In the News

Jeff Alson, former Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article regarding EPA’s recently-proposed vehicle emissions standards and industry anticipation of the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration’s release of their Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.

Dave Coursen, former Attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, penned this op-ed discussing the House Republicans proposed budget for EPA, which would slash agency funding by 40% if enacted, blocking development of new programs and forcing cuts to existing programs.

Bernie Goldstein, former EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, co-authored this op-ed about particulate matter from wildfire smoke and other sources of air pollution and what needs to be done to combat poor air quality due to climate change.

Kristi Smith, counsel to advocacy groups challenging Clean Air Act permitting practices in Alabama and former Attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, was quoted in this article discussing EPA’s unanticipated decision to close investigations of civil rights complaints against Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Health.

Tracey Woodruff, Director of the University of California San Francisco Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and former Senior Scientist and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article about a study she co-led that found several harmful chemicals, including the PFAS chemical PFOS, in the blood of pregnant women who participated in the research.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, was quoted in this article about the low public awareness of PFAS’ ubiquity in drinking water systems.

This article discussing environmental groups’ concerns that Congress will permit CERCLA liability exemptions for industries that discharge PFAS quoted EPN’s letter to the Senate Environmental and Public Works committee on their proposed PFAS bill.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, was quoted in this article regarding an investigation that found soil contamination from lead-covered cables abandoned by phone companies. She was quoted in a related article in Yahoo! News.

Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, wrote this op-ed discussing how plastic and the chemicals associated with plastic threaten our health, the environment, and climate.

Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about the shortcomings of EPA’s new framework for reviewing new PFAS and significant new uses of existing PFAS.

Tracey Woodruff, Director, UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and former Senior Scientist and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article discussing a study she co-authored that analyzed documents from Dupont and 3M that outlined the companies’ efforts to hide the dangers of PFAS chemicals.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health and the National Toxicology Program, was quoted in this article discussing acceptable levels of PFAS in water systems and the greater risk of PFAS contamination for water supplies located near PFAS-manufacturing and military facilities.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article about differing opinions on how best to calculate whether drinking water systems are in compliance with EPA’s proposed PFAS drinking water standards.

Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article discussing the limitations EPA faces in its ability to regulate PFAS compounds as a class.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was quoted in this article about the potential impacts of a flatline budget appropriation for EPA in FY2024.

Bernie Goldstein, former EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development and former chair, EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, penned this op-ed discussing why the phasing out of household gas appliances will be beneficial to human health and the environment.

Bob Susmann, counsel to PEER and Center for Environmental Health and former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about his clients’ formal request to EPA asking the agency to stop Inhance, a leading manufacturer of plastic containers, from continuing to manufacture PFAS-contaminated containers.

Tracey Woodruff, Director, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco, and former Senior Scientist and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article discussing the research paper she co-authored that revealed chemical companies knew about the dangers of PFAS for years but failed to alert regulators and the public.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article discussing the many uncertainties in state-level water protections that have been created as a result of the Sackett vs. EPA decision.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about the impact of the Sackett decision on ephemeral and intermittent waters and streams and the need for congressional action to strengthen Clean Water Act protections.

Mark Ryan, former Assistant Regional Counsel, EPA Region 10, and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney at the Department of Justice, was quoted in this article discussing the significant narrowing of the definition of waters of the United States following the Supreme Court decision on Sackett vs. EPA.

Ronnie Levin, former Senior Scientist, EPA Region 1, and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, were quoted in this article discussing EPA’s decision to set drinking water standards for six PFAS compounds.

Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, penned this op-ed highlighting the many benefits of EPA’s proposed light-duty vehicle emissions standards and dispelling the false claims surrounding the proposal.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, Senior Vice President for Environmental Justice, National Wildlife Federation, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was interviewed on this news segment about a recent study that determined that communities of color are disproportionately exposed to PFAS in drinking water.