Talking Points

A good citizen suit law will:

• Give private individuals the ability to sue on behalf of the environment to protect natural resources that are not otherwise protected by law, and will enforce environmental laws that are not being enforced by the government in their capacity as trustee for the public at large; and
• Act to “deputize” citizens to bring actions to protect the environment and/or biological diversity.

We need a citizen suit law because:

• Environmental laws are not effective unless individuals, businesses, and governments comply with them;
• Vigorous enforcement of environmental laws makes noncompliance less profitable because violators face the real threat that they will be punished for their actions;
• In some instances, government itself may be breaking the law, and citizens should have the ability to force the government to abide by its own laws;
• Environmental agencies are generally understaffed and underfunded, making it difficult to monitor and detect significant violations of the law. During the 1970s, many state legislatures gave more and more responsibilities to overburdened agencies, without giving them more staff or funding to implement those changes;
• Citizen suits give ordinary citizens who are affected by violations of environmental laws the chance to bring attention to the violation and an avenue to compel compliance; and
• Citizen suits can counteract political pressure brought to bear on state statutes and the revolving-door motive for ignoring pollution violations.

Citizen suit laws have many benefits.

(from Environmental Media Services)

• Citizen suits often accomplish what state and federal regulators can’t or won’t.
• Hundreds of polluters have been forced to stop or reduce their harmful discharges.
• Court-authorized settlement agreements have required sewage treatment plants, refineries, and other industries to put several billion dollars into facility upgrades that protect public health, and fish and wildlife. And, some of these funds have been used to mitigate damage produced by the illegal discharges, clean up other waterways, and acquire parklands and greenways. 
• The possibility of citizen lawsuits leverages government enforcement efforts by empowering people who are directly harmed by pollution to do something about it.