Environmental Enforcement News

Yesterday, The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska rejected a challenge to a Clean Water Act permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Johnson Tract mineral exploration project in South Central Alaska. The court granted summary judgment to the United States on every claim and left the permit in place. The permit allows JT Mining to build an access road and upgrade an existing airstrip serving an exploratory drilling site on private land the company owns inside Lake Clark National Park.

Former NFL player LeShon Johnson of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $30,000 fine after being convicted at trial of six dog fighting-related charges.

The Justice Department, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today lodged a proposed settlement agreement with Environmental Resource Holdings LLC (ERH) to perform critical work to support the cleanup of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site, including the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River. The work is estimated to cost $125 million and focuses on the next steps needed to get the in-river work started. 

Thao Duong and Lam Mai, a wife and husband from Garland, Texas, were sentenced today in federal court to charges stemming from their operation of a website selling veterinary drugs and pesticides smuggled into the United State from Mexico. Duong was sentenced to three months in prison, two years of supervised release, and a forfeiture of more than $1.5 million. Mai was sentenced to two years of probation.

Thao Duong and Lam Mai, a wife and husband from Garland, Texas, were sentenced today in federal court to charges stemming from their operation of a website selling veterinary drugs and pesticides smuggled into the United State from Mexico. Duong was sentenced to three months in prison, two years of supervised release, and a forfeiture of more than $1.5 million. Mai was sentenced to two years of probation.

An Ohio corporation pleaded guilty this week in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio to a charge of negligent endangerment. The criminal charge is related to an explosion that resulted in the death of one employee and injuries to several more. 

On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed with prejudice the complaint in Center for Biological Diversity v. Burgum — one of several cases challenging Sable Offshore Corp.’s oil and gas operations at the Santa Ynez Unit in the Santa Barbara Channel. This ruling follows another, related ruling issued last month.

Today, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled that the State of New York may not impose strict liability on energy companies for their alleged contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2024, New York enacted the “Climate Change Superfund Act,” which purported to impose billions of dollars on domestic and foreign energy companies that extract fossil fuels or refine crude oil.  A coalition of states and trade organizations sued, alleging that the Act is preempted by the federal Clean Air Act and by the federal foreign affairs power, and that the Act

A vessel operating company pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to charges stemming from the discharge of oily waste into the sea. MSC Shipmanagement Limited, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) for conduct that occurred on the motor vessel MSC Samira III between June 2024 and January 2025. The vessel’s owner, Hong Kong Spirit Shipping and Trading Limited, also pleaded guilty to two counts of violating APPS. Both companies were sentenced to pay a combined fine of $1

Yesterday, the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit brought by the Oklahoma Attorney General, expressing support for the construction of a primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska earlier this week dismissed the complaint in a case challenging President Trump’s rescission of Biden-era withdrawals of areas of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from oil and gas leasing. The court dismissed the case for lack of standing.