for dedicated compliance professionals who are willing to keep up with the evolving changes. Depending on the company and its operations, environmental compliance can encompass the well-known and traditional challenges of regulating industrial wastewater discharges, controlling toxic air emissions, or managing hazardous wastes as well as the lesser-known liability risks arising from adversely affecting endangered species or development projects near wetlands, among others. For example, in 2022, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement and compliance efforts required violators to pay more than $300 million in penalties fines and restitution. EPA enforcement concluded approximately 1,650 civil judicial and administrative cases.[2] And that is only the federal level of environmental enforcement.
While environmental compliance is a complex field, this article is designed to serve as a primer and provide a general introduction. When facing environmental legal or regulatory issues, all compliance professionals should work closely with, and rely upon, the guidance, advice, and direction of experienced counsel. This article does not constitute legal advice but will assist non-lawyers with an overview of some of the common statutes, concepts, terms, and issues that are likely to arise in corporate environmental disputes. EPA’s website often provides general and detailed information for its regulatory programs that can be very helpful to interested parties.
After this introduction, Part II of this article provides an overview of the most common statutory and regulatory programs. Part III then shifts from the substantive rules to the “process” by discussing the different venues where environmental disputes can arise and the different parties who may bring claims. Finally, Part IV discusses what every company should have in place: An environmental compliance plan. Part IV explains the core components of environmental compliance plans and other tools that professionals in this field can use to prevent, detect, and respond to the most common corporate environmental risks. It also discusses EPA’s audit policy and the benefits of discovering and voluntarily disclosing regulatory violations to EPA, in terms of reduced penalties and goodwill in the event of civil or criminal investigations into significant violations.
In an era of enhanced environmental enforcement and high-stakes civil liabilities, the value and importance of corporate environmental programs are paramount to prevent violations and reduce their likelihood; to reduce cleanup costs or fines and penalties, as well as to influence the broad enforcement discretion of the regulators and prosecutors; and of course, to protect the environment and a corporation’s business reputation. In short, effective environmental compliance can help greatly reduce risks while also adding value to a corporation.
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©2025. Published in The Complete Compliance and Ethics Manual, 2025, by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.