EPA hails ‘revitalized’ enforcement efforts as Biden administration heads to exit

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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. 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.  Enforcement efforts included first-ever criminal charges for a California man accused of smuggling climate-damaging air coolants into the United States. Engine maker Cummins Inc. paid more than $2 billion in fines and penalties after it was found to use illegal software to skirt diesel emissions tests.