The Environmental Protection Agency enhanced enforcement efforts this year, significantly reducing pollution in overburdened communities, the agency said in a report Thursday.
The EPA said it concluded more than 1,800 civil cases, a 3% increase over 2023, and charged 120 criminal defendants, a 17.6% increase over the previous year. The “revitalized enforcement and compliance efforts" resulted in more than 225 million pounds of pollution reductions in overburdened communities, the agency said in its final report on Biden-era enforcement actions before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
