Emerging Areas of Focus FY 2023 Annual Results
On this page:
- Climate Change
- PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
Climate Change
Tackling the climate crisis is a top priority for EPA. The enforcement and compliance assurance programs are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to future impacts from climate change. Our efforts today will shape our legacy and determine what kind of world we leave for future generations.
To meet the urgency of this moment, EPA marked two significant new accomplishments in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023: (1) issuance of EPA’s Climate Enforcement and Compliance Strategy and (2) the National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECIs) for fiscal years 2024 – 2027, which included the first ever climate change focused enforcement initiative. These two accomplishments will provide guidance and structure to allow the enforcement and compliance program to continue contributing towards addressing the climate crisis over the next several years. As the climate crisis continues to accelerate, if we fail to take decisive action by the end of this decade, we will lose our ability to stave off the worst effects of climate change.
Climate Enforcement and Compliance Strategy
On September 28, 2023, EPA’s enforcement and compliance program issued , which directs all enforcement and compliance offices to address climate change, as appropriate, in every matter within their jurisdiction. EPA’s enforcement and compliance program will prioritize enforcement and compliance actions to mitigate climate change and include climate adaptation and resilience in case conclusions whenever appropriate across all EPA enforcement and compliance efforts. This strategy expands and builds on the foundational work in the 2022 Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan (pdf) announced in October 2022 that outlined specific priority actions EPA’s enforcement and compliance program would take to advance the Agency toward its climate adaptation goals.
The first requirement of the strategy focuses on reducing emissions of the highest impact climate super-pollutants, methane and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Methane is 25 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide while hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs are hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. We also will prioritize reductions of other greenhouse gases by bringing enforcement actions to address illegal emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants that contribute to climate change.
The second requirement of the strategy focuses on building climate resilience into case targeting and resolutions by considering relevant climate risks in enforcement matters and, when appropriate, including injunctive relief measures to ensure that polluting facilities will be resilient to projected impacts of climate change. Incorporating climate adaptation and resilience principles will ensure that regulated entities and communities are better able to anticipate, prepare for, withstand, and recover from the disruptive impacts of climate change while also remaining in compliance with environmental laws.
Mitigating Climate Change NECI
On August 17, 2023, EPA’s enforcement and compliance program finalized its NECIs for FY 2024 - 2027 that for the first time includes an initiative focused on mitigating climate change. The Mitigating Climate Change initiative focuses enforcement resources on three significant contributors to climate change: methane emissions from oil and gas facilities; methane emissions from landfills; and the use, importation, and production of HFCs. This initiative builds on our success in FY 2022 to launch a new HFC enforcement program pursuant to authority granted in the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020.
Building on a successful FY 2022 pilot program, in FY 2023 EPA’s enforcement and compliance program expanded its efforts to facilitate national consistency on reporting significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions achieved through enforcement actions. While the new reporting structure was only in effect for the final four months of FY 2023, OECA estimates that as a result of our cases during this time period, more than 439 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents (199,342 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) in greenhouse gases were reduced, treated, or eliminated. Expanding EPA’s ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of enforcement in battling climate change will be essential, especially as we begin implementing the new Mitigating Climate Change NECI which is an important step towards reducing GHG emissions.
For example, EPA’s settlement with three natural gas processors (Williams Companies, Inc.; MPLX LP; and WES DJ Gathering LLC) for violations of federal clean air laws related to leak detection and repair requirements for natural gas processing plants at various facilities that they own and operate across the nation. These facilities emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), hazardous air pollutants such as benzene and formaldehyde, and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. When these settlements are fully implemented, they will reduce methane emissions by approximately 1,800 tons per year (equivalent to over 50,000 tons of CO2 annually).
Enforcement Actions Address Use of Hydrofluorocarbons
In FY 2023, EPA announced several enforcement actions that support national and international goals to reduce the use of HFCs in our fight against climate change. HFCs are commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. Released to the atmosphere, HFCs can have a climate impact thousands of times stronger than carbon dioxide. These civil penalty actions include six landmark settlements with HFC importers who failed to report their imported quantities in violation of the Clean Air Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program: Artsen Chemical America, LLC (pdf) ; Harp USA, Inc. (pdf) ; BMP International, Inc., IGas USA, Inc., and Scales N Stuff, Inc (pdf) ; Combs Investment Property, LP (pdf) ; Waysmos USA, Inc. (pdf) ; and Nature Gas Import and Export, Inc. (pdf) . Total penalties collected in all six cases exceed $1.4 million. Enforcement of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program demonstrates EPA’s commitment to address HFCs and protect our climate. The United States agreed under the bipartisan American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act) to phasedown HFC production and consumption by 85% by 2036, consistent with the international HFC phasedown laid out in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Global efforts to phase down HFCs are expected to avoid up to 0.5 °C of global warming by 2100. Accurate reporting of HFCs helps set sound policy and going forward under the HFC phasedown will allow the United States to verify we are meeting the limits under the AIM Act.
Increasing Resiliency for Drinking Water System at Federal Facility in Puerto Rico
EPA announced a settlement with the U.S. Army for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act’s (SDWA) Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) and Emergency Response Plan (ERP) requirements at U.S. Army Garrison Fort Buchanan in Puerto Rico. Fort Buchanan operates a community water system subject to SDWA’s RRA and ERP requirements, which, among other things, require it to conduct an assessment of the risks to, and resilience of, its community water system, including risk from natural hazards. As a result of the Consent Agreement and Final Order, the U.S. Army has now certified completion of an RRA and ERP for the Fort Buchanan community water system and paid an administrative penalty, the first such penalty issued under Section 1433 of the SDWA. Completion of the RRA and ERP will increase the resilience of the community’s water system and help it better withstand the effects of climate change.
Enforcement and Compliance Climate Change Accomplishments Web Page
In FY 2023, EPA’s enforcement and compliance program launched a new web page to provide regular information and updates on its efforts to combat climate change. For more information about how EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance programs are helping to address the climate crisis, visit Addressing Climate Change in Enforcement and Compliance.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
Harmful per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are an urgent public health and environmental issue facing communities across the United States. EPA has an integrated approach to addressing PFAS, focusing on Research, Restrict, and Remediate and has made commitments in EPA’s 2021-2024 Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Strategic Roadmap (Roadmap). The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) has committed to holding polluters accountable by using available enforcement tools to better identify and address PFAS releases at facilities. PFAS contamination is a significant priority for EPA and, while the regulatory framework for PFAS continues to develop across multiple statutes, EPA’s enforcement and compliance program has already taken a number of enforcement actions to ensure compliance with existing statutes, including action to address an imminent and substantial endangerment to communities.
PFAS National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative
In August 2023, EPA announced its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECI) for fiscal years 2024-2027, including for the first-time an initiative to address exposure to PFAS contamination. The NECI will focus on implementing EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and hold responsible those who significantly contribute to the release of PFAS into the environment, such as major manufacturers and users of manufactured PFAS, federal facilities that are significant sources of PFAS, and other industrial parties. Ensuring these entities properly identify and characterize contamination, control ongoing releases, and comply with both existing and future environmental requirements will help address this larger environmental threat.
As EPA continues its work to advance federal leadership on PFAS through final regulatory standards, EPA remains proactive in using its enforcement tools to better identify and address PFAS releases at facilities. EPA continues to collect information from PFAS manufacturers and users, including federal facilities, as part of its enforcement efforts to hold polluters accountable. Such information is collected through inspections and information requests to help inform EPA’s understanding of PFAS contamination that may be present in soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment around facilities where PFAS were manufactured, used, released, or handled. Additionally, in FY 2023, EPA issued joint CERCLA § 104(e) and RCRA § 3007(a) information request letters to The Chemours Company, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., and Corteva, Inc. for information relating to their financial assurance requirements and cleanup obligations.
When appropriate, EPA and will use its authorities to take actions to protect communities and the environment. The following cases highlight the Agency’s FY 2023 enforcement work associated with PFAS.
Chemours Washington Works Facility in West Virginia
In April 2023, EPA announced the first-ever Clean Water Act enforcement action for PFAS discharges at Chemours’ Washington Works facility near Parkersburg, West Virginia. In the order, EPA sets forth that Chemours exceeded permit waste limits for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) Dimer Acid at its Washington Works facility on various dates from September 2018 through March 2023, and that Chemours failed to properly operate and maintain all facilities and systems required for permit compliance. As an initial step in characterizing PFAS in surface water discharges, EPA’s order requires Chemours to implement an EPA-approved sampling plan to analyze PFAS and conduct analysis to further understand the presence of PFAS in stormwater and effluent discharged from the facility. Also, Chemours will submit and implement a plan to treat or minimize the discharge of PFAS to ensure compliance with waste limits of PFOA and HFPO Dimer Acid.
3M Cordova Facility in Illinois
In August 2023, the 3M Company agreed to a settlement to sample and provide treatment to address contamination from PFAS in drinking water in the vicinity of 3M’s Cordova, Illinois facility. Given the unique circumstances affecting this community, including more than five decades of PFAS discharges and the many types of PFAS chemicals found, EPA concluded that the situation constitutes an imminent and substantial endangerment under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. As part of this settlement, 3M is required to offer treatment to all private well owners within three miles of the facility, and to the Camanche Water Supply in Iowa, to remove PFAS from drinking water. 3M is also required to offer drinking water sampling out to four miles from the facility for private well owners and out to 10 miles from the facility for public water systems as well as to the Quad Cities’ public water systems. This will be done using EPA protocols and conducted under EPA oversight.
Inhance PFAS Manufacturing Facility in Easton Massachusetts
In December 2022, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Inhance Technologies LLC (“Inhance”) for its ongoing manufacture of long-chain PFAS, which is subject to the Toxic Substances Control Act’s Long-Chain PFAS Rule. It is a prohibited act for a person to manufacture a chemical for a significant new use without first submitting a significant new use notice to the EPA. Under the rule, EPA reviews and issues a determination on that notice and the person implements any requirements pursuant to the EPA determination. The complaint seeks to require Inhance to comply with this rule.
Sampling of Drinking Water Wells Located Near Military Installations
EPA conducted sampling of private drinking water wells near military installations where high levels of PFAS have been detected in groundwater. Where sampling results indicate elevated levels of certain PFAS in drinking water, EPA coordinates with the Department of Defense (DOD), state officials, and the community to ensure impacted residents receive an alternate water supply. In this context and others, EPA continues to engage with DOD on PFAS contamination at and near military bases and has regular discussions with other federal partners regarding PFAS contamination at/from their sites (e.g., the departments of Energy, Interior, and Homeland Security). EPA also oversees investigation and cleanup of PFAS in accordance with CERCLA Federal Facility Agreements at federal facility sites on the National Priorities List.
PFAS Analytics Tool
In January 2023 EPA released its new interactive PFAS Analytic Tools, an application that provides information about PFAS across the country. This information will help the public, researchers, and other stakeholders better understand potential PFAS sources in their communities. The PFAS Analytic Tools bring together multiple sources of information in one spot with mapping, charting, and filtering functions, allowing the public to see where testing has been done and what level of detections were measured.