In the News

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, wrote this op-ed suggesting that the hazardous nature of the East Palestine train derailment was due to our over-reliance on plastics production.

Bob Sussman, counsel for Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article discussing industry’s persistent pushback against TSCA regulation of asbestos and other harmful chemicals.

Jim Woolford, former Director, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), was quoted in this article discussing OLEM’s recent implementation of an environmental justice action plan intended to strengthen emergency response requirements for communities with environmental justice concerns.

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, wrote this op-ed about how train disasters like the one in East Palestine, Ohio, usually impact black, brown, and low-income communities the most.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was interviewed about the agency’s response to the East Palestine train disaster and what authorities should focus on in order to prevent accidents in the future. Stan also discussed the train derailment on CNN.

Linda Birnbaum, former EPA scientist and former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, was quoted in this article regarding how pervasive PFAS are once they enter the human body.

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article discussing a need for greater transparency from federal agencies responding to the train derailment in Ohio.

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 about the train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, and the sacrifice zones that frequently surround freight train railways.

Linda Birnbaum, former EPA scientist and former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, was quoted in this article discussing why using a class-based approach would be better for TSCA chemical reviews and how chemical regulators could follow the FDA’s requirement for establishing a product’s safety before it is used by the public.

Dan Reich, former Assistant Regional Counsel, EPA Region 9, penned this op-ed discussing how the major questions doctrine, recently codified by the US Supreme Court in its West Virginia vs. EPA decision, could limit the roles of administrative agencies.

John Bachmann, former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs, EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, was quoted in this article discussing the need for tighter particulate matter air quality standards to protect the most vulnerable U.S. populations.

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 quoted in this article about the importance of voting and representation in moving policies to address racial and economic disparities that are part of environmental injustice.

Dennis McLerran, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 10, was quoted in this article regarding EPA’s decision to block development of the Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed.

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 quoted in this article regarding the Council on Environmental Quality’s interim guidance that directs federal agencies to consider environmental justice and climate change impacts when making permitting decisions on new energy and infrastructure projects.

Margo Oge wrote this op-ed discussing how the next phase of greenhouse gas standards for light- and heavy-duty vehicles could secure vehicle electrification goals set out by the Biden administration.

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 adverse effects PFAS have on human health.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was quoted in this article discussing the challenges in interpreting and implementing the rules protecting the waters of the U.S.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about how EPA is still struggling to meet its regulatory deadlines because of chronic underfunding, despite the recent influx of money from the climate bill.

Art Smith, former Senior Attorney, EPA Region 5, wrote this blog post discussing how the U.S.’s ability to meet the international climate goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 °C by the year 2100 will require a renewable energy supply that can meet electrical demands.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, 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 continuing water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, and the historical disinvestment in the infrastructure of Black communities.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article discussing how increased House oversight will not necessarily lead to industry-requested changes to EPA’s TSCA program since the program remains seriously underfunded. Betsy was also quoted in a related Chemical Watch article about what to expect from the TSCA program in 2023.

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article regarding the staffing risks EPA and other federal agencies continue to face from appropriators despite the funding provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

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 a recent study that revealed dangerously high levels of PFAS in freshwater fish across the country.

David Coursen, former Attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, were quoted in this article about the significant work EPA has planned for 2023 and the challenges the agency may face in the new Congress.