EPA relaxes regulations for COVID-19, but, it's not what many news outlets are reporting

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just announced a temporary enforcement discretion policy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo Credit: EPA website

The new policy is not, we repeat, IS NOT a repeal of existing environmental regulations that would allow regulated industries and other entities carte blanche to operate their equipment and processes in violation of their permits and regulations.

Several news outlets have reported otherwise, including statements from former EPA employees that are flat out wrong and totally misrepresent what EPA has done.

What the policy does do, however, is relax civil penalties in the event that an operator cannot meet certain monitoring, record-keeping, storage, operational, and other requirements during the pandemic. In order to utilize this policy, the operator must do the best it can to continue operating in compliance AND it must demonstrate and document legitimate reasons related to COVID-19 that caused it to operate out of compliance.

One such example would be a requirement to conduct quarterly or yearly source testing by a certain date or frequency. Most companies are required as part of their permits to utilize third-party, independent testing companies to perform these and other tests. If during the pandemic, the testing lab closed down or was otherwise unable to provide its employees to perform the test, the affected company would find itself technically in non-compliance with environmental regulations, EVEN THOUGH THE EQUIPMENT THAT NEEDED TO BE TESTED WAS OPERATING NORMALLY AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH ITS EMISSION LIMITS.

"EPA is committed to protecting human health and the environment, but recognizes challenges resulting from efforts to protect workers and the public from COVID-19 may directly impact the ability of regulated facilities to meet all federal regulatory requirements," said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. "This temporary policy is designed to provide enforcement discretion under the current, extraordinary conditions, while ensuring facility operations continue to protect human health and the environment."

For a complete explanation of what EPA has done, please check the following links:

EPA Announces Enforcement Discretion Policy for COVID-19 Pandemic

EPA Policy on Enforcement during the COVID-19 outbreak

EPA Cornoavirus Website

Ford joining forces with 3M, GE, and UAW to build hospital respirators, ventilators, and face shields from F-150 seat fans and other off-the-shelf parts

Ford Motor Company announced yesterday that it will be joining forces with 3M, GE, and the UAW to address the critical shortage of certain hospital equipment necessary to treat patients and protect health care workers and first responders.

Operators and assemblers assemble medical face shields.

Photo Credit: Ford Motor Co. (Fair Use)

The company plans to use seat ventilation fans from its F-150 truck and 3M HEPA air filters to manufacture powered air purifying respirators (PARS). These units pull contaminated air thru the filter and send it into an enclosed face mask. The units will use portable tool battery packs to provide up to 8 hours of power.

In addition, Ford and GE Healthcare are working to increase production of a simpler version of GE's existing ventilator system to help patients with respiratory failure or breathing difficulties caused by COVID-19.

Finally, Ford has been creating and will soon test transparent full-face shields for medical workers and first responders. When used with N95 respirators, they will provide added protection to limit exposure to the virus.

For more information, including a schematic of the proposed PARS design:

How Ford Is Using Seat Ventilation Fans to Build Thousands of Respirators

Grocery shopping tips to minimize risks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

We hope you all are doing your best to stay safe during this worldwide emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo credit: Consumer Reports (fair use)

Here are some tips on how to minimize the risks to you, your family, and those you encounter when buying groceries and other items from the grocery store.

How to protect yourself from Coronavirus when grocery shopping


Stay safe!

CDC to hold online COVID-19 webinar on Wednesday, March 18

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will hold an informational webinar tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PDT).

Experts from CDC will discuss the current state of the pandemic, what CDC is doing to respond, and how partners, organizations, and the public can help.

The webinar may be viewed on Facebook at the CDC's Emergency Preparedness and Response page.

Closed captioning for the hearing impaired will be available.

Governor Newsom calls for the shutdown of bars, wineries, brewpubs, and the home isolation of seniors and others

California's Governor Gavin Newsom today called for additional measures to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic and protect the health and safety of Californians.

In a press conference this afternoon (see video link below), the Governor called for the closure of all bars, wineries, and brew pubs, referring to them as non-essential services. In addition, he asked that all those 65 and over self-isolate in their homes, as well as those with pre-existing conditions.

The Governor also said that at this time, he is not calling for the closure of restaurants, however, he directed that they reduce their capacity in half and implement social distancing measures for their patrons.

It was unclear as to whether the Governor's actions were an official order or proclamation or not. In his comments, he briefly referred to potential enforcement actions, but, he said, as with previously issued guidance, the private sector for the most part has responded positively to that guidance. He expects the same to happen now.

What does California's COVID-19 emergency mean for entertainment venues?

As the spread of the coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, continues across the country, California's Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state emergency on March 4, 2020. The declaration specified measures that are to be taken to protect public health, prevent price gouging, offer more assistance to local governments, and allow health care workers to come from outside the state.

Photo © Frank J. Maccioli

The official proclamation may be seen here: Proclamation of a State of Emergency

Additionally, the California Department of Public Health (CPDH) has developed a website for the latest COVID-19 updates and information.

Included on that website are a series of Guidance Documents, including among others, recommendations for how entertainment venues should address the developing pandemic to minimize the health risks to their performers, employees, and patrons. Those recommendations may be found here:

CDPH Guidance for the Prevention of COVID-19 TransmissionIn Entertainment Venues, March 13, 2020

Many of California Environmental News' friends and supporters are members of the entertainment industry - musicians, actors, producers, venue owners. Most, if not all of them, have been impacted by this pandemic and are closely following the above procedures, some of which are shown below:

• Keep attendance under 250 persons per individual theater and ensure that social distancing of six feet per person for non-family members is maintained and make clear that family members can sit together, stand in line together etc. 
• Suspend reserved seating to allow patrons to self-separate 
• Reduce capacity to 50-60% per showing 
• Increase frequency of cleaning and sanitizing per CDC Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection guidance on high contact areas/hard surfaces including snack counters, door handles/hinges, etc. 
• Increase cleaning and sanitizing of restrooms 
• Sanitize seats and tray tables between showings 
• Train employees on best hygiene practices including washing their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds 
• Increased spacing of show times to allow for more thorough cleaning of individual theaters 
• Have ushers monitor social distancing practices in theaters and encourage additional distance between guests as appropriate 
• Limiting the number of people in lines 
• Additional opportunities throughout the theater for persons to reduce the spread of the virus through hand washing or sanitizing stations 
• Eliminate events/marketing that target individuals that CDPH has identified as being at higher risk for COVID-19.

As a prudent measure for your own protection, be sure to contact any venue you may be attending to ensure that they are following the recommended procedures and to determine what other measures they may be doing to protect your health, the health of their employees, and the general public.

Be safe out there! We are all in this together!

World Health Organization declares coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) today declared that the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has become a pandemic.

Photo Credit: Screenshot, Dr. Tedros' March 11, 2020 News Conference/Twitter feed (Fair use)

You may view the announcement at the following link:

WHO declares Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

From the Twitter feed of Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director of WHO:

"@WHO is deeply concerned by the alarming levels of the #coronavirus spread, severity & inaction, & expects to see the number of cases, deaths & affected countries climb even higher. Therefore, we made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic."

Just what is a "pandemic?" In simple terms, a pandemic results when an infectious disease spreads internationally or worldwide, as opposed to an epidemic, which may be restricted to localized areas. (Ref.: Pandemic definition )
To date, the spread of coronavirus and the disease it causes (COVID-19) since its discovery in December of 2019 has resulted in over 125,000 known cases, over 4,600 known deaths, and over 67,000 known recoveries. As of March 11, 2020 at 19:41 GMT, there have been 1109 confirmed cases and 31 deaths due to coronavirus COVID-19 in the United States.  (Ref.: Coronavirus Update)
UPDATE: According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), as of March 10, 2020, there have been 157 confirmed cases and 2 deaths from COVID-19 in California. Those numbers do not include passengers on the Grand Princess cruise ship currently docked in Oakland, CA.

Questions and answers about the coronavirus from the World Health Organization

People understandably have been hearing lots of conflicting reports about the spread and impacts of the coronavirus outbreak and the disease it causes, COVID-19. Lots of people dismiss it as being far less dangerous than the flu and others compare it to the zombie apocalypse.

Photo Credit: WHO/Getty Images (fair use)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has compiled a list of questions and answers that address most if not all of the questions you may have. Of note is that although the symptoms of COVID-19 are generally considered to be mild, 1 in 5 of those afflicted with the disease require hospitalization. That's 20 percent for those of us who may be mathematically challenged.

Additionally, according to WHO, there is no evidence that current medicine exists that can cure or prevent the disease.

Considering that the disease is still spreading across the world with no real end in sight, the concern about COVID-19 is, and please pardon this pun which may be in bad taste, "nothing to sniff at."

BNP Paribas Tennis Open in Indian Wells, CA CANCELLED due to coronavirus

The 2020 BNP Paribas Tennis Open has just been cancelled due to concerns related to the coronavirus, COVID-19. The Mens and Womens professional tournament is considered by many to be the fifth major tennis tournament in the world, next to the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.

Photo Credit: BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament website

Tournament officials just announced the cancellation via a statement on the tournament website. The reason given was that the Riverside County Public Health Department has declared a public health emergency for the Coachella Valley after a confirming a local case of the COVID-19 virus.

“There is too great a risk, at this time, to the public health of the Riverside County area in holding a large gathering of this size,” said Dr. David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. “It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighboring areas for this tournament to proceed. We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak.”

At the time of this writing, the Riverside County Public Health Department had not yet posted any information about the emergency on its website. However, the website did note that a Riverside County resident who was a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship contracted the disease, but, was being quarantined in Northern California. Additionally, the County has activated a special Department Operations Center (DOC) in response to its efforts to ramp up its response to the virus.

(UPDATE, 3/9/20: The Riverside County Public Health Department website has just published the Emergency Declaration, dated March 8, 2020. You may see it at this link: Local Health Emergency )

“We appreciate the proactive stance tournament organizers are taking to ensure public health and safety,” said Martin Massiello, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Eisenhower Health.

“We are very disappointed that the tournament will not take place, but the health and safety of the local community, fans, players, volunteers, sponsors, employees, vendors, and everyone involved with the event is of paramount importance,” said Tournament Director Tommy Haas. “We are prepared to hold the tournament on another date and will explore options.”

Those who have purchased tickets may request refunds on the tournament website.

BNP Paribas Tennis Open taking steps to address Coronavirus COVID-19

One of California's biggest professional tennis tournaments,  the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, has just announced a major response to the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19.

The men's and women's professional tennis tournament, often referred to as the tennis world's 5th major, is scheduled for March 8 - 21, 2020.

Event organizers are offering refunds for tickets already purchased or an option to use them as a credit for the 2021 tournament.

Additional actions include:

• Installation of more than 250 hand sanitation stations throughout the facility.
• Players, and not ball kids, will be required to manage their own towels on court. Ball kids will not touch or move the towels.
• Ball kids, restaurant and food supply workers, and volunteers at ticket entrances will wear gloves.
• N95 masks are being secured for first aid and health personnel.
• Organized player and fan interaction will be limited.
• All common areas will be cleaned daily with antivirals.
• Coordinating with a local hospital and CDC approved testing for all individuals with symptoms.

For more information: Statement Regarding Coronavirus

Here's a USEPA approved list of disinfectants to use against the Coronavirus

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has just announced the release of a list of EPA-registered disinfectants that may be used against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Photo Credit: CDC Center for Disease Control and Prevention 

As you may know, California's Governor Gavin Newsome declared a state of emergency this past Wednesday as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in the state. 

“Using the correct disinfectant is an important part of preventing and reducing the spread of illnesses along with other critical aspects such as hand washing,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “There is no higher priority for the Trump Administration than protecting the health and safety of Americans. EPA is providing this important information in a public and transparent manner on disinfectant products to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

Some of the disinfectants appear to be products commonly found in grocery stores and other retail markets, including products made by Clorox, Lysol, and Purell, among others.

The EPA approved list may be found at this link: 

List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2

Here we go again - nearly 50,000 gallons of oil fluids released from Chevron's Cymric Oilfield seep

The Bakersfield Californian has just reported that Chevron's Cymric oil seep, the one that was instrumental in causing California Governor Gavin Newsome to stop the state from issuing new steam injection permits, has once again begun leaking oil to the surface.

The early days of Chevron's Cymric Oilfield seep in 2019

Photo Credit: California Office of Spill Prevention and Response 

The latest "spill" contained almost 47,000 gallons (115 barrels) of produced fluid, approximately 588 gallons of which were crude oil, according to the paper.

Chevron was fined $2.7 million dollars last October for the seepage from its operations near McKittrick, CA, raising questions about whether the oil industry has been sufficiently regulated in the state.

Those questions have resulted in the aforementioned ban and other changes in how oil development permits are issued to the industry and in Kern County in particular.

CaHSRA issues draft EIR/EIS for Bakersfield to Palmdale segment of bullet train

The California High Speed Rail Authority (CaHSRA) has just released a draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for a segment of the project that will connect Bakersfield to Palmdale in Los Angeles County.

The approximately 80-mile section of the state-wide project will include stations in Bakersfield and Palmdale while passing through or near the communities of Edison, Tehachapi, Rosamond, and Lancaster. It will close the existing passenger rail gap between Northern and Southern California.

The CaHRSA will be accepting public comments on the draft EIR/EIS until April 13, 2020, as it undergoes a required CEQA and NEPA review. The final EIR/EIS will be issued in 2021.

In addition, public hearings will be held as follows:

Lancaster
March 4,2020
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Jane Reynolds Park Activity Center
716 Oldfield Street
Lancaster, PA 93534

Bakersfield
March 5, 2020
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Edison Middle School Gym
721 S. Edison Road
Bakersfield, CA 93307

Rosamond
March 26, 2020
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Rosamond Public Library
3611 Rosamond Blvd.
Rosamond, CA 93560


For more information on the document and other ways to submit comments: Bakersfield to Palmdale Draft EIR/EIS