Pollution with impunity. Trump suspends anti-pollution laws in the US.

The Trump administration has just authorized companies to break anti-pollution laws during the Coronavirus pandemic. Companies will not face any penalties for polluting the air and water.

By: Oliver Milman and Emily Holden

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended the enforcement of environmental laws during the current Coronavirus outbreak, signaling to companies that they will not face any sanctions for polluting Americans' air or water.

In an extraordinary move that surprised former EPA officials, the Trump administration said it will not wait for compliance with routine pollution monitoring and reporting and will not impose penalties for violating these rules.

Polluters will be able to ignore environmental laws as long as they can somehow claim that these violations were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the event of an imminent threat to public health, the EPA will transfer investigations to the states and “consider the circumstances” regarding whether or not to intervene.

There is no set end date for this application to be removed.

There is particular concern about air and water pollution emitted by industrial facilities located in communities with a large number of low-income people and people of color.

Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the EPA, said that the Coronavirus has made it difficult for companies to protect workers and the public while also following clean air and clean water rules.

“This temporary policy is designed to provide enforcement discretion under the current extraordinary conditions, while ensuring that facility operations continue to protect human health and the environment,” Wheeler said.

The new stance has caused an uproar among former EPA employees and environmental groups, who warn that the sweep will pose an additional public health risk amid the pandemic.

The memorandum is an abdication of responsibility by the EPA.

“The EPA should never relinquish its right and obligation to act immediately and decisively when there is a threat to public health, no matter the reason,” said Cynthia Giles, EPA executive director during the Obama administration. “I know of no instance where the EPA has relinquished this fundamental authority as in this memorandum. This memorandum amounts to a nationwide moratorium on the enforcement of the nation’s environmental laws and is an abdication of the EPA’s responsibility to protect the public.” A letter sent to the EPA by Giles and several other environmental advocates states that while it may be “reasonable in limited circumstances” to relax certain enforcement during the crisis, the blanket relinquishment of environmental requirements poses a danger to the American public.

There is particular concern about air pollution emitted by industrial facilities, located predominantly in communities with a large number of low-income people and people of color. Covid-19 attacks the respiratory system, and its spread is causing states to scramble for more ventilators to prevent thousands of infected people from dying. The air pollution that industrial facilities will not have to monitor damages the respiratory system, which is especially dangerous for already at-risk populations who may also be infected by Covid-19, which attacks the lungs. “To excuse the potential release of excess toxic air pollutants and other pollutants that exacerbate asthma, respiratory difficulties, and cardiovascular problems in the midst of a pandemic that can cause respiratory failure is irresponsible from a public health standpoint,” the letter states.

Ten refineries have already exceeded the legal limits.

“It’s not simply a matter of examining reports and documents,” said Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project. “If you’re flying blind because you’re not monitoring pollution, and the public is blind because they’re not reporting it, many problems that arise when you do these things remain hidden,” Schaeffer added.

For example, oil refineries will not be required to report and reduce their carcinogenic benzene emissions. Ten refineries, most of them in Texas, have already far exceeded the limits.

The relaxation of environmental laws follows lobbying by the American Petroleum Institute, an oil and gas industry group, which sent a letter to the EPA this week asking for the suspension of rules requiring the repair of leaking equipment and pollution monitoring.

The EPA's decision goes even further than that request, although the regulator has said it expects companies to comply with the laws "where reasonably possible" and that it will not tolerate flagrant and intentional violations of the law.

However, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, indicated that the change could be challenged in court. “While it may seem and there may be no limit to the deference Trump and Wheeler are willing to show to corporate polluters, there is a limit to what the public will allow,” Brune said. “This illegal and reckless action will not be unchecked.”