Frequently, cases brought on behalf of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency result in agreed judgments or consent decrees. Copies of consent decrees in previously settled cases are available from the Environmental Enforcement Section as well as assistance in understanding the types of settlements and consent decree terms that are generally acceptable.
To assist United States Attorneys' offices, the following general guidance is also provided:
- A. Defendants should be informed that any settlement must be approved by the Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and by the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance of the Environmental Protection Agency or his/her delegate, and are subject to review by them. This is a requirement of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Environmental Protection Agency.
- B. Defendants should be advised that only the Department of Justice and the attorneys specifically designated may bind the United States to any agreement.
- C. In most cases, the pendency of settlement negotiations should not cause a cessation of litigating activities. Defendants in enforcement cases often are more amenable to settlements favorable to the United States when discovery and trial preparations proceed in parallel with settlement negotiations.
- D. In no civil settlement agreement will the Environment and Natural Resources Division compromise the ability of the United States to undertake criminal prosecutions (See Parallel Proceedings Policy, ENRD Directive No. 2016-12; Global Settlement Policy, ENRD Directive No. 2016-11).
- E. Defendants should be advised that the United States is bound only by the provision actually set forth in any consent decree, and that no alleged agreement, written or oral, with any client agency representative or with anyone else, which does not appear expressly in the decree, alters the actual terms of that decree or binds the United States.
[cited in JM 3-8.130]
[updated April 2018]