In response to the letter “EPA Actions are startling and baseless” (April 21): No, the EPA has not changed its rules nor does it allow one to exceed current regulations and statutes.
No, a business is not entitled to a waiver of environmental requirements. No, a business still has to make every effort to comply with reporting and requirements. No, this temporary enforcement policy does not authorize exceeding pollution limits. No, this temporary policy does not apply to required facility-specific statutory information requests.
What it means is that on a case-by-case basis, and after the EPA has determined that reporting noncompliance was specifically attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, a facility may be given a temporary waiver on reporting requirements. But, not a waiver to pollute!
This policy was specifically put in place to support federal, state and county stay-at-home orders that limit travel and availability of contractors to perform reporting. This is not a “startling and baseless” decision, and it is not relaxing regulatory actions.
How can a company legally comply with reporting when the state is mandating its workers to stay at home? That puts a potentially nonessential business in a catch-22 of breaking one law or the other.
This seems like a reasonable and temporary approach to a reporting function only. It does not relax any statute nor allow any further pollution.
Jim RothwellDurango
