Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025
Of the 16 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 9 (56%) received probation only and 5 (31%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 8 months. In all 94 districts, 28% of environmental cases ended in prison.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY20 › Environmental Offense: Northern District of New York
In brief: Of the 16 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 9 (56%) received probation only and 5 (31%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 8 months. In all 94 districts, 28% of environmental cases ended in prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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.
Probation Was More Common Than Prison
Of the 16 people, 9 (56%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A total of 5 people (31%) were sent to prison. For environmental cases in all 94 federal districts, 28% were sent to prison.
Among the 5 who went to prison, the median prison term was 8 months. A quarter received 10 months or more. The data lists a quarter of the 5 as receiving 0 months or less.
The median for all districts was 5 months, and the median for all offenses in this district was 24 months.
Fines and Restitution
A fine was ordered for 10 of the 16 people (63%), and restitution for 6 (38%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3 people (19%), with a median term of 36 months.
All 16 Pleaded Guilty
All 16 people pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Every one of them had a written plea agreement. The rate of guilty pleas in all districts was 98%.
Because there were no trials, the data has no trial sentences to compare with plea sentences. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 16 people.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range
Only 2 sentences (13%) were within the advisory guideline range. For environmental cases in all districts, 50% were within the range, and for all offenses in this district the share was 53%.
The largest group was below the range without a government request: 9 sentences (56%). Another 5 (31%) were below the range at the government's request. No sentence was above it.
The Guidelines in These Cases
"Environmental" is the offense type assigned by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The most common primary guideline was §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides), with 10 people. Next was §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants), with 4, and §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), with 2.
These cases were less than 1% of the 3,763 people sentenced in the district. On criminal history, 88% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 11. The largest single year was fiscal year 2022, with 6 people and a median of 9 months.
Many yearly medians are listed as n/a, which means the data does not give one. The records do not support describing any trend from these counts.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 6 | 9 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2024 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 months | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Fort Drum, New York, is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and not in this federal court.
The records do not show the kind of pollution or the facts behind any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (16). 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 Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of New York, 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.