Partners in Pursuit of Polluters: State/Federal Civil Environmental Enforcement

In recent years, state and federal governments have been joining together as co-plaintiffs in civil environmental enforcement cases in record numbers. These actors recognize the merits of merging their respective strengths and leveraging their dwindling enforcement resources. States are now co-plaintiffs in many of the most significant federal cases. In 2002, joint cases yielded $3.3 billion in environmental injunctive relief out of a total of $3.6 billion for all federal cases. Guidelines for joint state/federal civil environmental enforcement litigation, developed by the US Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the National Association of Attorneys General, are summarized.