Arkansas' environmental regulators will allow companies to operate under relaxed coronavirus enforcement guidance, even as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moves to formally end its version of the relaxed policy next month.
In a July 2 memorandum, Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment Secretary Becky Keogh noted the EPA's upcoming termination of its policy, but said her department's pandemic guidance "remains in effect while we monitor conditions in Arkansas and act according to what is best for Arkansas."
Both state and federal policies allow for enforcement discretion if regulated entities cannot meet environmental health and safety requirements, as long as their noncompliance is directly related to the coronavirus outbreak.
The EPA will terminate its guidance at the end of August, the agency announced late last month.
In an interview Tuesday, Keogh pointed out that the EPA has left the door open to enforcement on a case-by-case basis before or after the agency's enforcement guidance is officially terminated.
"That is actually the approach Arkansas took in setting up our enforcement discretion" from the start, Keogh said.
She added that Arkansas regulators feel the case-by-case enforcement discretion "has actually served us well to demonstrate that most of our regulated entities have been very creative and innovative, and found ways to remain in compliance and demonstrate all their compliance."
The EPA's relaxed enforcement guidance preceded the Arkansas department's issuance of a similar version of the guidance in late March.
Keogh told the the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that state regulators want to align the timeline of the department's covid-19 guidance with Gov. Asa Hutchinson's state of emergency declaration, which is slated to expire Aug. 3.
Environmental advocates have criticized the shift to relaxed enforcement during the covid-19 pandemic in light of preliminary research which suggests the viral respiratory disease may be more severe in people living in areas with higher levels of air pollution.
"allow" - Google News
July 19, 2020 at 04:55PM
https://ift.tt/3jiYerF
Arkansas environmental agency to allow relaxed virus guidance - Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
"allow" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2KTEV8j
https://ift.tt/2Wp5bNh
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Arkansas environmental agency to allow relaxed virus guidance - Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette"
Post a Comment