EPA publishes list of most wanted green fugitives

Green fugitive Giordano

Directors of businesses that deliberately breach US environmental regulations could not only face legal action, they might also find themselves branded as most wanted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA yesterday published its latest most wanted list of alleged environmental criminals. The list features 23 current wanted criminals, alongside another two that were captured this year.

Alleged crimes include discharging truck fuel directly into a creek, putting acidic chemical wastes into a sewer system, and the illegal transportation, storage and disposal of mercury-contaminated soil.

One fugitive's company, now-bankrupt copper refiner Chemetco, installed a secret pipe that discharged pollutants into a tributary of the Mississippi river. Another allegedly transported waste oxygen generators on a plane without proper safety measures. The plane crashed, killing 110 passengers.

The stakes for environmental criminals are apparently high. "Some criminals may be armed, and the EPA warns the public against trying to apprehend them," the EPA said in a statement.

In fiscal 2008, the EPA's Criminal Enforcement Programme conducted investigations resulting in $63.5m (£43m) levied in fines, and 57 years in prison.

However, the agency has faced repeated criticism from green groups for its perceived failure to adequately enforce environmental regulation. The EPA's publicity for environmental law enforcement was also put in context by the Government Accountability Office in a report issued this September.

The document accused the EPA of overstating penalties by reporting the penalties assessed, rather than those received. It also reported nominal rather than inflation-adjusted penalties, thereby understating past accomplishments. Total penalties in real terms declined 43 per cent from $240.6m in 1998 to $137.7m in 2007, the report claimed.

"Taken as a whole, these various shortcomings hamper the transparency and accuracy of EPA's reporting and create the potential for Congress and the public to misunderstand the agency's enforcement outcomes," concluded David C Maurer, acting director for natural resources and environment at the GAO.

EPA officials failed to return calls yesterday.