> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2Q1.3 Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-3-mishandling-of-other-environmental-pollutants-fy2018/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:57:38.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:57:38.000Z - Description: Of 18 people sentenced in fiscal year 2018 with §2Q1.3 as the primary guideline, 13 (72%) received probation only and 5 (28%) were sent to prison. The median prison term for those 5 was 1 months. Another 9 sentences (50%) were below the guideline range without a request from the government. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2Q1.3 Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-3-mishandling-of-other-environmental-pollutants/) › §2Q1.3: FY2018 **In brief:** Of 18 people sentenced in fiscal year 2018 with §2Q1.3 as the primary guideline, 13 (72%) received probation only and 5 (28%) were sent to prison. The median prison term for those 5 was 1 months. Another 9 sentences (50%) were below the guideline range without a request from the government. 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 18 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018\. 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/). ## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range The Commission recorded the position of the sentence against the guideline range for all 18 people. 9 sentences (50%) were below the range without a government request. 5 (28%) were within the range, and 4 (22%) were below the range at the government's request. None was above the range. The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The Commission separates sentences below the range into those made at the government's request and those made without it. Within-range sentences were 28% here. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, sentences within the range were 51%. ## Prison and Probation Under §2Q1.3 Guideline §2Q1.3 is titled "Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants; Recordkeeping, Tampering, and Falsification" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. In fiscal year 2018, 18 people were sentenced with it as the primary guideline. All 18 are classified under the offense type Environmental. 5 of the 18 (28%) received a prison term. The median prison term among them was 1 months. A quarter received 5 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. The median is based on only 5 people. After prison, 5 people (28%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 11 (61%), and restitution for 2 (11%). ## How Cases Reached Sentencing 17 of the 18 (94%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 2.5 months. After a trial it was 1 months, based on 1 person. A trial figure from a single person cannot be compared with a plea figure. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 18 people with that information recorded (0%). In this group, 89% were in the lowest criminal history category and 0% were in the highest. ## Fiscal Year 2018 Beside Other Years The previous fiscal year, 2017, had 34 people under §2Q1.3 and a median prison term of 9 months. The next fiscal year, 2019, had 20 people and a median prison term of 15 months. The counts in each year are small, and the medians depend on very few people sent to prison. Fiscal year 2018 does not establish a pattern. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 163 people were sentenced under §2Q1.3\. The share sent to prison was 26%, the median prison term was 5 months, guilty pleas were 93%, and sentences within the guideline range were 31%. Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018, under every guideline, totaled 69,425 people. The median prison term was 24 months, and guilty pleas were 97%. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 24 | 2.5 months | 92% | | 2017 | 34 | 9 months | 88% | | 2018 | 18 | 1 months | 94% | | 2019 | 20 | 15 months | 90% | | 2020 | 13 | 2 months | 100% | | 2021 | 11 | 7.5 months | 100% | | 2022 | 13 | 11.4 months | 100% | | 2023 | 9 | 18 months | 7 of 9 | | 2024 | 10 | 12 months | 100% | | 2025 | 11 | 0 months | 100% | ## Limits of the Records The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. The records do not show what conduct led to each sentence or why a judge chose it. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2Q1.3 (18), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. 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) - [§2Q1.3 Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-3-mishandling-of-other-environmental-pollutants/) (overview) - [§2Q1.3 Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-3-mishandling-of-other-environmental-pollutants-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2Q1.3 Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-3-mishandling-of-other-environmental-pollutants-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [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.