EPA hails 'revitalized' enforcement efforts as Biden administration heads to exit
The Environmental Protection Agency says it concluded more than 1,800 civil cases this year, a 3% increase over 2023, and charged 120 criminal defendants, a 17.6% increase over the previous year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency enhanced enforcement efforts this year, significantly reducing pollution in overburdened communities, the agency said in a report Thursday.
The EPA said it concluded more than 1,800 civil cases, a 3% increase over 2023, and charged 120 criminal defendants, a 17.6% increase over the previous year. The “revitalized enforcement and compliance efforts" resulted in more than 225 million pounds of pollution reductions in overburdened communities, the agency said in its final report on Biden-era enforcement actions before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Bolstered by 300 new employees hired since last year, the enforcement program focused on “21st century environmental challenges," including climate change, environmental justice and chemical waste, said David Uhlmann, EPA's assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance. More than half the agency’s inspections and settlements involved poor and disadvantaged communities long scarred by pollution, reflecting the Biden administration’s emphasis on environmental justice issues.
Enforcement efforts included first-ever criminal charges for a California man accused of smuggling climate-damaging air coolants into the United States. The case involved hydrofluorocarbons, a highly potent greenhouse gas also known as HFCs, a gas once commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.
