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# Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-environmental-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:02:27.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:02:27.000Z
- Description: Of the 22 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Western District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3 (14%) received a prison term and 11 (50%) received probation only. A fine was ordered for 20 (91%). The group is small, so the percentages describe very few people.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina,](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-north-carolina/) › Environmental Offense: Western District of North Carolina

**In brief:** Of the 22 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Western District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3 (14%) received a prison term and 11 (50%) received probation only. A fine was ordered for 20 (91%). The group is small, so the percentages describe very few people.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 22 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Fines, Probation, and Prison

In this offense type, fines were the most common money penalty. A fine was ordered for 20 of the 22 people (91%), and restitution for 3 (14%).

A total of 11 of the 22 (50%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A total of 3 (14%) received a prison term. The counts given do not add up to 22, so the records leave some people in neither group. The data here does not say what sentence they received.

Among the 3 sent to prison, the median prison term was 10 months. A quarter received 11 months or more, and a quarter received 7.5 months or less.

## Comparison With All 94 Districts

In all 94 districts, the Commission counted 1,638 people in this offense type. Of those, 28% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 5 months. The share sent to prison here, 14%, is lower than the all-district share.

The median for the 3 people sent to prison here was 10 months. A median from 3 people is not a reliable basis for comparison with the national figure. For all offense types in this district, the median prison term was 57 months.

## Guidelines Used

"Environmental" is the Commission's offense category, assigned from the primary sentencing guideline. Here, 13 cases used §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides) and 8 used §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants). One case used §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants).

Environmental cases were less than 1% of the 4,904 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Pleas and the Guideline Range

All 22 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 22.

On the guideline range, 12 people (55%) were sentenced within it. Another 8 (36%) were below the range at the government's request, and 2 (9%) were below it without a government request. None was above the range. For all districts, 50% of sentences in this offense type were within the range.

## Yearly Counts

The district sentenced 11 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 11 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The largest year was fiscal year 2022, with 6 people. Several years have a median of "n/a" because no median prison term could be calculated for that year.

With 1 to 6 people in a year, yearly figures do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 5                | n/a           | 5 of 5         |
| 2017        | 2                | n/a           | 2 of 2         |
| 2018        | 4                | n/a           | 4 of 4         |
| 2020        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 6                | n/a           | 6 of 6         |
| 2023        | 1                | 12 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 2                | 7.5 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2025        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |

## Supervised Release and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3 people (14%), and the median term was 24 months. In criminal history, 86% were in the lowest category (category I) and 0% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What the Data Does Not Include

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The data does not describe the pollutant, the species, or the facts of any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (22). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.