Biden’s EPA Makes First Climate Change Arrest Related to “Illegal Greenhouse Gases”
The Biden administration’s EPA is boasting of a supposed pivotal milestone in its fight against “climate change”: the criminal prosecution of an “illegal greenhouse gases” importer.
In September, the Department of Justice convicted Michael Hart, 58, of illegally importing “potent greenhouse gases” from Mexico into the United States.
According to court documents, Hart and his accomplices imported banned hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and sold them online for profit. “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 DOJ said in a press release.
“Thereafter, Hart illegally sold the refrigerants to others in the United States, profiting from the black market for such refrigerants in the United States.”
Smuggling banned gases into the United States attracts a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Meanwhile, the EPA attributed the arrest, prosecution, and conviction to “revitalized enforcement and compliance efforts,” which it fears might lose momentum when Trump takes office on January 21st. However, Trump has not indicated that he will open the floodgates of illegal environmental substances into the country.
Similarly, while Biden’s EPA celebrates stopping the flow of banned greenhouse gases into the country, the case is similar to others involving smuggling illegal and harmful products. However, such convictions rarely make grand political statements that Biden’s EPA can take credit for to advance the administration’s political climate agenda.
Nonetheless, Biden’s EPA carried out other enforcement actions, including imposing $1.7 billion in penalties, the highest amount since 2017. The agency also settled 1,851 civil cases and criminally charged another 121 defendants. The EPA says Hart’s conviction is just the beginning of more to come.
“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,” said David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Biden’s EPA categorizes methane produced during routine dairy and oil production alongside banned industrial HFCs and HCFCs.
In 2022, the administration proposed incentives for dairy farmers to capture and sell methane for energy production. However, climate change activists opposed the measure, saying it could incentivize large farms to produce more methane.
Recently, the EPA finalized a rule imposing taxes on oil and gas sector facilities for failing to control their methane emissions at the rate of $900 per cubic meter in 2024, $1,200 in 2025, and $1,500 in 2026 and beyond.
Meanwhile, the EPA says it is trying to put the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which targets an 85% reduction in hydrofluorocarbons by 2036, into action. However, such ambitious incentives usually carry hidden costs that American consumers pay for without realizing corresponding environmental benefits.
President Trump’s EPA chief, Rep. Lee Zeldin, has promised to rein in the agency and undo some of the damage done by draconian anti-business regulations. Rep. Zeldin says some level of deregulation is crucial for stepping up gas and oil production, lowering pump prices, and reducing the cost of living.
