How the Election Could Affect Toxic Chemical Regulation
Betsy Southerland, former Director, Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, and Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, Former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development, were quoted in Undark about how toxic chemicals like PFAS would be regulated under a Trump administration versus Harris.
Observers See New Burdens From Possible High Court Deal On CWA Permits
Betsy Southerland, former Director, Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in Inside EPA about the impacts of requiring narrative conditions, the topic of the ongoing Supreme Court case City and County of San Francisco v. EPA, et al.
Former EPA Staff Tout ‘Probabilistic’ Risk Methods, Echoing TSCA Comments
Tracey Woodruff, former EPA senior scientist and policy advisor in EPA Office of Policy, and Director of the program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, UCSF, participated in a panel hosted by the National Toxicology Program and was quoted in Inside EPA, arguing that EPA should adopt probabilistic methods when developing risk assessments for non-cancer risks, opposed to the reference dose methods used currently.
The U.S. Must Replace Its Lead Pipes, According to New EPA Rule
Betsy Southerland, former Director, Science and Technology, Office of Water, was quoted on NPR’s All Things Considered about EPA’s new rule requiring all lead pipes to be replaced within the next ten years and the time crunch EPA was in to replace a Trump era rule.
Heritage Foundation’s Record Requests Rattle Feds
Bob Perciasepe, Former EPA Deputy Administrator, and Jeremy Symons, Senior Adviser to EPN, were quoted in E&E News about The Heritage Foundation’s FOIA request of over 2,000 records across all federal agencies.
Project 2025 Offers A False Choice: Climate Action Vs. Economic Growth
Margo Oge, former Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, penned an op-ed in Forbes refuting the false choice between economic growth or climate action that Project 2025 touts. Margo writes that Biden’s simultaneous success of an ambitious climate agenda and growth of the clean energy economy lay the foundation for a global clean energy transition.
EPA’s Drinking Water Limits for PFAS Are Under Threat – And That’s Nothing New
Elin Betanzo, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, and Ronnie Levin, former Senior Scientist, EPA Region 1, were quoted in The Guardian about lawsuits backed by the utility industry against EPA and its recent PFAS drinking water standards. The utilities allege that EPA did not use adequate science and data when writing the rule.
Black-Colored Plastic Used for Kitchen Utensils and Toys Linked to Banned Toxic Flame Retardants
Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP), was quoted in CNN about the dangerous levels of flame retardants found in black-colored plastic kitchen utensils and children’s toys.
‘It’s a Choice Between a Firefighter and a Climate Arsonist’: What the EPA Might Look Like Under Trump 2.0
Stan Meiburg, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting EPA Deputy Administrator, Jeremy Symons, Senior adviser to EPN, and Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former Acting Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development, were quoted in Fast Company about how if Project 2025 is implemented and EPA is politicized, it will be detrimental to public health and take decades to recover from.
EPA Alumni Attack Project 2025’s ‘Forever Chemicals’ Plans
Betsy Southerland, former Director of the Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, wrote an op-ed, “Project 2025 Ensures PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Will Contaminate Us Forever,” that was featured in E&E News.
Report: EPA Clean Air Benefits Include 200,000 Lives Saved
Jeremy Symons, Senior Adviser to EPN, and Rob Wolcott, former EPA Senior Counsel to ORD, were quoted in Public News Service about EPN’s latest report, Breathing Easy: An Assessment of Public Health Benefits from EPA Air Pollution Standards (2021-24).
Incredible Benefits of Cleaner Air Under Threat with Trump
Jeremy Symons, Senior Adviser to EPN, and EPN’s latest report, were featured in an op-ed in the Daily Herald Gazette in which the author writes of the dangers of Project 2025 and the potential elimination of EPA.
Project 2025 Would ‘Essentially Eviscerate EPA,’ Former Staff Warn
EPN’s latest report, Breathing Easy: An Assessment of Public Health Benefits from EPA Air Pollution Standards (2021–2024), and Stan Meiburg, former DRA, Region 6, and Acting Deputy Administrator, were featured in The Verge emphasizing EPA’s necessary air standards that help improve public health.
Biden’s Green Policies Will Save 200,000 Lives and Have Boosted Clean Energy Jobs, Data Shows
Jeremy Symons, Senior Adviser to EPN, was quoted in The Guardian about EPN’s report, saying that our analysis is “jaw-dropping.” An EPA spokesperson responded to the report, saying, “We appreciate the work of the Environmental Protection Network and look forward to reviewing their report.”
Former EPA Staff Highlight Benefits From EPA Air Rules At Risk In Election
EPN’s report, Breathing Easy: An Assessment of Public Health Benefits from EPA Air Pollution Standards (2021-24), was featured in Inside EPA. Rob Wolcott, former EPA Senior Counsel to EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and Jeremy Symons, senior adviser to EPN, were quoted.
Biden-Harris EPA Rules Save $253B/yr, 202k Lives; Project 2025 Seeks Rollback
EPN’s report, Breathing Easy: An Assessment of Public Health Benefits from EPA Air Pollution Standards (2021-24), was featured in Electrek and calls attention to the dangers of Project 2025.
In Project 2025 Rebuttal, Report Predicts Big Air Reg Benefits
EPN’s new report, Breathing Easy: An Assessment of Public Health Benefits from EPA Air Pollution Standards (2021-24), was featured in E&E News.
Continuing Resolution May Jeopardize Host Of EPA PFAS Initiatives
Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science & Technology in the Office of Water, was quoted in Inside EPA about how the House’s Continuing Resolution would slow down EPA’s PFAS projects, adding to the existing 8-month delay for manufacturers to report PFAS usage under TSCA.
NC Power Struggle Over PFAS Policy Intensifies After Nonprofits Petition for Federal Intervention
Betsy Southerland, former Director of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about a petition requesting that EPA withdraw water permitting authority from North Carolina because the state’s legislature is interfering with PFAS regulation.
Feds Could Restrict Withdrawals From Wells for Hyundai Site Near Savannah, Experts Say
Stan Meiburg, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in Savannah Morning News about the Army Corps of Engineers reconsidering a permit approval for Hyundai’s Motor company to extract 6.6 million gallons of water a day from a Bryan County, GA, aquifer.
EPA Thought Industry-Funded Scientists Could Support Its Conclusion That a Long-Regulated Pesticide Is Not a Cancer Risk
Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP), and Tracey Woodruff, former EPA Senior Scientist and Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at UCSF, were quoted in Inside Climate News about EPA’s use of an external review firm with ties to chemical and manufacturing industries to classify the pesticide 1,3-D.
Environmentalists, EPA Alumni Defend Legality Of PM2.5 NAAQS Rule
EPN’s amicus brief filed in support of EPA’s PM2.5 NAAQS was quoted in Inside EPA. The briefing detailed that the rule aligned with EPA’s past practices and scientific methodology.
Scientists Tied to Chemical Industry Plan to Derail PFAS Rule on Drinking Water
Penny Fenner-Crisp, former Senior Science Advisor to the Director, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, and Betsy Southerland, former Director of the Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, were quoted in The Guardian about the NGO run by Michael Dourson, a controversial former EPA staffer turned industry scientist, who is developing peer-reviewed science for chemical companies to use against EPA’s PFAS drinking water standards.
Fluoride and IQ
Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP), was quoted in NPR about a study from the National Institutes of Health that associates high fluoride consumption from drinking water with lower IQ in children.