An Update from the EPA
Mike Lee
March 23, 2020
The last week of March tends to be one of the busiest weeks of the year at Huco. Our consultants who work in our Greenhouse Gas Reporting Practice tend to find themselves swamped preparing reports for our clients. With the COVID-19 Crisis impacting most aspects of life, we reached out to the EPA to understand what affects this pandemic would have on reporting this year. We have copied their response below in case you have not heard this information yet:
“On March 13, 2020, President Trump proclaimed that the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States constitutes a national emergency. This outbreak has caused widespread disruptions as communities implement protective public health measures.
Due to this situation, facilities may encounter difficulties that prevent them from submitting their Annual GHG reports for reporting year 2019 by the March 31, 2020 deadline. The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program would like to inform these facilities that the e-GGRT system will remain open past this deadline for all first-time submissions and resubmissions.”
If you have any questions, need tips on working remote or even just need someone to talk to during this difficult time, please don’t hesitate to reach out. In addition, the EPA helpline is still open, and can be reached at GHGReporting@epa.gov. We understand that this situation is difficult for everyone and are always here to help!
Update (03/26/2020): Discretionary Enforcement
“The EPA does not expect to seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations that are the result of the COVID-19 pandemic” as long as companies “document decisions made to prevent or mitigate noncompliance and demonstrate how the noncompliance was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Visit the EPA press release for full details.