On March 26, 2020, EPA announced that it will use “enforcement discretion” during the COVID-19 pandemic when regulated entities fail to comply with environmental requirements imposed by permits, regulations or consent decrees. Under the new policy, regulated facilities should use existing procedures to report noncompliance, or if no such procedures exist or reporting is impractical, maintain the information and make it available to the EPA or an authorized state or tribe on request. EPA does not expect to seek penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring, integrity testing, sampling, laboratory analysis, training, and reporting or certifications in situations where COVID-19 was the cause of the noncompliance. The policy could have implications for the climate if regulated entities avoid penalties for noncompliance with greenhouse gas reporting and monitoring requirements. Read more >>>