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The article reports on evolution of Environmental Crimes Program started by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The Program has developed into a successful cooperative effort between federal prosecutors and criminal investigators at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and has enjoyed support from public. The policies of the Program have also been criticized. It reports on the guilty pleas of several companies like Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Ltd., Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. and BP PLC.

The article focuses on the criminalization of negligence under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the U.S. It cites a case involving container ship M/V Cosco Busan which leaked heavy fuel oil into the San Francisco/Oakland Bay in California following an allision accident. It examines several provisions under CWA that allow the prosecution of negligence on the part of the San Francisco Bar pilot and the ship operator. It stresses that the criminalization of environmental negligence brings tension to the civil and criminal liability constructs.