Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) Susan Bodine issued guidance regarding OECA enforcement discretion in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) COVID-19 pandemic. EPA intends to focus its resources largely on situations that may create an acute risk or imminent threat to public health or the environment. The guidance, which is retroactively effective to March 13, does not have an end date but EPA commits to reviewing the policy regularly and to providing a seven day notice of its termination on OECA’s guidance page.

The onset of the public health crisis caused by the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to a global shortage of hand sanitizer. Businesses attempting to cope with new challenges presented by COVID-19 may be interested in retooling current manufacturing or other processes to begin developing hand sanitizer for external distribution or even internal use. In support of these efforts, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued guidance for both companies that are not currently authorized by the FDA to manufacture hand sanitizer companies and pharmacists in state-licensed, federal, or registered outsourcing facilities compounders that may be interested in producing hand sanitizer. Companies that adhere to this guidance and maintain sufficient documentation should be able to manufacture hand sanitizer for external distribution or internal use without enforcement exposure from the FDA.

It is not unusual for a developing rule or other agency action to be something of a moving target, with an agency responding to comments in a way that leaves some in the regulated community complaining that they did not receive the required fair opportunity to comment before the rule or agency action became final.…

With the 2020 reporting period under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule rapidly approaching, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has announced a number of key changes to the information that chemical manufacturers and importers must submit to the agency pursuant to the CDR rule.  US EPA also announced that because of these changes the agency is giving companies more time this year to submit the information required by the CDR rule.

The CDR rule generally requires a chemical manufacturer (including an importer) to report to US EPA a wide range of production volume and use data for any substance that it has manufactured/imported in the amount of 25,000 lbs or more at any single site during any calendar year since the last principal reporting year (with certain exceptions).  For the upcoming 2020 report, this means that a company must make a CDR submission to US EPA for any substance it manufactured/imported in the amount of 25,000 lbs or more during any of the calendar years 2016-2019.  Moreover, a company must report the same information for any substance that it manufactured/imported in the amount of 2,500 lbs or more, if the substances is the subject of certain TSCA actions (e.g., certain orders and rules).

California agencies are beginning to provide clarification and directives to guide regulatory compliance following local “shelter in place” orders to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Governor Gavin Newsom’s state-wide “stay at home” order issued on March 19, 2020. While the State Department of Public Health is taking the lead in coordinating the state-level response, other regulatory agencies responsible for essential services and facilities have begun to issue their first formal directives related to environmental compliance and safety.

The emphasis of regulatory directives thus far are clear: all requirements related to critical infrastructure remain in effect, with special provisions for immediate notification if there are circumstances or current government directives that could impede timely compliance.

Coronavirus

Following Governor Abbott’s recent proclamation of a state of disaster in Texas due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) have issued guidance for regulated entities relating to environmental compliance concerns as well as other useful information relative to agency operations during these uncertain times.

Over the past week and in just the last 24 hours, several federal and state agencies have issued guidance documents and orders impacting the oil and gas pipeline industry. Through this guidance and other orders, federal and state governments are recognizing the oil and gas industry as critical to responding to COVID-19, while at the same time providing for some flexibility in the likelihood that operators will face resource and staffing constraints in executing their pipeline safety compliance obligations.