Energy

CARES Act Makes Significant Changes to Four Key Business Tax Provisions Enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

By John T. Bradford & Jeffrey P. Birdsong

March 28, 2020

On Friday, March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the CARES Act, which contains many provisions designed to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on businesses. Those provisions include the following four significant changes to the business tax provisions contained in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.…

E2 Law Blog

Before Making Pandemic Response Products, Consider Environmental Regulations

By Jillian Kirn & Candee Wilde

March 27, 2020

Yesterday, March 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a memorandum titled COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program. This guidance comes at a time when the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has upended ‘business as usual’ throughout the country and the world. Consumers empty shelves of hand sanitizer, health care workers face shortages of personal protective equipment, and ventilators for patients are in short supply. Many industries are pivoting, altering…

Environmental Law

U.S. EPA Issues Enforcement Discretion Guidance as COVID-19 Challenges the Regulated Community

By Jill Richardson & Heather Demirjian

March 27, 2020

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will temporarily exercise enforcement discretion, retroactive to March 13, 2020, in response to certain facility and operational non-compliance situations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA’s policy applies to noncompliance situations that generally fall in the realm of routine monitoring and reporting; settlement agreement and consent decree reporting obligations and milestones; failure of control or treatment equipment; and hazardous waste generation and disposal. It is important…

The Nickel Report

Deciphering EPA’s Temporary Enforcement Discretion Policy for COVID-19

By J. Tom Boer, Todd S. Mikolop, Samuel L. Brown, Alexandra Hamilton & Lauren A. Bachtel

March 27, 2020

Regulated industry has been expressing significant concern about disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and seeking assurance from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the extraordinary circumstances across the United States would be taken into account in the event of any unanticipated noncompliance. Yesterday, March 26, 2020, EPA’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) Assistant Administrator Susan Parker Bodine responded to these concerns with the issuance of a memorandum addressing…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

New USEPA COVID-19 Enforcement Guidance Issued (Plus Similar State Policies Being Announced)

By Mac Taylor

March 27, 2020

As an update to our previous post regarding COVID-19 and environmental compliance, new developments at the state and federal levels continue, especially with respect to the exercise of enforcement discretion. USEPA GUIDANCE Summary On March 26, 2020, USEPA issued a memorandum entitled COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program (the “COVID-19 Memorandum”). Through the COVID-19 Memorandum, subject to several conditions, USEPA has adopted a policy of not seeking penalties for violations of routine…

The Nickel Report

Maintaining Environmental Compliance During the Coronavirus Pandemic

By J. Tom Boer, Samuel L. Brown, Todd S. Mikolop & Alexandra Hamilton

March 27, 2020

As the country responds and adapts to unprecedented change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are, understandably, attempting to sort out what these shifts mean for operations now and in the near future. One operational aspect that companies must address is management of environmental compliance programs and responsibilities. Although it can be challenging to maintain compliance with environmental requirements during periods of uncertain or disrupted operations, doing so remains necessary as environmental regulatory…

The Energy Law Blog

COVID-19 as a Force Majeure? The Texas and Louisiana Perspectives

By Laura Springer Brown & Jillian Marullo

March 27, 2020

Today, countries worldwide are responding to a pandemic of respiratory disease spreading from person-to-person caused by a novel coronavirus. The disease has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”). The pandemic poses a serious public health risk, and government response has included closure of schools and businesses, declarations of emergency, and issuance of a variety of “stay home” orders—typically instructing all but “essential personnel” to remain in their residences other than to gather necessaries. These…

Energy & Environmental Law Adviser

EPA to Relax Civil Enforcement for Non-Compliance Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

By Daniel J. Deeb & Alex Garel-Frantzen

March 27, 2020

In recognition of the impact the COVID-19 outbreak is having on every facet of life, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a temporary enforcement discretion policy to excuse certain civil violations occurring during and due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the EPA expects regulated facilities to maintain compliance, the agency does not expect to seek penalties for noncompliance for routine environmental monitoring and reporting obligations provided certain conditions are met. Other activities, such as…

E2 Law Blog

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Issues Enforcement Discretion Policy to Address Civil Noncompliance during the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Bernadette M. Rappold

March 27, 2020

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum (Susan Parker Bodine, “COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program,” U.S. EPA, March 26, 2020) (Discretion Memo) granting enforcement discretion for virtually all civil violations of federal environmental laws during the COVID-19 pandemic. Timing The policy will apply retroactively from March 13, 2020, the date on which the president declared a national emergency, and will last until further notice. The EPA has…

Inside Energy & Environment

EPA Is “Especially Concerned” About FIFRA Noncompliance in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic

By Thomas Brugato

March 27, 2020

EPA on March 26 released a guidance document explaining its approach to enforcement actions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. While most aspects of that document explain areas in which EPA exercising enforcement discretion to provide flexibility to regulated parties in response to the pandemic, EPA is not taking that approach with respect to antimicrobial pesticide products, including disinfectants. To the contrary, EPA made clear that it is “especially concerned about pesticide products entering the…