Trump’s EPA Is Reluctant to Punish Law-Breaking Polluters

Dec 28, 2018 / by

Cally Carswell /

High Country News

EPN member David Janik, former EPA Supervisory Enforcement Attorney, Region 8, is quoted in this article on declining law enforcement at EPA.

Trump EPA Says Mercury Limits on Coal Plants Too Costly, Not ‘Necessary’

Dec 28, 2018 / by

Jennifer Ludden and Jeff Brady /

NPR WVIK

EPN member and Advisor Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this article on the EPA’s stance that limiting mercury and other toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants is not cost-effective and should not be considered “appropriate and necessary.”

New E.P.A. Plan Could Free Coal Plants to Release More Mercury Into the Air

Dec 28, 2018 / by

Lisa Friedman /

The New York Times

EPN members Janet McCabe, EPN Advisor and former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, and Joe Goffman, former EPA Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel in the Office of Air and Radiation, are quoted in this article on the EPA’s proposal to roll back Obama-era regulations on mercury pollution from coal plants.

Trump’s Rule a Wild Card for Western Water Supplies

Dec 26, 2018 / by

Ariel Wittenberg /

E&E News

EPN member Gene Reetz, former EPA Wetlands Coordinator in Region 8 (Colorado), is quoted in this article on the Trump administration’s proposal to limit the Clean Water Act and its effects on efforts to protect and manage the West’s most important and imperiled source of water, the Colorado River.

Trump’s EPA to Maintain Obama-Era Coal Plant Rules, with a Twist

Dec 26, 2018 / by

Jennifer A Dlouhy /

Bloomberg

EPN members Janet McCabe, EPN Advisor and former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, and Joe Goffman, former EPA Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel in the Office of Air and Radiation, are quoted in this article on a possible EPA proposal to maintain Obama-era restrictions on mercury pollution from power plants while making it harder to toughen mercury emissions standards in the future. This article also ran in The Epoch Times.

 

With No Agreement on the Wall, Partial Federal Shutdown Likely to Continue Until 2019

Dec 21, 2018 / by

Lesley Clark /

McClatchy

Stan Meiburg, EPN Board member and Advisor, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Regions 4 and 6, and former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator, is quoted in this article on the partial government shutdown, as Congress and the White House remained deadlocked over how to fund nine Cabinet departments and several smaller agencies. The article also ran in The Charlotte Observer and The Sacramento Bee.

EPA Pushes for More Coal-Fired Power Under the Trump Administration

Dec 20, 2018 / by

Lauren Poteat /

Los Angeles Sentinel

Mustafa Ali, EPN member and former EPA Environmental Justice Administrator, is quoted in this  article on a revised New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) loosening an Obama-era restriction on how much carbon dioxide new coal power plants would be able to emit and potentially rescinding the requirement for carbon capture technologies.

EPA Staff Morale Hits Rock Bottom as Trump’s Anti-Science Agenda Takes Hold

Dec 19, 2018 / by

Mark Hand /

ThinkProgress

EPN member Judith Enck, former EPA Region 2 Administrator, is quoted in this article on the declining morale at EPA due to reorganization plans and the entrenchment of Trump’s political appointees inside the Agency.

Shutdown Looms but EPA’s Doors to Stay Open for Now

Dec 20, 2018 / by

Abby Smith /

Bloomberg Environment

Stan Meiburg, EPN Board member and Advisor, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Regions 4 and 6, and former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator, is quoted in this article on the EPA’s contingency plan to use carryover funding to sustain most agency operations.

Ex-Agency Leaders Blast Trump’s MATS Review

Dec 19, 2018 / by

Sean Reilly /

E&E News

EPN member and Advisor Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, and Joe Goffman, EPN member and former EPA Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel in the Office of Air and Radiation, are quoted in this article on former EPA officials pre-emptively attacking the Trump administration’s plan to revisit Obama-era regulations on power plant mercury emissions.

It’s Murray Energy vs. Trump in D.C. Circuit Hearing Tomorrow

Dec 17, 2018 / by

Sean Reilly /

E&E News

EPN member and advisor Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this article on Trump’s ally Bob Murray, head of Murray Energy Corp., facing EPA in court over the agency’s 2015 ground-level ozone standard.

Would Trump’s Rule Proposal Really Help Farmers?

Dec 17, 2018 / by

Ariel Wittenberg /

E&E News

Mark Ryan, EPN member and former EPA leading Clean Water Act expert and Chief Trial Attorney, is quoted in this article on the exclusion of more ditches from the definition of Waters of the U.S. rule (WOTUS), which could mean they would instead be regulated by EPA as point sources of pollution.

A Government Shutdown Is Looming, but You May Hardly Notice

Dec 17, 2018 / by

Lesley Clark /

McClatchy

Stan Meiburg, EPN Board member and Advisor, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Regions 4 and 6, and former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator, is quoted in McClatchy’s article on the possible government shutdown on Dec. 21 if Congress and President Trump fail to meet an agreement on funding nine Cabinet agencies and several smaller departments.

For Our Children and Grandchildren, Congress Must Support a Green Infrastructure Plan

Dec 17, 2018 / by

Margo Oge /

Forbes

EPN member Margo Oge, former EPA Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, wrote this op-ed on the importance of incorporating climate action and adaptation measures into a 21st century infrastructure plan.

EPA’s Own Data Refutes Justification for Clean Water Act Rollback

Dec 15, 2018 / by

Sharon Lerner /

The Intercept

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former EPA Director, Office of Science & Technology in the Office of Water, is quoted in this article on the EPA’s new water rule, which the Agency’s own data cannot justify.

Wood-Heating Proposal Tests Rule-Busting Claims

Dec 14, 2018 / by

Sean Reilly /

E&E News

EPN member and advisor Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in E&E’s article on the EPA’s proposal to grant a partial reprieve on tougher emissions standards for new wood-fired home heating systems.

Study: ‘No Scientific Basis’ for Challenges to EPA Endangerment Finding

Dec 13, 2018 / by

Barbara Moran /

WBUR News

EPN member Joe Goffman, former EPA Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel in the Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this WBUR News story on a new study that provides scientific proof to back the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” which labeled six greenhouse gases as pollutants that could be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Joe and Janet McCabe, EPN member, Advisor and former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, are quoted in Insideclimate News on the same topic.

Key Advisers Blast EPA for Firing Review Panel

Dec 11, 2018 / by

Sean Reilly /

E&E News

Dan Costa, EPN member and former EPA National Director of the Air, Climate, and Energy Research Program, is quoted in this article about two of Acting Administrator Wheeler’s appointees to the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), calling for the reconstitution of a Particulate Matter review panel.

Trump’s Auto Emission Policies Could Bring Deadlier Fires

Dec 12, 2018 / by

Daniel Reich /

East Bay Times

EPN member Dan Reich, former EPA Assistant Regional Counsel, Region 9, wrote this op-ed on the Administration’s efforts to roll back emissions standards, leading to rising temperatures and fires, like those recently seen in California, becoming the new norm. The piece also ran in the San Jose Mercury News.

The Latest Chapter in EPA vs Environmental Science Saga

Dec 11, 2018 / by

Bernard Goldstein /

The Hill

EPN member Bernie Goldstein, former EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development and Chair of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), wrote this op-ed on EPA’s divorce proceedings against science.

Trump administration to strip pollution protections, harming vital wildlife

Dec 11, 2018 / by

Emily Holden /

The Guardian

Mark Ryan, EPN member and former EPA leading Clean Water Act expert and Chief Trial Attorney, is quoted in this article on the Administration’s plans to relax protections in the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule from streams and wetlands that could harm vital wildlife and allow pollution into drinking water.

Update 1-U.S. Proposing to Weaken Obama-era Wetland Protections

Dec 11, 2018 / by

Timothy Gardner /

Reuters

Mark Ryan, EPN member and former EPA leading Clean Water Act expert and Chief Trial Attorney, is quoted in Reuter’s article on the Administration’s plans to strip pollution protections from streams and wetlands that could harm vital wildlife and allow pollution into drinking water.

Trump Administration to Lift Barriers to Build New Coal Plants

Dec 7, 2018 / by

Cecilia Jamasmie /

Mining.com

EPN member and Advisor Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this article on the Administration’s recent announcement that they are rolling back regulations on carbon emissions from new coal plants.

Science Adviser Allowed Oil Group to Edit Research

Dec 10, 2018 / by

Scott Waldman /

E&E News

EPN member John Bachmann, former EPA Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs, Office of Air, is quoted in this article on Chairman of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Tony Cox allowing the American Petroleum Institute to help finance his research into particulate matter pollution, as well as proofread and copy edit his findings before they were published.