Seyfarth Synopsis: U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in support of the U.S.
Government's overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
has announced a temporary enforcement
discretion policy regarding environmental legal obligations during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
EPA's recently-released temporary enforcement discretion
policy, COVID-19 Implications for EPAs Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance Program (3/26/2020), (Policy) applies to
civil violations during the COVID-19 outbreak. Criminal violations,
Superfund obligations, and RCRA Corrective Actions will be
addressed separately in forthcoming communications from EPA.
The Policy reiterates that entities must remain in compliance
with environmental obligations and must "act responsibly"
if compliance is not reasonably practicable due to COVID-19. If an
entity determines that compliance is not reasonably practicable due
to COVID-19's impacts on its workforce, it must take certain
actions to document that
