State regulators are giving mixed responses to the EPA’s relaxed enforcement on a range of environmental obligations by facilities affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Environmental Protection Agency said this week it wouldn’t seek penalties for violations covered by the emergency policy.
But most states are involved in the actual day-to-day-work of enforcing environmental permitting programs based on federal rules and policies. So while some states plan to defer to the EPA’s latest guidance, others indicated they will not.
Different responses from different states will create headaches for companies with operations across the nation, said Joel Gross, who headed the ...