At a Gla

24-E-0021
February 15, 2024

The Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training Incorporated
Essential Discovery Elements into Its Policies and Procedures, but Additional
Training Could Improve Awareness

Why We Did This Evaluation

To accomplish this objective:

The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Office of Inspector General
conducted this evaluation to determine
whether the EPA's collection, retention,
and production of mandatory criminal
discovery materials adhered to
requirements. The U.S. Constitution's
due process clauses, the Brady Doctrine,
the Jencks Act, and the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure establish
requirements for the government's
obligation to disclose discoverable
information in criminal proceedings.

The EPA Office of Criminal Enforcement,
Forensics and Training investigates
environmental crimes, obtains evidence,
and helps prosecutors understand the
details of a case as it progresses through
the federal criminal process. Prosecutors
familiarize themselves with the facts of
the crime and provide the defendant with
copies of materials and evidence that
they intend to use at trial. Similarly, the
defense is required to share certain
information with prosecutors. This
process is known as "discovery."

To support these EPA mission-related
efforts:

•	Compliance with the law.

•	Operating efficiently and effectively.

To address this top EPA management
challenge:

•	Maximizing compliance with
environmental laws and regulations.

What We Found

We did not identify any specific circumstances where the EPA Office of Criminal
Enforcement, Forensics and Training did not adhere to criminal discovery requirements
regarding the collection, retention, and production of material. OCEFT has incorporated
essential elements of discovery obligations, such as the Brady Doctrine, the Jencks Act,
and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, into its criminal investigations policies and
procedures to facilitate required discovery disclosures.

We found that some special agents employed investigative procedures that deviated from
OCEFT procedures, such as using a personal camera for investigative activities and not
retaining a digital recording of a voicemail. The procedural deviations that we identified
were not violations of discovery requirements; however, they present an investigative
process risk that could negatively impact discovery during criminal proceedings. As such,
additional training for special agents, including discovery training for newer special agents
and refresher trainings on OCEFT internal policies and procedures, may improve
awareness of processes and promote best practices.

Strengthening adherence to EPA discovery policies and procedures

can promote efficient and effective criminal prosecution.

Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions

We recommend that the assistant administrator for Enforcement and Compliance
Assurance review policies and procedures to determine whether updates are needed to
improve processes or include best practices. We also recommend periodic training to
EPA employees who may support a prosecution team to promote awareness and
adherence to discovery requirements and investigative policies and procedures. The
Agency agreed with our recommendations and provided acceptable planned corrective
actions with estimated completion dates. We consider the recommendations resolved with
corrective actions pending. The Agency also provided technical comments, which we
considered and incorporated, as appropriate.

Address inquiries to our public affairs
office at (202) 566-2391 or
OIG.PublicAffairs@epa.gov.

List of OIG reports.


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