In the Courts

In United States v. Snook, 2004 WL 868502 (7th Cir. April 23, 2004), the Seventh Circuit upheld the conviction and sentencing of the Environmental Manager from a petroleum refinery. The manager was tried for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act by selectively reporting only favorable results of wastewater testing, and for making false statements to an EPA inspector. He was convicted by a jury. The defendant appealed his conviction and sentencing on a number of grounds.

Among the issues considered on appeal was whether the district court had erred in applying the “position of trust” guideline to his sentence. See U.S.S.G. ' 3B1.3. In a split decision, the panel affirmed the district court's application of the two-level enhancement. The majority and dissent agreed that application of the guideline is appropriate where the defendant was in a position of trust with respect to his victim. The majority held that “[T]he Clean Water Act is public-welfare legislation and the victims of violations are the public.” According to the majority, the public was dependent on the data reported by the refinery and its employees, and the defendant, as Environmental Manager of the refiner, had abused the responsibility of his position by failing to report water quality violations.