Biden EPA makes first-ever climate change arrest

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The Biden administration has made a precedent-setting arrest related to anti-climate change activities this fiscal year, highlighted in a new report that shows a ramped-up enforcement effort against environmental offenses.

On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final report on enforcement efforts under President Biden, which detailed how climate-related penalties were enforced this fiscal year.

The EPA worked to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which requires the agency to reduce hydrofluorocarbons, a synthetic compound commonly used for refrigeration or air conditioning, by 85% by 2036.

The AIM Act led to the arrest of Michael Hart, of San Diego, in March on charges related to "smuggling potent greenhouse gases," highlighted in the EPA report. The charges marked the first-ever greenhouse gas-related arrest issued under the AIM Act, but according to an EPA press release from earlier this year, "it will not be the last."

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An Environmental Protection Agency sign is seen on a building in Washington, D.C., on July 12. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto)

Additionally, the EPA reported issuing $1.7 billion in administrative and judicial penalties, the highest level since 2017.

The agency’s environmental enforcement efforts also saw 1,851 civil cases concluded, 121 criminal defendants charged, and it issued more than 225 million pounds of "pollution reductions" in "overburdened communities," according to the report. As of the end of 2024, there are about 480 open criminal investigations on environmental programs.

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The results reflect a 3.4% increase in civil cases and a 17.6% increase in criminal charges compared to 2023, The Associated Press reported.

In the FY 2024 report, the EPA also noted that collaborative efforts on the "implementation of EPA’s national priorities" led to a "12% increase in criminal leads opened because of referrals from EPA Headquarters and regional offices."

President Biden speaks about the results of the 2024 election in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 7. (Andrew Harnik)

"In Fiscal Year 2024, EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program produced its strongest results since 2017, focusing on efforts to combat climate change and tackling some of the nation’s most significant environmental threats to our shared air, water and land," David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement. "The progress made under the Biden-Harris Administration has sent a clear signal that polluters will be held accountable and that protecting communities from harm is a top priority."

The agency zeroed in on six areas of priority for FY 2024 as part of their National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative: mitigating climate change, exposure to PFAS, working against communities from coal ash contamination, reducing air toxics in overburdened communities, increasing compliance with drinking water standards and chemical accident risk reduction.

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Biden has made issuing green energy projects a focus of his administration, most recently handing out billions of dollars to fund climate-related projects in the remaining months of his term before President-elect Trump steps into office.