[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S748-S749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
        Sanders, Mr. Reed, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Franken):
  S. 350. 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 reintroduce the Environmental 
Crimes Enforcement Act, ECEA, to help ensure that those who destroy the 
lives and livelihoods of Americans through environmental crime are held 
accountable for their actions. This common sense legislation was 
reported by the Judiciary Committee with overwhelming support last 
year. I hope the Senate will act on it in this Congress.
  The tragic explosion of British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig 
last year is just one example of why this legislation is needed. Eleven 
men died in that explosion, and oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico for 
months, with deadly contaminants washing up on the shores and wetlands 
of the Gulf Coast. The catastrophe threatened the livelihood of many 
thousands of people throughout the Gulf region, as well as precious 
natural resources and habitats. The people responsible for this and 
other catastrophes should be held accountable, and wrongdoers--not 
taxpayers--should pay for the damage they have done. This bill will 
help to deter environmental crime, protect and compensate victims of 
environmental crime, and encourage accountability among corporate 
actors.
  First, the ECEA is drafted to deter schemes by big oil and others 
that damage our environment and hurt hardworking Americans by 
increasing sentences for environmental crimes. All too often 
corporations treat fines and monetary penalties as a mere cost of doing 
business to be factored against profits. To deter criminal behavior by 
corporations, it is important to have laws that result 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 the 
crimes can cause. As last year's crisis in the Gulf of Mexico makes 
clear, Clean Water Act offenses can have serious consequences in 
people's lives and on their livelihoods. These consequences 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 those offenses for 
their losses. That restitution could 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. The explosion on the Deepwater 
Horizon oil rig brought to light the arbitrary laws that prevent those 
killed in such tragedies 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, allowing the 
families of those killed to be given the means to carry on.
  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 bill and these important reforms.
  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:

                                 S. 350

       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 2011''.

     SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES.

       (a) Sentencing Guidelines.--
       (1) Directive.--Pursuant to its authority under section 994 
     of title 28, United States

[[Page S749]]

     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 section 309(c) of the Federal Water 
     Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1319(c)); and''.
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