In the News

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development, interviewed with Inside Climate News about leaked documents from the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology that outlined plans to dismantle EPA’s Office of Research and Development and what the plan means for science.

Larry Starfield, former Deputy and Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance, was quoted in Inside EPA about the rumors to dismantle the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, saying that “If they go ahead with it, what you’re going to see is drastically reduced enforcement.”

Bob Sussman, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, was quoted in Politico about Biden-era regulations not included in Zeldin’s recently announced deregulatory agenda, namely TCE, PFAS, and five rules under TSCA. The administration is actively considering these rules and it is unclear how they will proceed.

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development, was featured live on CBS News and quoted in a CBS article about the importance of the Office of Research and Development and how cuts to the branch will devastate public and environmental health.

 Chitra Kumar, Former Director, Office of Policy, Partnerships, and Program Development, OEJECR, was quoted in Yahoo! News about the proposed ORD workforce and budget cuts, saying, “The administration knows, and history shows, that industry will not regulate itself.”

Leaked documents from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology outlined plans to dismantle EPA’s Office of Research and Development. This proposal is an unprecedented assault on science and aims to slash 50-75% of EPA’s budget and workforce, effectively crippling its ability to protect human health and the environment. Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development, was quoted in The Washington Post about how these cuts will devastate public health and the environment.

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development; Chitra Kumar, Former Director, Office of Policy, Partnerships, and Program Development, OEJECR; and Stan Meiburg, Former Acting Administrator, were quoted in Politico about how the proposed cuts will affect a wide range of environmental rules and regulations, as well as scientists across the country employed by major ORD research offices.

Jeremy Symons, Senior Adviser to EPN, was quoted in Newsweek about court orders to bring previously fired agency scientists back to work. However, these employees still do not have access to their emails or equipment, so they are still unable to complete any work.

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development, was quoted in The New York Times about leaked documents from the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology that outlined plans to dismantle EPA’s Office of Research and Development and what the plan means for science.

Joe Goffman, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, and EPN’s press statement denouncing EPA’s announcement to roll back 31 Biden-era regulations were featured in The New Lede.

Zealan Hoover, former Senior Advisor to EPA Administrator and Director of Implementation, was mentioned in an article by Inside Climate News about the termination of billions of dollars for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Lawsuits from the grantees of the funding will likely take months to resolve.

Joe Goffman, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, and Jeremy Symons, Senior Adviser to EPN, were quoted in Politico about EPA’s massive deregulatory announcement and how the rollbacks will likely be scrutinized in court during a time when the agency is firing many of its employees needed to protect and rewrite rules. 

Joe Goffman, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in Politico, also about the reassessment of the endangerment finding, calling it a “universal lubricant” for Trump’s deregulatory agenda targeting climate policies.

Matt Tejada, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, was quoted in AP News about the huge deregulatory agenda that EPA released on Wednesday, March 12. 

Matt Tejada, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, was quoted in CBS News about how environmental justice has evolved within government over the past few presidential administrations and what the US loses from Trump closing OEJECR.

Zealan Hoover, former Senior Advisor to EPA Administrator and Director of Implementation, was quoted in an article by EcoWatch about Zeldin canceling $20 billion in federal grants awarded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Michelle Roos was quoted in The New York Times about EPA funds that are newly listed as “suspended” in the government payment system as of last week and early this week.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in The Hill about EPA considering a rewrite of chemical safety review regulations. If implemented, the regulations will underscore the harms of exposure and restrict further regulations on toxic chemicals.

Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, wrote an op-ed about the importance of the endangerment finding and what it would take to uphold it during this administration.

Matt Tejada, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, did an interview with Inside Climate News about how environmental justice has evolved within government over the past few presidential administrations and what the US loses from Trump closing OEJECR.

Stan Meiburg, former Acting Deputy Administrator; Linda Birnbaum, former director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; and Michelle Roos were quoted in North Carolina Health News about how Trump’s budget cuts for EPA will negatively affect local North Carolinians.

David Cash, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1, was quoted in Politico about a decade-old pledge made by a 10-state coalition to promote and incentivize electric vehicles. The pledge was successful and got over 3.3 million EVs on roads by 2025.

Matt Tejada, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, was quoted in The Washington Post about EPA calling back employees that were previously put on administrative leave

 Matt Tejada, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, and Chitra Kumar, former Director, Office of Policy, Partnerships and Program Development, OEJECR, were in E&E News about EPA grantees requiring approval from DOGE before accessing more than $50,000 at a time and EPA staffing levels