Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025
33 people were sentenced for environmental offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 79% received probation only, and 21% received a prison term, with a median of 22 months. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, 28% were sent to prison and the median prison term
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 › Environmental Offense: District of Nebraska
In brief: 33 people were sentenced for environmental offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 79% received probation only, and 21% received a prison term, with a median of 22 months. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, 28% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 5 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 33 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Most Environmental Cases Ended in Probation
26 of the 33 people (79%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 7 people (21%) received a prison term. In all districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, so prison was used less often here.
Among the 7 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 22 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 6.9 months or less. The median for this offense type in all districts was 5 months, and for all offenses in the District of Nebraska it was 57 months. The group of 7 is small, so the median describes few people.
Fines and Restitution
A fine was ordered for 24 people (73%), and restitution for 23 (70%). Both were ordered for most of the people in this group.
Only 5 people (15%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
What the Category Covers
"Environmental" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and the primary guidelines show what it covers in this district. The most common was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants) with 25 people. Next were §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides) with 5 and §2Q1.1 (Knowing Endangerment Resulting From Mishandling Hazardous or Toxic Substances, Pesticides or Other Pollutants) with 1.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,887 people sentenced in the district.
Years With Very Few People
The yearly table lists no median prison term for fiscal years 2016, 2019, and 2023, and no row for fiscal year 2018. Each year has between 1 and 8 people sentenced. Fiscal year 2020 had the most, with 8 people and a median of 33 months.
7 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 26 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends at the close of September. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 8 | 33 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2021 | 5 | 30 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 3 | 30 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 5 | n/a | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 2 | 7.8 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 3 | 13.3 months | 3 of 3 |
Pleas and the Guideline Range
All 33 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. 94% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 6% were straight pleas. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 33 people.
Of the 31 people with guideline information, 16 (52%) were within the range, 9 (29%) were below it at the government's request, and 6 (19%) were below it without a government request. None were above it. In all districts, 50% were within the range.
Criminal History
94% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, and 3% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no military figure to compare.
A low criminal history is common for this offense type here. The records do not show how that relates to the use of probation.
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
Offutt AFB, Nebraska, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Nebraska (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Nebraska") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (33). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.