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ARTICLE · 01 DECEMBER 2023

U.S. EPA Announces New Climate-Focused Enforcement Strategy

Jones Day
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On September 28, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance ("OECA") released a memorandum announcing its new Climate...

United StatesEnvironment
Daniella Einik
Daniella Einik
Jane Story
Jane Story
Jetta Cook
Jetta Cook
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On September 28, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance ("OECA") released a memorandum announcing its new Climate Enforcement and Compliance Strategy. The new strategy calls for EPA to focus enforcement on increasing oversight of oil and gas facilities, landfills, and the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons.

This strategy is in response to President Biden's 2021 Executive Order 14008, calling on federal agencies to implement changes to tackle the climate crisis. To meet this directive, the OECA Strategy Memo lays out the following three enforcement and compliance requirements: "(1) prioritize enforcement and compliance actions to mitigate climate change; (2) include climate adaptation and resilience in case conclusions whenever appropriate; and (3) provide technical assistance to achieve climate-related solutions and build climate change capacity among EPA staff and our state and

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