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34 Vill. Env't L.J. 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/vilenvlj34 and id is 1 raw text is: Ozymy et al.: The Politics of the Criminal Enforcement of the U.S. Clean Water VILLANOVA ENVIRONMENTAL LAW JOURNAL VOLUME 34 2023 ISSUE 1 THE POLITICS OF THE CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT OF THE U.S. CLEAN WATER ACT, 1983-2021 DR. JOSHUA OZYMY* DR. MELISSA JARRELL OzYMY** DR. DANIELLE MCGURRIN*** ABSTRACT Water pollution crimes involving significant harm or culpable conduct are remedied via criminal prosecution. Democratic and Republican presi- dents offer varied commitments to enforcing the U.S. Clean Water Act, but little is known about the prosecution of water pollution crimes generally or how such prosecutions vary across presidential administrations. This article explores these questions by utilizing a content analysis of 2,728 criminal prosecutions stemming from U.S. EPA criminal investigations from 1983 through 2021, selecting prosecutions occurring under the U.S. Clean Water Act. The findings show that courts adjudicated 853 prosecutions during this period. These adjudications involved 1,528 defendants, who received over $1.27 billion in monetary penalties, 2,949 years of probation, and 446 years of incarceration. Prosecutions and penalties are greater under Demo- crats, but by a smaller margin than expected. Prosecution trends over the past two decades indicate financial underinvestment across political parties and primarily stagnating outcomes. I. INTRODUCTION Notable environmental disasters, such as the Santa Barbara Oil Spill and the Cuyahoga River Fire in 1969, prompted Congress to move forward with a variety of new laws to protect the environ- * Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science and Public Service, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. ** Professor of Criminal Justice, Head of the Department of Social, Cultural, and Justice Studies, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. *** Associate Professor of Criminology, Portland State University. (1) Published by Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Digital Repository, 2023 1