In the News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

EPN member Janet McCabe, former 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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Stan Meiburg, EPN adviser and former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about the EPA Region 9 Administrator’s office moving to Los Angeles from San Francisco.

The Environmental Protection Network (EPN) was mentioned in this article about its letter to EPA urging it to exercise its authority to immediately implement restrictions if there is a pressing health concern, specifically to create emergency limits on methylene chloride, commonly used in paint strippers.

EPN member Penny Fenner-Crisp, former Senior Science Advisor to the Director, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, wrote this op-ed about the flawed peer review and research process used by EPA to issue permanent regulations for toxic chemicals in consumer products.

Bernard Goldstein, EPN member and former chair, EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, wrote this op-ed about EPA Administrator Wheeler using scientific transparency to exclude numerous environmental studies from consideration in federal policy-making.

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about EPA considering options to increase monitoring of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Trish Koman, EPN member and former Senior Environmental Scientist, Program Manager and Supervisor in EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about researchers at the Milken Institute School of Public Health receiving a grant to study the effects of particulate matter on human health.

Bob Sussman, EPN member and former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, was quoted in this article about a federal court ruling that EPA must consider legacy uses in the scope of its chemical risk evaluations under Toxic Substances Control Act.

Joe Goffman, EPN member and former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about EPA’s battle with California over fuel efficiency standards and other environmental regulations.

EPN advisor Janet McCabe, and former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the best ways that individuals can reduce their own carbon footprint and help fight local climate change.