Advocacy groups are working to protect public input on critical environmental and land management decisions in a socially distanced world focused on slowing the spread of COVID-19. Citizen access to information and resources has been limited by closures and movement restrictions. Meanwhile, industry groups say workplace changes designed to keep both employees and the public healthy make it more difficult for them to comply with monitoring and reporting laws. On March 26, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would suspend enforcement on a variety of environmental and public health monitoring and reporting regulations, provided the EPA finds the noncompliance was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new standard applies retroactively to violations dating back to March 13 and does not have an expiration date. To view the full article visit the Gillette News Record.
