- U.S. Attorney Gregory Harris wants to enforce the environmental laws in parts of Illinois that have not previously benefited from the environmental justice policies that are in place.
- The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act are two major environmental laws that will be further enforced by the DOJ in Illinois.
By: WGLT.org | January 7, 2023
The top federal prosecutor in central Illinois says his office is ready to bolster enforcement as part of a national environmental justice initiative.
U.S. Attorney Gregory Harris said the harmful effects of environmental crimes are “too often borne by our underserved communities.
It’s not really creating new laws. It’s just sort of enforcing those laws in areas that historically have not benefited from environmental enforcement policies”…
“Given the makeup of the central district of Illinois, environmental issues surrounding agriculture will be part of the initiative”, Harris said. “We’ve already, in the past, brought criminal charges against individuals who’ve violated the Clean Air and Clean Water Act involving pesticides, and misinforming the public on the use of pesticides”…
The initiative is being led nationally by the U.S. Department of Justice’s new Office of Environmental Justice. At the local level, the central Illinois district’s environmental justice coordinator is attorney John Hoelzer from the civil team, who previously worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)…
Read more from WGLT.org.
