LDEQ issued an amended Declaration of Emergency and Administrative Order on March 27, 2020. In terms of regulatory relief, it offers little more than prior orders.

LDEQ extended the deadline for submitting Title V Semiannual Monitoring and Deviation reports and Annual Compliance Certifications, which are ordinarily required to be submitted on March 31. They must be submitted no later than May 1, 2020. LDEQ did state that it maintains the capability to physically receive reports to the extent that the reports can be submitted to the Department by the March 31st deadline. Continue reading “UPDATE 2 – Regulatory Relief in the Environmental Arena Lags Behind” →

After several national trade organizations, such as the American Petroleum Institute, petitioned EPA for regulatory relief during the COVID-19 crisis, EPA provided some relief on March 26, 2020. Susan Bodine, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, issued a memorandum to “all governmental and private sector partners” announcing that EPA “will exercise [its] enforcement discretion … if regulated entities take the steps applicable to their situations, as set forth in this policy.” For noncompliance that occurs during the time the policy is in place, the policy announced in the memorandum “will apply to such noncompliance in lieu of an otherwise applicable EPA enforcement response policy.”

Importantly, the policy is retroactive to March 13, 2020. EPA will apply the policy to actions, inactions, or omissions that occur while the policy is in effect even after the policy terminates.

Although the policy announces that EPA will utilize its enforcement discretion, it placed numerous conditions on the application of that discretion. A failure to meet the necessary conditions will likely result in an enforcement action by EPA. If you need help and assistance regarding compliance obligations during the COVID-19 crisis, please contact us or seek other legal assistance. Continue reading “UPDATE – Regulatory Relief in the Environmental Arena Lags Behind” →

At this time, the primary environmental regulatory agencies have done very little to assist regulated entities address the impacts of COVID-19 on personnel and compliance. While the governors urge or mandate that people stay at home, EPA, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have, for the most part, not relaxed monitoring and reporting requirements. However, the American Petroleum Institute (API) has petitioned EPA for regulatory relief.

In Texas, Governor Abbott has urged people to stay at home but, as of this writing, has not issued an order. In Louisiana, though, Governor Edwards did issue an order on March 22, 2020. Proclamation No. 33 JBE 2020. It states that “all individuals … are under a general stay-at-home order and are directed to stay home unless performing an essential activity.” To determine what is an essential activity, the Governor adopted the Department of Homeland Security’s guidance issued through the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). See www.cisa.gov/identifying-critical-infrastructure-during-covid-19. Continue reading “Regulatory Relief in the Environmental Arena Lags Behind” →

The US Department of Justice announced it will no longer include environmental projects in settlements of environmental cases in which civil penalties are sought. This decision casts great doubt on the future of Supplemental Environmental Projects, or SEPs. Over the years, SEPs have been popular with EPA and industry, proven valuable in settling cases, and directed resources in a manner that benefits the environment.

In its 2015 Update of its SEP Policy, EPA defined a SEP as “an environmentally beneficial project or activity that is not required by law, but that a defendant agrees to undertake as part of the settlement of an enforcement action.” The project goes beyond what could legally be required in order for the defendant to return to compliance and secures environmental and/or public health benefits in addition to those achieved by compliance with applicable laws. Continue reading “Are SEPs On Their Way Out?” →