> The enforcement discretion described in this temporary policy do not apply to any criminal violations or conditions of probation in criminal sentences.
...
> This policy does not apply to imports.
They are relaxing REPORTING requirements - not giving a free pass to anyone dumping whatever they want. Obviously.
From the memo that generated the news story you linked:
> IV. Accidental Releases
Nothing in this temporary policy relieves any entity from the responsibility to prevent, respond to, or report accidental releases of oil, hazardous substances, hazardous chemicals, hazardous waste, and other pollutants, as required by federal law, or should be read as a willingness to exercise enforcement discretion in the wake of such a release.
If one wished to be nit-picky, one might note that the part you quote is explicitly about "accidental" releases, so arguably does not apply to the deliberate release that the originator of this thread branch was talking about. :-)
There is a separate note about criminal violations not facing “enforcement discretion”, which unless I'm mistaken covers pretty much any intentional release.
> The enforcement discretion described in this temporary policy do not apply to any criminal violations or conditions of probation in criminal sentences.
...
> This policy does not apply to imports.
They are relaxing REPORTING requirements - not giving a free pass to anyone dumping whatever they want. Obviously.
READ THE EPA STATEMENT..
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-03/documents...
> The enforcement discretion described in this temporary policy do not apply to any criminal violations or conditions of probation in criminal sentences.
...
> This policy does not apply to imports.
They are relaxing REPORTING requirements - not giving a free pass to anyone dumping whatever they want. Obviously.