On March 26, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
issued a
memorandum about a temporary policy regarding EPA enforcement
of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the policy, the EPA stopped seeking penalties for certain
missed environmental obligations. The policy received
mixed reactions from states and environmental groups. On June
29, 2020, EPA announced that it will be ending the controversial
policy.
EPA's
addendum to its temporary policy recognizes that circumstances
are changing and that state and local restrictions are now being
relaxed or lifted. Accordingly, EPA acknowledges that restrictions
which may impede regulatory compliance are also being relaxed or
lifted. In light of these changes, EPA's addendum states that
it will terminate the temporary policy in its entirety at 11.59
p.m. on August 31, 2020. After August 31, 2020, EPA will no longer
base its enforcement discretion on the temporary policy. EPA
