Mack McGuffey and Andrea Wortzel, partners in Troutman Pepper’s Environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group, are quoted in the Law360 article, “Biggest Environmental Policy Actions of 2021.”

“The disapproval made the oil and gas standards immediately effective across a wider range of facilities, and statements from EPA suggest it may not have much sympathy for facilities unable to begin compliance immediately,” Mack McGuffey, a partner at Troutman Pepper, said of the move.

“The draft strategic plan includes specific goals and strategies focused on achieving compliance with the Civil Rights Act along with compliance with environmental statutes,” said Troutman Pepper Partner Andrea Wortzel. “Rather than receiving and responding to complaints, EPA’s Civil Rights Office will now be proactively engaged in inspections and reviews focused on civil rights and environmental justice.”

She said that although it’s unclear how those strategies will be implemented and how they will be passed down to state and local agencies, it is clear that environmental justice will play a central role in agency permitting and enforcement.

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