The United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken several enforcement actions to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
These civil penalty actions include three landmark settlements with HFC importers who failed to report their imported quantities in violation of the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programme.
Artsen Chemical America, LLC faced a penalty of $247,601 while Harp USA, Inc. was fined $275,000 and for IGas Companies it was $382,473.
The EPA is aggressively pursuing similar actions against several other importers that failed to report their HFCs.
EPA also recently issued the first notices of violation (NOVs) under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act) to alleged violators who imported regulated substances without required allowances.
Under the AIM Act, importers are required to expend allowances to import HFCs. Compliance with the allowance system is critical to assuring the success of the United States’ HFC phasedown program.
Illegal imports undermine the phasedown, disadvantage companies who follow the rules, and contribute to global warming, according to Larry Starfield, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
"These NOVs demonstrate EPA's commitment to enforcing the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020. In addition, our Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program settlements with HFC importers recognize that accurate data is essential for setting sound climate change policy,” he said.
“Stopping illegal HFC imports is a top priority of a federal interagency task force that includes EPA and US Customs and Border Protection. In fiscal year 2022, the task force prevented illegal HFC imports equal to more than 889,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.”
HFCs can have a climate impact thousands of times stronger than carbon dioxide. The US agreed to phasedown HFC production and consumption by 85 per cent by 2036, consistent with the international HFC phasedown laid out in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.