At a time when the Biden administration is being roundly condemned for the flow of illegal immigrants and other forms of smuggling across the border, the Environmental Protection Agency is trumpeting its action in making one arrest.
In its annual report, the EPA said that its enforcement efforts over the 2024 fiscal year included the first-ever criminal charges for a crime related to climate change, according to ABC.
Michael Hart, 58, of San Diego was convicted in September of illegally bringing forbidden greenhouse gases into the United States, according to a Department of Justice news release, which said the man was accused of smuggling “potent greenhouse gases.”
According to court documents, from about June to December 2022, Hart sold hydrofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons online.
“Once the orders were placed, Hart purchased the refrigerants in Mexico with the help of his conspirators and illegally imported them into the United States concealed in his vehicle,” the release said.
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“Thereafter, Hart illegally sold the refrigerants to others in the United States, profiting from the black market for such refrigerants in the United States,” the release said.
The release said the maximum penalty for smuggling banned gases into the U.S. is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Hart was arrested in March.
According to Fox News, the EPA reported levying $1.7 billion in administrative and judicial penalties, the highest level since 2017.
The agency said that 1,851 civil cases were concluded and 121 criminal defendants charged.
The EPA said that its efforts have been designed to put teeth in the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which requires an 85 percent reduction in hydrofluorocarbons by 2036.
The EPA said of Hart’s arrest, “it will not be the last.”
“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,” a statement by David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said.
The EPA said the arrest was part of its “revitalized enforcement and compliance efforts,” according to ABC.
“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,” he said.
How do you know the EPA needs to be reined in?
Joe Biden’s EPA made its first “climate change” arrest.
Cc: @leezeldin pic.twitter.com/ypuoQJjQOs
— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) December 11, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump has named former Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York as his choice to lead the EPA.
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