Agency issues draft pollution enforcement priorities

摘要

EPA has opened a 30-day public comment period on a draft set of seven national pollution control priorities deemed worthy of special attention from fiscal 2020 through 2023. Under its latest list of "national compliance initiatives" published in today's Federal Register, the agency is proposing to extend three from the current 2017-2019 cycle aimed at cutting hazardous air pollutants, reducing emissions of air toxics from hazardous waste facilities, and reducing the risk of accidental releases from industrial and chemical plants. Two others that focused on meeting New Source Review air pollution permitting requirements and keeping raw sewage out of lakes and rivers would be shunted back to the standard enforcement program on the grounds that their objectives have largely been met. Two would be added: the first intended to increase compliance with drinking water standards, the other to reduce children's exposure to lead. Finally, EPA is proposing to rework two other existing initiatives. One sought to ensure that "energy extraction" activities comply with environmental laws, and the other focused on reduction of industrial discharges into the nation's waters.