Melissa L. Jarrell

Wielding the green stick: criminal enforcement at the EPA under the Bush and Obama administrations

The criminal prosecution of environmental offenders by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one of the agency’s most politicised yet poorly understood responsibilities. Through content analysis of the Agency’s criminal prosecutions in 2001–2011, we undertook analysis of nearly 1000 cases to understand better whether and how the outcomes of the criminal enforcement division change under presidential administrations. Using a principal-agent framework, our results suggest presidents do matter for enforcement outcomes. Yet, the more interesting conclusion is that these outcomes are not extremely divergent, suggesting that the Agency is able to navigate the often conflicting dictates of various political principals, under similar budgetary constraints, and in step with an Agency culture that values strong enforcement. Moreover, we find that such enforcement efforts are substantively valuable, as many of these cases involve serious and willful violations of law that result in significant harm to humans and the environment.

How to encourage conflict in the environmental decision-making process: imparting lessons from civic environmentalism to local policy-makers

The literature on civic environmentalism suggests that the environmental decision-making process must be perceived by citizens to be inclusive, transparent, and legitimate in order to avoid conflict and encourage stakeholder collaboration. We suggest that studies of environmental decision-making must apply this framework to three key variables: agenda setting, conflicts of interest, and politicised institutions, which impact the potential for citizen collaboration at the local level. Using content analysis of newspaper articles, participant observations, and informal field interviews, we evaluate a case study of citizen opposition to a power plant air permit. We demonstrate how citizen perceptions of agenda setting by local officials, conflicts of interest, and the inability of citizens to affect final decisions after winning in multiple legal and administrative venues, creates conflict by not embodying these civic environmentalist principles. We conclude with policy suggestions for creating a less conflict-riddled process.

Upset events, regulatory drift, and the regulation of air emissions at industrial facilities in the United States

Upset events, emissions released to air due to accidental or unavoidable circumstances at industrial facilities, are often exempt from fines and enforcement actions by state regulators, even if state rules conflict with the Clean Air Act. State rules may allow upset events to become a substantial, yet little-studied source of emissions at large industrial complexes. Drawing from Jacob Hackers theory of policy drift, upset events are framed theoretically as a problem of regulatory drift between state and federal environmental regulations. Supporting analysis is provided by a case study cataloguing the emissions generated during upset events at six petroleum refineries, 2003–2008. Findings demonstrate that upset events occurred routinely and released approximately 8.5 million pounds of air emissions. Future research should examine upset events at a variety of facilities in Texas. Regulators should enhance data accessibility to facilitate analysis in other states.

Where the wild things are: animal victimization in federal environmental crime cases

Abstract Although there has been a marked increase in studies of animal abuse from a variety of socio-legal and green criminological perspectives in the past two decades, we have a limited empirical understanding of the extent of animal victimization in environmental crime prosecutions in the United States. In order to better understand the nature and distribution of animal victimization in environmental crime prosecutions, we employ a content analysis of federal environmental crime cases, 2001–2011. Out of 972 cases, results show identifiable animal victimization plays a role in six percent of cases. Although animal victimization in environmental crime may be extensive, its role in environmental prosecutions appears secondary. We conclude with possibilities of expanding animal protection via wildlife and environmental law connections.