In the News

Mustafa Santiago Ali, Senior Vice President for Environmental Justice, National Wildlife Federation; former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization; and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, penned this op-ed urging President Biden to declare a national climate emergency, which would give his administration further abilities to address climate-fueled impacts on vulnerable populations and allow federal agencies to move ahead with climate resiliency initiatives.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, and Bob Sussman, former Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator and former EPA Deputy Administrator, were quoted and EPN was cited in this article discussing how Congress’ decision to pass a continuing resolution that would maintain federal agency funding at current levels, rather than a full budget appropriation bill for FY 2023, would harm EPA’s TSCA program and other federal programs.

John Bachmann, former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs, EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article regarding EPA’s reconsideration of the national ambient air quality standards for particulate matter following the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee’s review of the latest policy and science in the field.

Bob Sussman, former Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator and former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article discussing industry pushback on the process by which EPA issues chemical testing orders under revised TSCA Section 4.

Gordon Binder, former EPA Chief of Staff, and Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, were quoted in this article about the use of “administratively determined” hires at EPA to bring experienced staff in quickly at key positions within the agency.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was quoted in this article discussing cleanup efforts at the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant, a Superfund site that caught fire in January 2022.

Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article regarding Michael Bloomberg’s announcement of an $85 million dollar campaign aimed at stopping plastic pollution from the petrochemical industry. Judith was quoted in a similar article appearing in E&E News.

EPN’s letter to the Senate urging the inclusion of PFAS amendments to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act was referenced in this article discussing a National Academy of Sciences’ report that provides recommendations to clinicians who may consider PFAS testing for patients at higher risk of exposure to the chemicals.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article regarding a planned protest march to EPA headquarters about the agency’s failure to protect communities from chemical pollution and the need for congressional action to give EPA the ability to address the protesters’ concerns.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was quoted in this article regarding the need for the healthcare industry to be prepared for the health impacts of catastrophic climate events.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article regarding EPA’s Office of Inspector General investigating and conducting an audit of the ongoing emergency in Jackson, Mississippi.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program and former EPA scientist, was quoted in this article discussing the prevalence of PFAS in our bodies and the environment.

Art Smith, former Senior Attorney, EPA Region 5, wrote this blog post describing how infrastructure funding and Clean Water Act-mandated nonpoint pollution control responsibilities can be used to get states on the path to building climate resilience.

Tracey Woodruff, Director, University of California, San Francisco Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and former policy advisor, EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article regarding her recently-published work that suggests the TSCA prioritization process used at EPA does not identify all existing chemicals that are high priority for exposure and risks for vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women.

Bob Sussman, counsel for a coalition of North Carolina environmental groups and former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article discussing ongoing litigation related to the coalition’s 2020 petition requesting EPA to compel Fayetteville, North Carolina-based Chemours, the largest U.S. producer of PFAS, to perform testing on 54 PFAS found in the Cape Fear River.

Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article discussing the decline in plastics recycling and a need for policies that focus on reducing the production, use and disposal of plastics.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, Senior Vice President for Environmental Justice, National Wildlife Federation, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was interviewed in this news segment discussing the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, and the role environmental racism has played in preventing improvements to the city’s infrastructure. Mustafa also discussed the crisis in an interview with CBS News.

Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, wrote this op-ed discussing how Extended Producer Responsibility can be effectively used to minimize the production of plastic waste.

Richard Grow, former Environmental Protection Specialist, EPA Region 9, was quoted in this article about an FAQ document created by EPA that outlines how permitting programs can incorporate environmental justice and civil rights into their decisions.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, vice president at the National Wildlife Federation, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article about the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, and the need for long-term solutions to support water systems in the face of climate change.

Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, wrote this op-ed describing how the Inflation Reduction Act clearly gives EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and what EPA can do in the heavy-duty vehicle sector to further reduce those emissions.

Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator; Jim Woolford, former Director, EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation; and EPN’s letter to the EPA Administrator were quoted in this article about EPA’s proposed rule to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA.

Margo Oge, Chair of the International Council on Clean Transportation and former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was interviewed on this news report discussing how California’s plan to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 could lessen the worst consequences of climate change. Margo was also interviewed on PBS NewsHour.

Tracey Woodruff, Director, University of California, San Francisco Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and former policy advisor, EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article discussing her recently-published work that found that Black and Hispanic pregnant women had more exposure to more chemicals, which may lead to developmental and behavioral problems once the babies are born.