U.S. Department
of Justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division
About the Division
The Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) is responsible for bringing cases against those who violate the nation’s environmental laws as well as defending the federal government in litigation arising under a broad range of environmental statutes.
With offices across the United States, the Division is the nation's environmental lawyer, and the largest environmental law firm in the country.
The Division is also home to the Department’s Office of Environmental Justice. The Office of Environmental Justice engages all Justice Department bureaus, components, and offices in the collective pursuit of environmental justice.
Meet the Assistant Attorney General (ENRD)
Leadership
Todd Kim
Assistant Attorney General
Contact
Email the Division
ENRD’s mission is to protect the health and welfare of the American people, manage our precious natural resources, and conserve our nation’s breathtaking landscapes.
We do this through civil and criminal enforcement of the country’s environmental and natural resource laws, defense of agency actions taken under those same laws, acquisition of lands needed for federal projects, and litigation to secure and protect the rights and resources of federally recognized Indian Tribes.
Together with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, ENRD is working to ensure that full effect is given to the federal statutes and enforcement regimes that provide for the humane treatment of captive, farmed, and companion animals across the United States, including by prosecuting animal fighting crimes.
Addressing climate change is an important feature of the Division’s work. The Environment and Natural Resources Division prioritizes actions to address greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts of climate change in its civil and criminal enforcement.
ENRD’s mission has long intersected with environmental justice. Our commitment is most evident in our enforcement work, as we resolve enforcement actions that help communities with environmental justice concerns and bring cases under federal environmental and natural resource laws.
The Environment and Natural Resources Division brings affirmative litigation and defends decisions of the United States to support tribal homelands and tribal sovereignty. This work includes protecting tribal lands from encroachment or diminishment.
Trafficking threatens security, hinders economic development, and undermines the rule of law. The illicit trade in wildlife is decimating many species worldwide and threatens iconic species with extinction. Timber trafficking is associated with transnational organized crime and harms crucial carbon sinks. ENRD is committed to pursuing criminal sanctions against those who violate our federal wildlife trafficking laws.
ENRD supports a broad range of federal agency programs. While we most frequently work to support programs of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior, our work also furthers the mission of virtually every other federal agency.