Firms bypass emissions rules
Oil, gas companies win approval to skip environmental regulations
Thousands of oil and gas operations, government facilities and other sites have won permission to stop monitoring for hazardous emissions or otherwise bypass rules intended to protect health and the environment because of the coronavirus outbreak, AP has found.
The result: approval for less environmental monitoring at some Texas refineries and at an army depot dismantling warheads armed with nerve gas in Kentucky, manure piling up and the mass disposal of livestock carcasses at farms in Iowa and Minnesota, and other increased risks to communities as governments eased enforcement over smokestacks, medical waste shipments, sewage plants, oilfields and chemical plants.
The Trump administration paved the way for the reduced monitoring March 26 after being pressured by the oil and gas industry, which said lockdowns and social distancing during the pandemic made it difficult to comply with pollution rules.
States are responsible for much of the oversight of federal environmental laws, and many followed with their own policies.
AP’s two-month review found that waivers were granted in more than 3,000 cases, representing the overwhelming majority of requests citing the outbreak.
Hundreds were approved for oil and gas companies. AP reached out to all 50 states citing open-records laws; all but one, New York, provided at least partial information, reporting the data in differing ways and with varying level of detail.
Almost all those requesting waivers told regulators they wanted to minimise risks for workers and the public during a pandemic – although a handful reported they were trying to cut costs.
The Environmental Protection Agency says its clemency does not authorise exceeding pollution limits. Regulators will pursue those who “did not act responsibly under the circumstances”, EPA spokesman James Hewitt said in an email.
But environmentalists and public health experts say it may be impossible to determine the impact.
“The harm from this policy is already done,” said Cynthia Giles, former EPA assistant administrator under the Obama administration.
EPA says it will end the clemency this month.