WASHINGTON _ The Environmental Protection Agency will end a temporary policy that relaxed reporting requirements on pollutants due to the coronavirus at the end of August, amid criticism that the pandemic policy has jeopardized public health.
Democratic lawmakers, several states and the agency's inspector general all criticized the EPA policy that went into effect in March, warning that it would lead to increased pollution and decreased monitoring. They also expressed concern that the policy did not have a clear end date.
The pandemic policy will now officially expire at midnight on Aug. 31, Susan Parker Bodine, author of the policy and assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance at the EPA, told McClatchy in an interview.
