By David Gecic
Due to Coronavirus the EPA has quietly suspended enforcement of environmental rules.
When I first read the announcement my inner environmentalist screamed that it was the end of the world. The industrialist in me began to start hard-chrome plating in my kitchen sink. Re-reading the announcement I did not start my chrome plating operation. Re-reading it again my inner environmentalist calmed down. The third time I decided that it would not matter significantly.
The Problem
There are, at least, minor upsets in chemical supplies. Isopropyl alcohol is basically not available. The price of acetone has gone up. There have been problems in delivery chains. Many businesses closed or at least partially shuttered and business moves slower. You can’t really work at home when you work in a lab or don’t have customer files with you or can’t run something to the mail room or run out to the warehouse to check on inventory. Business moves slower.
It may reach a point where industries have to pursue alternate sources of material. Generally, businesses have spent a long time choosing trusted suppliers and products and will not change unless absolutely necessary. Down the road things may change. There may be shortages of some imported commodities. But this will only be down the road.
The EPA’s Announcement
The text of the letter from 03-26-2020 is available on their website: Region 7 Letter (Central Region). For a more comprehensive view you can see the full plan: from EPA.gov.
The EPA exceptions do not apply to imports. Any EPA regulated materials are still regulated.
This gives an enforcement discretion to the EPA, therefore it is not a free pass. The EPA can still enforce any regulation they deem necessary.
The EPA is not enforcing their regulations to the same degree, however the state EPA’s are still in charge. The federal EPA will not expect the state EPA’s to follow the federal regulations. However they will not interfere with any of the state EPA’s action. In other words it is up to the states to relax regulations. As a result they are giving the state EPA’s the ability to relax their regulations as necessary. Without this action the states don’t have the freedom to do this.
Companies Are Still Responsible
Companies should make every effort to follow existing regulations. If they cannot do so they are still expected to act responsibly to minimize the effect of any non-compliance. Companies must detail all decisions and steps they are take. They must document how the COVID-19 disease caused these problems.
As always, companies are still responsible for and required to report and clean up any environmentally hazardous spills or discharges. There is no free pass.
Any action that may result in excessive emissions must be reported the EPA. Whether this is an air or a wastewater discharge.
Public water systems are not affected by the action. The EPA expects them to absolutely perform up to standards.
It seems that they will be more lenient on training and more reasonable. The EPA says: “it is more important to keep experienced, trained operators on the job, even if a training or certification is missed.” How far are they willing to bend the rules on this? I expect as far as the state EPA’s are.
Bottom Line and Editorial
It is only temporary.
At this point it is going to be very difficult to show problems directly related to the coronavirus. There are not enough long term shortages. I am not sure that the EPA will accept increased costs as a justification of non-compliance.
It is not clear how this law relates to toxic substances under some aspects of TSCA. However, toxic substances are covered more extensively under OSHA and DOT regulations so it will probably have little effect. Don’t trust them not to come down on you unless you have a real good reason to be out of compliance.
This decision does not “sideline” the EPA from regulation as one newspaper said. It does not “kill children” as one environmental group claims. It is not a “giveaway” as another claims.
Environmental enforcement is seldom up to the federal EPA. The states administer the regulations. Therefore this action will not result in any changes. The state EPA and local water district authorities are the ones in charge. In reality the power is in the hands of the state EPA’s. It always has. Look to any changes your state or local regulations to see if you will have any changes.