In the News

Robert Verchick, EPN member, chair of environmental law at Loyola University, and former Deputy Associate Administrator, EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article regarding ongoing issues with the city of Baton Rouge’s Stormwater Management Program.

Trish Koman, EPN member, air pollution researcher at the University of Michigan, and former senior environmental scientist, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article discussing PM2.5 and COVID-19.

Chris Zarba, EPN member and former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), was quoted in this article discussing the large volume of nominations for candidates willing to serve on the SAB this year.

Cliff Villa, EPN member and former EPA attorney, was interviewed in this news segment discussing a lawsuit filed by two pueblos in New Mexico over a Trump-era EPA rule that weakens protections of ephemeral waterways.

Margo Oge, EPN member and former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was interviewed for this article about the greenhouse gas emissions standards and the nation’s transition to electric vehicles.

Bob Sussman, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization attorney (and EPN member and former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator), was quoted in this article concerning environmental groups’ demand for a court-ordered deadline for EPA to complete the second part of its asbestos evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). He was quoted in similar stories appearing in Law 360 and Reuters. Bob was also quoted in an Inside EPA article discussing an industry push to loosen TSCA regulations on five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals.

Michelle Roos, EPN Executive Director, and Jeremy Symons, EPN member and consultant and former Climate Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, penned this op-ed discussing the progress made and the work that remains to be done at the EPA under the Biden administration.

Linda Birnbaum, EPN member and former EPA scientist, was quoted in this article discussing the challenges in assessing cumulative impacts when performing risk evaluations of chemical mixtures.

EPN members Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, and Eric Schaeffer, Executive Director of the Environmental Integrity Project and former Director, EPA Office of Civil Enforcement, were quoted in this article concerning EPA’s decision to halt operations at the Limetree oil refinery located on the island of St. Croix. Judith was also quoted in related articles about the Limetree refinery published by Reuters, Ecowatch, The Hill, CleanTechnica, Nation of Change, and The Guardian.

Tim Whitehouse, EPN member and former EPA senior attorney, was quoted in this article discussing an EPA inspector general report on the National Enforcement Investigations Center.

Bob Sussman, EPN member and former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, was quoted in this article regarding potential groundwater exposure to asbestos at Superfund sites.

Richard Grow, EPN member and former environmental protection specialist in EPA Region 9, was quoted in this article regarding the role of the Department of Justice in investigations involving Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. He was also quoted in an Inside EPA article discussing  EPA’s recent finding of discrimination issued to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. In addition, Richard was quoted in another Inside EPA article about the use of Title VI as a tool for environmental justice.

Mark Ryan, EPN member and former Regional Counsel, EPA Region 10, was quoted in this article concerning wetland preservation under President Biden’s “America the Beautiful” conservation plan.

EPN members Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, and Linda Birnbaum, former Director of NIEHS and former EPA scientist, were quoted in this article discussing chemical regulations that would assist President Biden’s pledge to end cancer as we know it.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article discussing Congressional proposals to bring back the Civilian Conservation Corps.

EPN members Penny Fenner-Crisp, former Senior Science Advisor to the Director, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, and Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, each wrote op-eds in this special section focusing on five years of the “new” Toxic Substances Control Act.

Judith Enck, EPN member and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was featured in this radio segment discussing a settlement reached between EPA, New York State, and a cement plant to resolve alleged violations of federal and state water regulations.

Dan Costa, EPN member and former National Program Director, Air, Climate, and Energy Research Program, EPA Office of Research and Development, was quoted in this article discussing political interference at EPA during the Trump administration.

Margo Oge, EPN member and former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article regarding a call for a national mandate for zero emission vehicles. She was quoted in a similar article appearing in The Hill.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article regarding President Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress.

Judith Enck, EPN member and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article concerning the merits of plastic policies being enacted in several states across the country.

Jeremy Symons, EPN member and consultant and former Climate Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, penned this op-ed discussing how far President Biden has gone on climate action during the first 100 days of his presidency.

EPN members Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, and Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, were quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article and in Chemical Watch concerning the release of the PFAS Action Plan. Betsy was quoted and EPN was mentioned in a WUSA9 article and news segment and a Bloomberg Law article also discussing the plan. Finally, EPN Executive Director Michelle Roos was quoted and EPN was cited in Government Executive.

EPN members Mustafa Santiago Ali, former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, and Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, were quoted in this article concerning how the American Jobs Plan could reinvigorate the Superfund program.