by Patrick J. Paul Traditionally, Labor Day weekend in the United States means “back-to-school.” In this pandemic year, however, many schools remain closed indefinitely to in-person learning, while others opened early with the goal of completing the semester coincident with Thanksgiving break in November, thus limiting travel and the potential for future spread. As educational […]
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by Patrick Paul As we reported previously, researchers at Arizona State University in Tempe have been evaluating the possible link between wastewater and the spread of the coronavirus in local communities. Similar research is also being conducted in Northern Arizona and throughout the world. More particularly Crystal Hepp, an assistant professor at the Northern Arizona […]
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by Patrick Paul, Chris Colyer, Michael Ford In prior blogs (available here and here), we’ve reported on changes to certain federal and state environmental enforcement policies related to COVID-19. In a nutshell, these policies essentially clarified the enforcement priorities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and certain other state agencies like the Arizona Department […]
by Patrick J. Paul Having recently been granted an emergency Part 107 waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration, Novant Health, Inc., a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system headquartered in North Carolina, in partnership with San Francisco-based drone delivery company, Zipline, has commenced medical drone delivery for the first time in the United States. Novant announced the […]
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by Patrick Paul As the case for drone use to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic, whether to enforce social distancing guidelines, announce current developments, or deliver needed medical and food supplies, grows internationally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 14, 2020, announced the enabling of drone use for COVID-19 response efforts within the […]
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By Patrick Paul, Chris Colyer and Michael Ford On April 10, 2020, the U.S. EPA published “Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19.” Directed specifically to the Agency’s Regional Administrators, the interim guidance was issued for response actions related to cleanup and emergency response sites where EPA is the lead agency […]
by Patrick J. Paul As COVID-19 continues its spread across the U.S. and globe and governments react with historic aid measures, social distance and stay at home orders, it seems opportunities for accelerated drone deployment to help with the COVID-19 spread in the U.S. may be missed. Drones can reduce human involvement in the supply […]
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by Patrick J. Paul Researchers from Arizona State University are evaluating Tempe wastewater for traces of COVID-19, which could serve as an early warning system of the virus’s spread in communities. Although believed to be among the first cities in America to study the possible connection between community spread of the coronavirus through wastewater systems, the […]
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by Patrick J. Paul, Chris Colyer, and Michael C. Ford On March 31, 2020, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) issued a Memorandum of Compliance and Enforcement Implementation During COVID-19. This memo of compliance is consistent with the March 26, 2020 United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Memorandum entitled COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement […]
by Patrick J. Paul As the Coronavirus pandemic continues its spread across the globe, the case for drone delivery is rapidly gaining international attention and consequently may have regulatory approval fast-tracked. In China, drone delivery systems previously utilized for residential mail delivery were re-purposed in the medical supplies field to assist hospitals’ response to the […]
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