Justice Manual § 5-12.121

Occasionally issues involving laws for which the Environmental Enforcement Section is responsible may be injected into existing litigation by way of amendment or supplemental pleadings or sua sponte by the court. The United States Attorney should not add or raise such matters without first notifying and receiving approval from the Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section. In cases where such issues have been raised by others, the United States Attorney should immediately notify the Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section to assure that the Section can properly perform its responsibilities.

On other occasions, the fundamental character of existing litigation may change and environmental enforcement issues may become dominant issues. In such situations, the Environmental Enforcement Section staff attorney responsible for the case shall notify the Section Chief, who may request a transfer of Section responsibility if he/she deems it appropriate. If Environmental Enforcement Section issues become dominant in a case in which no Environmental Enforcement Section attorney is directly involved, the United States Attorney shall notify the Environmental Enforcement Section Chief of the situation and he/she may make a written request to the Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division to have the case transferred to the Environmental Enforcement Section.