Faster Permitting Won’t Harm Environment, Top Trump Adviser Says

January 6, 2020 / by

Stephen Lee /

Bloomberg Environment

Brenda Mallory, EPN member and former General Counsel for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, was quoted in this article regarding potential changes to the National Environmental Policy Act and its effect on the permitting process. Brenda was also quoted in a similar article in EcoWatch.

Trump’s 2020 Plan: Change the Rules on Rules

Jan 3, 2020 / by

Kelsey Brugger /

Greenwire

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, is quoted in this article about Trump officials working to fundamentally change the way environmental rules are crafted. 

 

EPA’s Emergency Response Has Gaps, Watchdog Reports

Jan 3, 2020 / by

Stephen Lee /

Bloomberg Environment

EPN member Bonnie Bellow, former EPA Director, Public Affairs Division, Region 2, is quoted in this article about EPA’s incomplete inventory of what emergency response equipment it owns, where the pieces are located, and whether they still work.

Backlog of Toxic Superfund Clean-ups Grows Under Trump

Jan 2, 2020 / by

Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Brown, and Ed White /

Associated Press

EPN members Judith Enck, former EPA Regional Administrator for Region 2, and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, are quoted in this article about the Trump administration’s huge backlog of unfunded toxic Superfund clean-up projects. This piece also ran in The Washington Post, The Hour, and RiverBender.com, and the Minneapolis Star TribuneBetsy Southerland is quoted in a similar piece in The Hill.

Science Panel Staffed With Trump Appointees Says E.P.A. Rollbacks Lack Scientific Rigor

Dec 31, 2019 / by

Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman /

The New York Times

EPN member Chris Zarba, former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), is quoted in this article about letters from the SAB stating that three of President Trump’s most far-reaching and scrutinized proposals to weaken major environmental regulations are at odds with established science. Zarba is quoted in a similar article in Greenwire and Science Magazine.

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‘Too Valuable to Throw Away’: Brownfields Programs a Way for Former Industrial Sites to Get New Life

Dec 29, 2019 / by

Natalie Alms /

Salisbury Post

EPN Board member Stan Meiburg, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, is quoted in this article about the Kesler Mill “brownfield” site in Salisbury, North Carolina, which has applied for a federal cleanup grant due to pollution left from its industrial past.

Science Under Attack: How Trump Is Sidelining Researchers and Their Work

Dec 28, 2019 / by

Brad Plumer and Coral Davenport /

The New York Times

EPN members Bob Kavlock, former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development, and EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science; and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, are quoted in this article about the Trump administration’s transformation of the federal government through diminishing the role of science in federal policymaking and disrupting research projects nationwide—actions that could reverberate for years.

These Toxic Chemicals Need to Be Banned in the Next 10 Years

Dec 26, 2019 / by

Yessenia Funes /

Gizmodo

Penny Fenner-Crisp, EPN member and former Senior Science Advisor to the Director, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, is quoted in this article about whether some of the most toxic chemicals in our environment, including lead and asbestos, will be banned in the next decade.

 

Making America’s Toilets Great Again

Dec 19, 2019 / by

Tom Pelton /

NPR The Environment in Focus

EPN member Stan Meiburg, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, was interviewed on NPR’s The Environment in Focus about the Energy Policy Act, which imposed standards for the conservation of both energy and water and required toilets to use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush.

 

Indiana Environmental Agency “Kneecapped” by Staff Cuts

Dec 13, 2019 / by

Meredith Colias-Pete /

Chicago Tribune

EPN member Janet McCabe, former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in the Chicago Post-Tribune article about 16% staff cuts at Indiana’s primary environment enforcement agency, hampering its ability to protect the public.

 

Great Lakes Mayors Warn Against Cut to Ecological Initiative

Dec 13, 2019 / by

Livingston Contributor /

Livingston Ledger

EPN member Dave Ullrich, former EPA Acting Regional Administrator and Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 5, was quoted in this article about the Trump administration’s potentially devastating cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

 

Trump’s Potty Talk Highlights Flushing Fight

Dec 13, 2019 / by

Ariel Wittenberg /

Greenwire

Stan Meiburg, EPN member and former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, is quoted in this article about whether WaterSense should tighten its criteria to ensure more human waste goes with the flow in commodes earning the program’s efficiency label.

EPA Says Little on TSCA New Chemicals Approach but Draws Criticisms

Dec 10, 2019 / by

Maria Hegstad /

Inside EPA

Bob Sussman, EPN member and former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, is quoted in this article about the December 10th public meeting on the implementation of the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals program.

 

Wheeler’s Science Advisory Board Revamp Plan Sparks Concerns

Dec 10, 2019 / by

Sean Reilly /

Inside EPA

EPN was mentioned and member Chris Zarba, former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), was quoted in this article about a proposed revamp of the SAB, which would strip the rank-and-file members of the ability to help decide which upcoming agency regulations warrant scrutiny. This has generated concern that it would undercut the independence of the board. 

 

Viewpoint: South Bend Sets Target for Carbon Neutrality

Nov 30, 2019 / by

Janet McCabe /

South Bend Tribune

EPN member Janet McCabeformer Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, wrote an op-ed about the South Bend Common Council’s adoption of its own climate action plan, setting a target for carbon neutrality.

EPA’s Coal Plant Proposal Puts D.C. at Risk

December 5, 2019 / by

Ariel Wittenberg /

Greenwire

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about EPA’s proposed regulation for coal plant wastewater ignoring the pleas of drinking water utilities to prevent a cancer-causing chemical from being released into the nation’s waterways.

State Regulators Fear ‘Nightmare’ Over Complexity of EPA’s LCR Proposal

Dec 5, 2019 / by

Lara Beaven /

Inside EPA

EPN member Carl Reeverts, former Project Manager in the Infrastructure Branch of EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water and Deputy Director of the EPA Drinking Water Protection Division, was quoted in this article about state drinking water regulators raising concerns about the complexity of EPA’s proposed revisions to its lead and copper rule (LCR).

Amid Disagreement, Panel Sticks With Soot Status Quo

December 4, 2019 / by

Sean Reilly /

Greenwire

John Bachmann, EPN member and former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs, EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, was quoted in this article about EPA’s clean air advisers, amid disagreement, formally recommending to maintain status quo standards on soot and particulate matter pollution.

EPA Science Advisers to Review Ozone, Particulate Pollution Limits

December 3, 2019 / by

Amena Saiyid /

Bloomberg Environment

John Bachmann, EPN member and former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs, EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, was quoted in this article about EPA’s clean air advisers launching a review of whether federal caps on smog and haze-forming pollutants protect public health. A similar article ran in Public News Service.

Why Young People Suffer More from Pollution

Nov. 30, 2019 / by

Pamela Hill /

Oxford University Press Blog

EPN member Pamela Hill, former EPA Deputy Regional Counsel in the New England Regional Office, wrote this blog entry about the intergenerational inequity of pollution and why young people are at special risk for unhealthy adulthood due to the climate crisis.

 

Stateside: Lake Erie’s Cyanobacteria Blooms; A Net-Zero Neighborhood; “Rights Of Nature” Movement

November 29, 2019 / by

Stateside /

Michigan Radio NPR

EPN member Trish Koman, former Senior Environmental Scientist, Program Manager and Supervisor in EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was interviewed on this radio segment about the effects of rising temperatures on local communities, with particular vulnerabilities mapped by University of Michigan researchers. She was also interviewed on WEMU 89.1 about the same topic.

White House, CDC Feuding Over Study Of Toxic Chemicals In Drinking Water

November 29, 2019 / by

Kyle Bagenstose /

USA Today

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about a dispute within the Trump administration over a multimillion-dollar federal study on toxic chemicals in drinking water. This article also ran in the Times Telegram and The Intelligencer.

Just One Week After Trump Rolled Back Safety Measures, Chemical Plant Explosion Rocks Texas Town

November 28, 2019 / by

Andrea Germanos /

Salon

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article about a chemical plant explosion in Texas following the Trump administration’s decision to weaken the Chemical Disaster Rule. This article also ran in Common Dreams.

Eventually, Paris Withdrawal Will Overshadow Impeachment

November 26, 2019 / by

Joel Mintz /

Orlando Sentinel

EPN member Joel Mintz, former EPA Enforcement and Supervisory Attorney, wrote this op-ed about the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement and the negative consequences that could result without US participation.