In addition to its litigation activities, ECS has the following responsibilities:

1. • Setting policy nationally for the prosecution of environmental crimes, including pollution crimes, wildlife crimes, animal welfare crimes, and worker safety crimes;
2. • Providing training to United States Attorneys' Offices, federal investigative agencies, state and local authorities, law enforcement and regulatory personnel of foreign governments, and others;
3. • Analyzing and commenting upon legislation that may affect environmental crimes prosecution;
4. • Liaising with foreign officials and with organizations concerned with international environmental violations; and
5. • Providing expertise, information, and support for environmental prosecutions nationally, including acting as a clearinghouse for prosecution-related information and materials.

With respect to the last of those functions, United States Attorneys' Offices are encouraged to communicate with ECS early in environmental investigations and prosecutions to benefit from ECS' information and expertise and to provide ECS with information about successes, obstacles, and strategies that ECS may share with other prosecutors. United States Attorneys' Offices also are encouraged to consult with ECS on indictments and other matters with sufficient lead time for ECS to offer meaningful input. In any event, United States Attorneys' Offices should provide copies of indictments or informations, and associated press releases, within seven days of filing.

ECS maintains a website on the Department of Justice intranet that includes the Environmental Crimes Manual, relevant pleadings that have been filed by federal environmental crimes prosecutors in cases around the country, and a number of guidance documents, among other things. In order to assist ECS in keeping that website up to date and in providing users with the best possible materials, United States Attorneys' Offices should furnish to ECS electronic (or hard) copies of as-given jury instructions, motions, responses to motions, and other documents that may be useful to federal prosecutors nationwide.

ECS also periodically publishes the Environmental Crimes Bulletin, which summarizes the status of various environmental cases throughout the United States and which is available on the Environmental Crimes intranet site and ENRD website. A valuable resource to other prosecutors handling similar cases, this publication can be current and useful only if federal prosecutors promptly furnish to ECS information about their cases.

[updated April 2018]