United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C., United States
- Adam F. Gustafson, Acting Assistant Attorney General
- Adam F. Gustafson, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General
 Seal of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, United States Department of Justice | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1909 |
| Jurisdiction | United States government agency |
| Headquarters | Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C., United States |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent department | U.S. Department of Justice |
| Website | justice |
The United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) is one of seven litigating components of the U.S. Department of Justice. ENRD's mandate is to enforce civil and criminal environmental laws and programs protecting the health and environment of the United States, and to defend suits challenging those laws and programs.
The richness and complexity of the Division's history[1] is inseparable from the larger story of the growth and changes of American society in the 20th century. In the early 1900s, Americans struggled to balance competing interests stemming from westward expansion, preservation of natural spaces, resource disputes on public and Tribal lands, and other related issues. As a result, disagreements began to erupt over these complex issues. In November 1909, Attorney General George Wickersham signed a two-page order creating "The Public Lands Division" of the Department of Justice to address the critical litigation that ensued.[2] He assigned all cases concerning "enforcement of the Public Land Law", including Indian rights cases, to the new Division, and transferred a staff of nine – six attorneys and three stenographers – to carry out these responsibilities.
As the nation grew and developed, so did the responsibilities of the Division, and its name changed to the "Environment and Natural Resources Division" (ENRD) to better reflect those changes. Today, the Division, which is organized into ten sections, has offices in Washington, D.C., Boston, Denver, Sacramento, San Francisco and Seattle, and a staff of over 600 people. It currently has approximately 7,000 active cases and matters, and has represented virtually every federal agency in courts in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Division responsibilities
The Division initiates and pursues legal action to enforce federal pollution abatement laws and obtain compliance with environmental protection and conservation statutes. ENRD also represents the United States in all matters concerning protection, use, and development of the nation's natural resources and public lands. The Division defends suits challenging all of the foregoing laws, and fulfills the federal government's responsibility to litigate on behalf of Native American tribes and individual Native Americans. The Division is also responsible for the acquisition of real property by eminent domain for the federal government, and brings and defends cases under wildlife protection laws. ENRD's legal successes have reduced harmful discharges into the air, water, and land, enabled clean-up of contaminated waste sites, and ensured proper disposal of solid and hazardous waste.
Office of the Assistant Attorney General
The head of the Environment and Natural Resources Division is an Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources (AAG-ENRD) appointed by the president of the United States.
ENRD Assistant Attorneys General:[3]
- Ernest Knaebel (1911–1916)
- Francis J. Kearful (1917–1919)
- Frank K. Nebeker (1919–1920)
- Leslie C. Garnett (1920–1921)
- William D. Riter (1921–1924)
- Ira K. Wells (1924–1925)
- Bertice M. Parmenter (1925–1929)
- Seth W. Richardson (1929–1933)
- Harry W. Blair (1933–1937)
- Carl McFarland (1937–1939)
- Norman Littell (1939–1944)
- David L. Bazelon (1946–1947)
- A. Devitt Vanech (1947–1951)
- William Amory Underhill (1951–1952)
- James M. McInerney (1952–1953)
- Perry W. Morton (1953–1961)
- Ramsey Clark (1961–1965)
- Edwin L. Weisl Jr. (1965–1967)
- Clyde O. Martz (1967–1969)
- Shiro Kashiwa (1969–1972)
- Kent Frizzell (1972–1973)
- Wallace H. Johnson (1973–1975)
- Peter Taft (1975–1977)
- James W. Moorman (1977–1981)
- Carol E. Dinkins (1981–1983)
- F. Henry Habicht II (1983–1987)
- Roger J. Marzulla (1988–1989)
- Richard B. Stewart (1989–1991)
- Lois J. Schiffer (1993–2001)
- Thomas L. Sansonetti (2001–2005)
- Sue Ellen Wooldridge (2005–2007)
- Ronald J. Tenpas (2007–2009)
- Ignacia S. Moreno (2009–2013)
- John C. Cruden (2015–2017)
- Jeffrey Clark (2018–2021)
- Jean E. Williams (acting) (2021)
- Todd Kim (2021-2025)
- Adam F. Gustafson (acting) (2025-)
