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<p></p><div><p>Last week, USDOJ quietly but significantly changed the corporate environmental enforcement landscape. On March 10, USDOJ issued its first department‑wide <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-releases-first-ever-corporate-enforcement-policy-all-criminal-cases" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self‑Disclosure Policy</a>, creating a clear, uniform framework under which companies that voluntarily self‑disclose potential criminal misconduct, fully cooperate with the government, and correct the misconduct can receive a guaranteed declination, not just a presumption, against prosecution absent aggravating factors.</p><p>For companies subject to environmental regulation, this new USDOJ policy dovetails directly with <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwixkP6jvKmTAxVlIjQIHS_9C4IQFnoECBYQAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.epa.gov%2Fsystem%2Ffiles%2Fdocuments%2F2025-12%2Freinforcing-a-compliance-first-orientation-for-compliance-assurance-and-civil-enforcement-activities.pdf&amp;usg=AOvVaw3dsjRdhfnZv8JkpOohVjnN&amp;opi=89978449" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">EPA’s Compliance‑First memorandum </a>issued in December 2025. Taken together, these policies reflect a meaningful shift in enforcement philosophy: earlier engagement, self‑auditing, self‑reporting, and self-correction can lead to more predictable, transparent crediting for doing the right thing</p><p>EPA’s Compliance‑First approach emphasized voluntary compliance, self‑disclosure, and correction of noncompliance on the civil side. USDOJ’s new policy extends that same logic into the criminal arena; and, importantly, does so in a way that is consistent across USDOJ sectors (antitrust aside) and cognizant of multi‑agency investigations (a reality for many environmental matters).</p><blockquote><p><span>"Well-intentioned businesses know that, across the Department, they will be rewarded when they self-disclose wrongdoing, cooperate with our investigations, and remediate the misconduct. But for those that do not, make no mistake — we will not hesitate to seek appropriate resolutions against companies and individuals alike that perpetrate white collar offenses that harm American interests.”</span></p></blockquote><p>A few takeaways for companies and boards:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>&nbsp;Voluntary self‑disclosure is no longer a leap into the unknown. The incentives are now explicit.</li><li>Timing, cooperation, and correction of noncompliance matter more than ever.</li><li>Environmental issues that may implicate both EPA and USDOJ need to be evaluated through a coordinated disclosure strategy, not in silos.</li><li>Compliance programs and internal audit functions are no longer just defensive tools; they are affirmative risk‑reduction assets.</li></ul><p><strong>None of this eliminates enforcement risk. </strong>EPA and USDOJ have been clear that serious misconduct, recidivism, and aggravating circumstances still matter. But the direction of travel is unmistakable: companies that surface problems early, fix them, and engage constructively are being treated very differently than those that don’t.</p><p>For environmental and manufacturing companies in particular, this is a moment to reassess:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>internal audit protocols;</li><li>escalation pathways;</li><li>decision‑making around disclosure; and</li><li>coordination between EHS, legal, and compliance teams.</li></ul><p>Compliance‑first is no longer just an EPA slogan; it’s now embedded across federal enforcement.</p></div><input type='hidden' id='passle-remote-hosting-tracking-shortcode' value='102mn9i'/><div class="passle-featured-image passle-featured-image-position-bottom"><img src="https://admin.michaelbeststaging.contentpilot.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/passle-image-18699-1779814294.jpg" alt="Featured Image" /></div>

USDOJ and EPA Are Sending the Same Message on Environmental Compliance

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