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Ex. AGY-FED-LANDS-SCIENCE-COURTS-003 Order Primary source read

Memorandum, 'COVID-19 Implications for EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program' (temporary policy)

COVID-19 Implications for EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program

Susan Parker Bodine, Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance · United States Environmental Protection Agency (nationwide) (Federal)

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The COVID Project

The record

Jurisdiction
United States Environmental Protection Agency (nationwide)
Level
Federal
Authority
EPA enforcement discretion under the environmental statutes it administers
Issued
2020-03-26 Mar. 26, 2020
Effective
Retroactive to 2020-03-13 (read as 2020-03-13)
End
2020-08-31 (termination announced by addendum of June 29, 2020; see 004) (read as 2020-08-31)
In force
Mar. 13, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2020
Quarters
2020 Q22020 Q3
Limitation types
Workplace rulesOther
Addressees
  • All Governmental and Private Sector Partners
  • regulated entities
  • authorized States and tribes
Functions reached
  • OF compliance administration (monitoring, sampling, laboratory analysis, training, reporting)
  • PF production floor at permitted facilities
  • SC laboratories and sampling contractors
  • WF workforce (training and certification obligations)
Collection
Federal lands, science agencies and courts AGY-FED-LANDS-SCIENCE-COURTS

Operative words

This policy will apply retroactively beginning on March 13, 2020.... The EPA will exercise the enforcement discretion specified below for noncompliance covered by this temporary policy that results from the COVID-19 pandemic, if regulated entities take the steps applicable to their situations... EPA does not expect to seek penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring, integrity testing, sampling, laboratory analysis, training, and reporting or certification obligations in situations where the EPA agrees that COVID-19 was the cause of the noncompliance and the entity provides supporting documentation to the EPA upon request.

Enforcement

Conditions of the policy: entities must 'act responsibly under the circumstances in order to minimize the effects and duration of any noncompliance', identify the nature and dates of noncompliance, identify how COVID-19 was the cause, return to compliance as soon as possible and document all of the above; 'The enforcement discretion described in this temporary policy do not apply to any criminal violations'

Notes

The federal regulator's own record that COVID-19 orders prevented permitted facilities (manufacturers, utilities, agriculture, laboratories) from performing routine compliance obligations from March 13, 2020; the policy conditions relief on documentation of the order-caused noncompliance.

Retrieval note

Raw Wayback capture of EPA's own PDF (epa.gov returns 403 to automated requests).

A record of The COVID Project. The instrument's text is the source's; the summary fields are The COVID Project's reading of it. Not legal advice.