Fourteen AGs Urged EPA to Rescind Non-Enforcement Policy Amid Coronavirus Crisis

APRIL 15, 2020

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 14 attorneys general in sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging the agency to rescind its suspension of monitoring and reporting requirements under a range of federal environmental laws during the coronavirus pandemic. In their letter, the AGs warned that the EPA “cannot—in the midst of a public health crisis—lose sight of its mission to protect public health and the environment.” The coalition highlighted the particular risk the policy poses to vulnerable communities who are already disproportionately harmed by the pandemic, and warned that under the policy, the EPA “may forego enforcement even in situations where a polluter’s noncompliance presents an imminent threat to public health or the environment.”