Environmental Crimes Task Force

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee is committed to ensure clean air, water, and land for our citizens. We prosecute criminal cases under federal pollution and wildlife laws and defend environmental and natural resources laws and federal agency programs and actions. With the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and several national forests and other preserves in our backyard, we feel a special connection and obligation to our environment. Our Environmental Crimes Task Force meets regularly with members from federal, state, and local agencies such as the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the FBI, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Tennessee Wildlife and Resources Agency to disseminate information, share intelligence, and coordinate a response to those individuals and entities who threaten our environment by violating federal laws.

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.  The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to advancing environmental justice through timely and effective remedies for systemic environmental violations and contaminations and for injury to natural resources in underserved communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened, including low-income communities and communities of color in the Eastern District of Tennessee. 

The United States Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in addressing environmental justice.  Citizens who wish to report instances of suspected injustice concerning the enforcement of environmental laws, including disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental, and commercial operations are encouraged to contact EPA’s Environmental Justice Hotline at 1-800-962-6215 or at ejhotline@epa.gov.  More contact information can be found at https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/forms/contact-us-about-environmental-justice.

If you have any information regarding a suspected environmental crime, please visit the following link: https://www.epa.gov/compliance.