EPN In Action July-August 2021

Mark Ryan, former EPA Regional Counsel, EPA Region 10, and former Special Assistant US Attorney, was quoted in this article about the recent repeal of the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule, an action that will afford more protections to drinking-water sources and wetlands. Mark was also quoted in similar articles appearing in E&E News, The New York Times, and S&P Global.

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Research and Development, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article regarding how certain protections offered in the Trump-era LCR could be allowed to move forward as the agency revises other parts of the rule, which may help EPA meet President Biden’s goal to remove lead pipelines.

Mike Shapiro, EPN member and former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article regarding EPA’s proposal to include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as a class of pollutants in its next Candidate Contaminant List regulatory cycle.

Bob Sussman, EPN member; counsel for Safer Chemicals Healthy Families; former EPA Deputy Administrator; and former Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, was quoted in this article suggesting the pre-prioritization of chemicals as part of EPA’s planned tiered data rule in the TSCA regulatory process, an Obama-era recommendation that had been abandoned by the Trump administration.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member; Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation; former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization; and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was interviewed by Kelly Wright discussing the impacts that pollution from fossil fuels, farming practices, and deforestation have had on climate change and on vulnerable communities.

Margo Oge, EPN member and former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article regarding the Biden administration’s efforts to speed the adoption of electric vehicles in the coming 15 years, aided by steep declines in the costs of batteries, the shift in car makers’ strategies, and growing public pressure to reduce the greenhouse gases causing climate change.

EPN Member Jeff Alson, former Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about the Biden administration’s expected announcement on stricter fuel-efficiency standards for new cars and light trucks, fulfilling a pledge to reset tailpipe-emission limits eased by former President Trump. Jeff was quoted in a similar article in The New York Times.

Chris Zarba, EPN member and former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board, wrote this op-ed about EPA’s renewed commitment to science in the independent reviews conducted by EPA’s SAB and CASAC. 

EPN members Linda Birnbaum, former Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and former EPA scientist; Betsy Southerland, former Director, EPA Office of Science & Technology in the Office of Water; and Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, penned this op-ed urging EPA to use a class-based approach to regulate PFAS in order to more quickly address the growing risks of these chemicals to the American people.

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Research and Development, EPA Office of Water, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article discussing how the increased funding appropriated to the EPA Superfund program in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill could go towards accelerating clean up of orphan sites.

Recommendations from EPN’s PFAS Action Plan were cited in this article about the pending release of guidance from EPA’s intra-agency advisory council on PFAS.

Tom Sinks, EPN member and former Director, EPA Office of the Science Advisor, was quoted in this article about U.S. researchers and science groups appealing to the Biden administration to protect government science from political interference and to empower federal scientists to speak to the media and public.

Stan Meiburg, EPN member; former Acting EPA Deputy Administrator; and former Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and Region 6, was quoted in this article discussing how the House’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget for EPA would support the agency’s ability to once again function effectively.

Linda Birnbaum, EPN member, former Director of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and former EPA scientist, was quoted in this piece about the negative health impacts of living near fracking sites.

Alexis Strauss, EPN member; former EPA Senior Policy Advisor; and former Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 9, was quoted in this article discussing potential ways to speed up the hiring process at EPA.