The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
caused a wave a controversy when it announced in February 2020
suspension of some environmental law requirements in response to
the COVID-19 outbreak. This stands as a counterpoint to approaches
taken in several Australian jurisdictions, including the New South
Wales Environment Protection Authority (NSW EPA), Environment
Protection Authority Victoria (VIC EPA), and Western Australian
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (WA DWER), all of
which have placed responsibility squarely on business to ensure
continuity planning for compliance.
In February 2020, the US EPA announced a temporary policy
1, in which certain non-compliances by regulated
entities would not be enforced by the EPA, in response to shortages
of workers and other restrictions on movement. Those relaxations
included:
