"Three days before EPA issued a policy signaling to industry it would not penalize companies for failing to comply with environmental laws during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the American Petroleum Institute sent the agency a wish list.
The oil and gas lobby got more than it had hoped for.
"This policy, it didn't miraculously happen. It came about because this administration is spending more time concerned about the fossil fuel industry than it is about people and their health," Obama-era EPA chief Gina McCarthy said. "All I know is that API wrote a letter. And then, not a very long time [passed], and this came out."
The nationwide policy was an unprecedented move by EPA and came as the Trump administration continues to march ahead with a deregulatory agenda. It also came as President Trump's quest for "energy dominance" has suffered due to depressed energy demand worldwide."
Kelsey Brugger and Corbin Hiar report for Greenwire April 1, 2020.
SEE ALSO:
"Trump To Meet With Oil Industry CEOs Amid Price Drop" (The Hill)
"Group Asks EPA to Address Opening for ‘Abuse’ in Pandemic Plan" (Bloomberg Environment)
"EPA: Enviros Eye Lawsuit Over 'Non-Enforcement Policy'" (Greenwire)
"Oil Industry Group Asks Trump Administration To Lessen Regulations Amid Coronavirus" (The Hill)
"API Asks Trump For Help" (Oilprice)
"U.S. Oil Industry Asks Trump For Regulatory Relief During Coronavirus Outbreak" (Reuters)
"Oil Companies on Tumbling Prices: ‘Disastrous, Devastating’" (New York Times)
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