In the News

Stan Meiburg, EPN board member and former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about six air monitoring stations in Denka, Louisiana and chloroprene emissions from a nearby chemical plant; however, EPA has yet to commit funding to continue operating these stations next year.

Margo Oge, EPN member and former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about the Trump Administration’s decision to back down from freezing fuel economy standards at 2020 levels and its proposal for a 1.5% annual increase in fuel efficiency.

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about toxic PFAS contamination and EPA’s understaffed offices while Congress considers attaching regulations on PFAS to a must-pass defense spending bill. A similar article ran in DC Report.

EPN member Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about the decision by several large automakers to back the Trump Administration in a legal fight with California over fuel efficiency standards.

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about EPA’s new cost-benefit analysis supporting the repeal of the Clean Water Rule, which critics in court are arguing was crafted to fit a pre-existing decision to roll the rule back.

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 the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee’s unprecedented split vote on particulate matter standards, demonstrating the effects of eliminating key scientific expertise from the panel.

EPN member John Bachmann, former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs, EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, was quoted in this article about the gathering of former members of the Particulate Matter Review Panel to provide scientific expertise for setting particulate matter standards, despite the panel being disbanded last year.

EPN member Stan Meiburg, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, was also quoted in this article about the Trump Administration’s attacks on California over environmental regulation, as the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit claiming California’s partnership with Quebec over carbon dioxide emissions violated constitutional limits on individual states making international agreements.

EPN member Bernard Goldstein, former chair, EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, was mentioned in this article about a recent study showing an increase in particulate matter in the last several years, which can be linked to almost 10,000 premature deaths, and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee’s process for setting new soot standards.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article about the intersections between fossil fuels and civil rights, focusing on a recent Congressional civil rights hearing on the oil industry’s role in pollution that disproportionately affects minority populations.

EPN member Lisa Feldt, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator, former Associate Deputy Administrator, and former Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, was quoted in this article about EPA’s proposed changes to national coal ash regulations, as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation sent a letter arguing that coal ash threatens the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

EPN members Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, and Bob Perciasepe, former EPA Deputy Administrator, were quoted in this article about EPA Administrator Wheeler’s speech defending the agency’s deregulatory agenda, which critics argue makes polluting easier by removing the incentives to invest in new technologies.

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 the conclusions of the Independent Particulate Matter Review Panel, which stressed that limits set by the government are too permissive and could harm public health.

EPN member Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about recent research that suggests that after a decade of improvements in air quality, progress on clean air is backsliding and quality is declining once more.

EPN members Stan Meiburg, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, and David Coursen, former EPA Office of General Counsel, were quoted in this article about a recent omnibus spending package that would increase EPA’s budget, demonstrating continued Congressional support for the agency’s mission.

EPN member Mustafa Santiago Ali, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article about racism and its intersections with environmental inequalities, highlighting several prominent leaders in the environmental justice community. This article also ran in ColorLines.

Stan Meiburg, EPN member and former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about two new executive orders that affect how EPA gives notice for violating regulations and enforces them.

EPN member Judith Enck, former EPA Regional Administrator for Region 2, was quoted in this article about contamination in public schools from PCB toxics, which have been long-neglected by EPA, as the agency quietly released recommendations for state action without taking any binding federal steps.

Dan Reich, EPN member and former Assistant Regional Counsel, EPA Region 9, wrote this op-ed about the history of inaction at EPA over climate change and air pollution, beginning with the Kyoto Protocol and tracing opposition to environmental regulation through multiple administrations.

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 electricity blackouts in California following widespread wildfires, which could increase air pollution as businesses use oil and gas generators.

Cynthia Giles, EPN member and former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, was quoted in this article about EPA Administrator Wheeler’s attacks on California and the contrived process used to draft and release the agency’s accusations, as it completely bypassed its Region 9 team that usually handles state-specific issues.

EPN member Rob Wolcott, former EPA Senior Counsel, Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the value of statistical life assigned by EPA to analyze the benefits of avoidable mortalities when crafting particulate matter regulations.

EPN members Dale Evarts, former Director, EPA Climate and International Group, and Jeff Clark, former Office of Air Quality and Planning Standards, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, wrote this op-ed defending government whistleblowers as deeply committed public servants instead of coordinated agents campaigning to undermine the Trump Administration’s agenda.

Steve Silverman, EPN member and former Attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, was quoted in this article about the Independent Particulate Matter Review Panel and its planned letter to EPA recommending a decrease in acceptable amounts of particulate matter.