The Environmental Protection Agency announced April 10 its filing of a complaint against a California corporation for attempting to illegally import more than 17 tons of hydrofluorocarbons, which are a “super climate pollutant.” The complaint seeks (1) an administrative law court ruling that the attempted importation and the importer’s failure to submit required reports constitute statutory violations and (2) the imposition of civil penalties. Just last month the EPA announced a penalty of more than $400,000, the largest imposed to date, for a similar violation.
The EPA states that this is the first time it has used its authority under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, which requires the U.S. to phase down HFC production and consumption by 85 percent by 2036, to file an administrative complaint for illegally importing HFCs. However, it is only one of several measures the EPA has taken in recent months against illegal HFC imports following the agency’s designation of climate change mitigation as a national enforcement and compliance initiative.
These actions illustrate that the EPA “is using every enforcement tool available to hold companies accountable for the illegal importation of refrigerants that damage our climate and imperil future generations,” said David Uhlmann, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. For example, since January 2022 the EPA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have collaborated to deny entry to more than 80 shipments of illegal HFCs. The EPA is also using its enforcement authorities to target HFC importers that fail to accurately report their import quantities and plans to continue to scrutinize the data that is reported.
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