[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 9, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4746-S4747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY:
  S. 3466. A bill to require restitution for victims of criminal 
violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, I introduce the Environmental Crimes 
Enforcement Act, ECEA, common sense legislation that will ensure that 
those who destroy the lives and livelihoods of Americans through 
environmental crime are held accountable.
  It has been 50 days since the collapse of British Petroleum's 
Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig, which killed 11 men. Oil continues to gush 
into the Gulf of Mexico, and deadly contaminants are washing up on the 
shores and wetlands of Gulf Coast States. This catastrophe threatens 
the livelihood of many thousands of people throughout the region, as 
well as precious natural resources and habitats. The people responsible 
for this catastrophe must be held accountable; they, not the American 
taxpayers, should pay for the damage and the recovery. The bill I 
introduce today aims to deter environmental crime, protect and 
compensate its victims, and encourage accountability among corporate 
actors.
  First, ECEA will deter schemes by Big Oil and other corporations and 
industries that damage our environment and hurt hardworking Americans 
by increasing sentences for environmental crimes. All too often, 
corporations treat fines and monetary penalties as merely a cost of 
doing business to be factored against profits. To deter criminal 
behavior by corporations, it is important to have laws resulting in 
prison time. In that light, this bill directs the United States 
Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines for 
environmental crimes to reflect the seriousness of these crimes.
  Criminal penalties for Clean Water Act violations are not as severe 
as for other white-collar crimes, despite the widespread harm such 
crimes can cause. As the current crisis makes clear, Clean Water Act 
offenses can have serious consequences on people's lives and 
livelihoods, which should be reflected in the sentences given to the 
criminals who commit them. This bill takes a reasonable approach, 
asking the Sentencing Commission to study the issue and raise 
sentencing guidelines appropriately, and it will have a real deterrent 
effect.
  This bill also aims to help victims of environmental crime--the 
people who lose their livelihoods, their communities, and even their 
loved ones--reclaim their natural and economic resources. To do that, 
ECEA makes restitution mandatory for criminal Clean Water Act 
violations.
  Currently, restitution in environmental crimes--even crimes that 
result in death--is discretionary, and only available under limited 
circumstances. Under this bill, those who commit Clean Water Act 
offenses would have to compensate the victims of these offense for 
their losses. That restitution will help the people of the Gulf Coast 
rebuild their coastline and wetlands, their fisheries, and their 
livelihoods should criminal liability be found.
  Importantly, this bill will allow the families of those killed to be 
compensated for criminal wrongdoing. As we have seen in the BP case, 
arbitrary laws prevent those killed in tragedies like this one from 
bringing civil lawsuits for compensation. This bill would ensure that, 
when a crime is committed, the criminal justice system can provide for 
restitution to victims, providing some small measure of security for 
the families of those killed.
  This bill takes two common sense steps--well-reasoned increases in 
sentences and mandatory restitution for environmental crime. These 
measures are tough, but fair. They are important steps toward deterring 
criminal conduct that can cause environmental and economic disaster and 
toward helping those who have suffered so much from the wrongdoing of 
Big Oil and other large corporations. I hope all Senators will join me 
in supporting this important reform.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

[[Page S4747]]

                                S. 3466

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Environmental Crimes 
     Enforcement Act of 2010''.

     SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES.

       (a) Sentencing Guidelines.--
       (1) Directive.--Pursuant to its authority under section 994 
     of title 28, United States Code, and in accordance with this 
     subsection, the United States Sentencing Commission shall 
     review and amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and policy 
     statements applicable to persons convicted of offenses under 
     the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 
     seq.), in order to reflect the intent of Congress that 
     penalties for the offenses be increased in comparison to 
     those provided on the date of enactment of this Act under the 
     guidelines and policy statements, and appropriately account 
     for the actual harm to the public and the environment from 
     the offenses.
       (2) Requirements.--In amending the Federal Sentencing 
     Guidelines and policy statements under paragraph (1), the 
     United States Sentencing Commission shall--
       (A) ensure that the guidelines and policy statements, 
     including section 2Q1.2 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines 
     (and any successor thereto), reflect--
       (i) the serious nature of the offenses described in 
     paragraph (1);
       (ii) the need for an effective deterrent and appropriate 
     punishment to prevent the offenses; and
       (iii) the effectiveness of incarceration in furthering the 
     objectives described in clauses (i) and (ii);
       (B) consider the extent to which the guidelines 
     appropriately account for the actual harm to public and the 
     environment resulting from the offenses;
       (C) ensure reasonable consistency with other relevant 
     directives and guidelines and Federal statutes;
       (D) make any necessary conforming changes to guidelines; 
     and
       (E) ensure that the guidelines relating to offenses under 
     the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 
     seq.) adequately meet the purposes of sentencing, as set 
     forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.
       (b) Restitution.--Section 3663A(c)(1) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (2) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'' at the end and 
     inserting ``or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iv) an offense under the Federal Water Pollution Control 
     Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and''.
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