In the News

Michael Levin, former Director of Regulatory Reform, EPA Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, wrote this commentary explaining EPA’s rationale in its recent denials of over 100 small refiner exemption requests.

In this interview, Mustafa Santiago Ali, Vice President at the National Wildlife Administration; former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization; and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, discussed how the Supreme Court decision will hamper progress in addressing climate change and how it will hurt communities of color the most. Mustafa reiterated the need for legislative action on climate change in a PBS NewsHour interview.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator, and Eric Schaeffer, Executive Director of Environmental Integrity Project and former Director, EPA Office of Civil Enforcement, were quoted in this article regarding the possible effects the West Virginia vs. EPA decision would have on EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article regarding a California bill aimed at reducing single-use plastics. Judith was quoted in similar articles appearing in KCRA-TV and The Galaxy Reporter.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, Vice President at the National Wildlife Administration; former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization; and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, wrote this op-ed urging President Biden and Congress to put together a comprehensive climate bill in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on West Virginia vs. EPA.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article about a possible TSCA-specific definition of PFAS.

Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator and counsel for a North Carolina coalition of environmental groups, was quoted in this article discussing EPA’s request for a federal court to dismiss the coalition’s suit challenging the way in which the agency addressed the coalition’s TSCA petition on PFAS.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, and Elin Betanzo, former National Tribal Drinking Water Coordinator, EPA Office of Water, were quoted in this article about the elevated levels of lead in drinking water in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and the need for faster federal intervention when state and local water utilities are ineffective at lowering lead levels.

Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article discussing how Canada’s ban on some single-use plastics will also lead to reductions in demand for fossil fuel.

Donn Viviani, Board Director of Climate Protection & Restoration Initiative (CPRI) and former Director, Climate Policy Assessment Division, EPA Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation, was quoted in this essay about CPRI’s petition to EPA to use TSCA authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Donn was also interviewed on a Drilled News podcast about the petition.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, was quoted in this article discussing EPA’s recent drinking water advisories for several PFAS.

Tracey Woodruff, Director, University of California, San Francisco Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and former Senior Scientist and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Policy, wrote this essay explaining how to minimize exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and BPA substitutes, endocrine disruptors found in many plastic products and food packaging.

Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article about concerns among environmental groups that a proposed California legislation aimed at reducing single-use plastics would be less effective than a ballot initiative that would offer more stringent reductions in plastic use in addition to a polystyrene ban.

Donn Viviani, former Director, Climate Policy Assessment Division, EPA Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation, was quoted in this article about a petition he and others have filed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, was quoted in this article discussing the intention behind EPA’s recently announced interim drinking water health advisory levels for four PFAS.

Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article regarding a bill before the New Jersey State legislature that would require plastic producers to be responsible for the material they produce.

EPN‘s letter to Congress in support of legislation to ban asbestos was quoted in this article about a Senate Environmental and Public Works hearing about the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2022.

Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article about a report predicting the tripling of global plastic pollution by 2060 if policies are not adopted to dramatically reduce plastic use.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,  was quoted in this article discussing the FDA’s decision to reassess the health effects of bisphenol A, an endocrine disruptor often used in plastics, in response to a petition co-signed by Linda and numerous environmental groups.

Kevin Minoli, former EPA Acting General Counsel, was quoted in this article regarding the raising of the Pride flag at EPA headquarters in honor of the start of Pride Month and the LGBTQ+ community.

Dave Coursen, former attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, and Eric Schaeffer, Executive Director of the Environmental Integrity Project and former Director, EPA Office of Civil Enforcement, were quoted in this article discussing how the continued lack of funding and insufficient workforce has hampered EPA’s ability to perform its core responsibilities.

Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, penned this op-ed about how significantly strengthening nitrogen oxide and greenhouse gas emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks would have enormous public health benefits and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, co-authored this op-ed discussing why mechanical and chemical recycling of plastics are failures and proposing a ban on single-use plastics as one solution to the country’s plastic waste and pollution problem.

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article about two policy proposals before the New York State legislature that target single-use plastic producers.