In the News

Zealan Hoover, former Senior Adviser to the EPA Administrator and Director of Implementation, was quoted in The Brooklyn Paper. The people of South Williamsburg have, for decades, dealt with the long-term effects of  environmental abuses and climate change. 

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in Inside EPA. EPA’s plan to slash funding for state environmental and water infrastructure programs in its fiscal year 2026 budget is expected to significantly undercut states’ abilities to finance upgrades to drinking water systems to meet upcoming PFAS requirements and may undermine state efforts to regulate PFAS on their own, utility and other sources say.

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1, was quoted in Spectrum Local News. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie began his closing remarks just before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, marking the end of the legislative session and any hope that the State Assembly would pass the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act, one of the most closely watched bills this legislative session.

EPN was mentioned in Inside EPA. The Trump EPA’s plan to rewrite the Biden-era TSCA phaseout of the major uses of chrysotile asbestos and further delay litigation over the measure is raising questions over whether the agency will continue to enforce the existing rule as it expects it will take 30 months — much of the administration’s remaining term — to redo the rule.

Michelle Roos was quoted in AP News. The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal appeals court it will reconsider the Biden administration’s ban on the last type of asbestos used in the United States to determine whether it went “beyond what is necessary.”

EPN was mentioned in The Guardian. Proposals this week to weaken EPA restrictions will help tiny group of owners while ‘the American people will breathe dirtier air.’

Joe Goffman, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in Politico Pro. The agency argues U.S. emissions don’t amount to much globally and there’s no good way to reduce them. Critics call that rationale “nonsensical.”

Chris Frey, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development, co-authored an op-ed published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Recent reports suggest that the Trump administration plans to eliminate EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

EPN was mentioned in Inside EPA. Current and former EPA employees, including several past administrators, are warning that the Trump administration’s proposal to reclassify thousands of federal workers to allow at-will firings will politicize the civil service, promote corruption, increase fears of retaliation and irreparably damage agency expertise.

EPN was mentioned in Inside EPA. State officials and other sources say EPA’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, which seeks to slash funding for state environmental and water infrastructure programs, highlights Trump administration plans to cut the federal environmental commitment, while profoundly changing the agency’s long-term partnership with states.

Jeremy Symons, Senior Advisor to EPN, was quoted in AP News.

EPN was mentioned in AP News. The Trump EPA is aiming to undo or revise more than 30 major environmental regulations, many of them written or updated by the Biden administration.

EPN was mentioned in WTXL Tallahassee. TCDC and local leaders host public forum to explain the grant loss, discuss the appeal, and rally community support.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and Tracey Woodruff, former EPA Senior Scientist and Policy Advisor, were featured on NHPR.

EPN was mentioned in Chemical and Engineering News. Proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 slashes funding for science, technology, and enforcement.

Stan Meiburg, former Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in The Hill. EPA is down more than 700 career staffers so far this year, the agency told The Hill.

Amy Zimpfer, former Associate Director, Air Division, EPA Region 9, wrote a letter to the editor of the Marin Independent Journal about the importance of scientific integrity.

Zealan Hoover, former Senior Adviser to the EPA Administrator and Director of Implementation, was quoted in Grist. Critics argue the projects losing funding aren’t “woke,” they’re essential.

Michelle Roos was quoted in The Houston Chronicle.

Janet McCabe, former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in Mirror Indy. Residents want to know if the area’s industrial past is tied to Marion County health department study findings.

Matt Tejada, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, was quoted in The Globe and Mail. Trump’s regulatory rollback is poised to unleash a wave of pollution North America hasn’t seen since the 1960s.

Joe Goffman, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in Politico Pro. The agency’s expected justification for overturning the power plant rule could also absolve it from regulating other industries’ planet-warming emissions.

Rob Verchick, former Deputy Associate Administrator for Policy, was quoted in Bloomberg. When a series of deadly storms and tornadoes pummeled Arkansas in mid-March, downing power lines and tearing up homes, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders asked the federal government for money to not only help repair the damage, but also boost the state’s defenses against future disasters.

Andy Miller, former Senior Science Advisor, EPA Office of Research and Development, was quoted in Chemical and Engineering News. Trump’s executive order gives political appointees power to enforce standards that scientists call unattainable.