Justice Manual § 5-11.113

Most states have environmental enforcement programs that overlap, in whole or in part, with federal programs. United States Attorneys should familiarize themselves with state environmental enforcement laws and state enforcement officials. Particular attention should be directed toward the following aspects of state-federal relations in the environmental enforcement field:

State enforcement agencies may be valuable sources of information on suspected violations of federal environmental statutes. United States Attorneys may be in a position to assist in apprising state officials of the nature of the federal enforcement program within the district or state and in developing methods for exchanging information on suspected violations;

State authorities often possess evidentiary materials that are relevant to pending federal investigations and court proceedings. United States Attorneys should be aware of the nature and extent of the states' investigatory resources and should make provision in appropriate circumstances for the exchange of information on pending cases with state authorities;

Frequently a particular activity constitutes a violation of both federal and state laws. When state officials are proceeding with an environmental enforcement case that may include violations of federal law, the United States Attorney in the affected district should monitor that state activity. If it appears that all federal interests in the case will be vindicated in the state court action, action in federal court may be an unnecessary duplication of effort. On the other hand, if federal interests will not be protected completely in state court, federal proceedings may be warranted. See also JM 9-2.031 and 9-27.240.

A number of United States Attorneys' Offices have found that task forces, which include personnel from state and local agencies and from other federal agencies, are very effective means of coordinating efforts with state and local governments and making optimal use of available resources. Task force formats vary among offices, and ECS can advise United States Attorneys' Offices of other offices that are willing to share the lessons of their experiences.