LOS ANGELES Industry groups are pushing for California regulators to delay new environmental measures, including those meant to promote clean air. Their reason: the economic stress the COVID-19 pandemic is putting on their businesses.

Groups have sent at least six letters to California officials in the past two weeks requesting delays or modifications to new pollution limits on the oil and gas, transportation, building and agriculture sectors, according to documents shared with HuffPost. The rules are set to go into effect later this year, but industry is asking to push back or indefinitely delay those implementation dates.

The businesses represented say that given the economic strain, its simply not the time. Industries have seen success with that argument on the national level, after the Trump administration paused federal environmental regulations last month. But California, one of the most environmentally stringent states in the country, is a different battle. Given the long-standing industry opposition to the new rules, the effort to tie the coronavirus to the same regulations reeks of opportunism to critics made particularly disturbing as the rapidly spreading disease specifically affects peoples ability to breathe.