EPA Enforcement Leadership Helps Promote Military Readiness and Participates in Training During Swing Through Wyoming and Colorado
WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeffrey A. Hall and Principal Deputy Craig Pritzlaff recently visited Wyoming and Colorado to promote military readiness and focus criminal environmental enforcement on major federal cases. In Wyoming, they visited a Minuteman launch control center and missile silo to understand the challenges the Air Force Global Strike Command faces in keeping missileers safe in aging missile facilities and to provide assistance in achieving compliance with indoor environmental standards. In Colorado, they participated in EPA’s criminal enforcement attorneys’ biannual training program, speaking on this Administration’s focus on federal priorities, including using the environmental laws to protect against foreign toxins.
“We are keeping the airmen stationed in missile alert facilities safe by helping the Air Force comply with toxic substances regulations, and that allows our warfighters to focus on defending our country,” said Assistant Administrator Hall.
Assistant Administrator Hall visited F.E. Warren Air Force Base, home of the Twentieth Air Force, which is responsible for U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles, as part of EPA’s commitment to partner with the Department of War (DoW). The visit was focused on the Air Force’s ongoing efforts to comply with the nation’s environmental laws, address environmental hazards, and protect the homeland.
“Our highest priority for our criminal program is that it holds the worst environmental criminals accountable while being true to the Constitution and the rule of law,” said Assistant Administrator Hall. “EPA’s criminal enforcement attorneys ensure that our criminal program can investigate and prosecute cases effectively and lawfully.”
In support of Administrator Zeldin’s Powering the Great American Comeback initiative, the biannual training conference highlighted EPA’s effort to protect Americans by pursuing those who intentionally pollute or profit from sending harmful products and chemicals into the United States. The training program teaches EPA’s criminal enforcement attorneys about new developments in the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes and fosters a collaborative working relationship. The training program focused on enforcement initiatives, civil and criminal coordination, 4th Amendment issues, trial strategies, and significant appellate decisions.