In the News

Dave Coursen, former attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, and Michelle Roos, EPN Executive Director, were quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article regarding Congress’ need to approve EPA’s FY2023 budget request, which includes increased funding for core programs critical to rebuilding the country’s environmental protection infrastructure.

Bob Sussman, lead counsel for Center for Environmental Health, the largest petitioner filing suit against EPA to demand testing orders for 54 per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, was quoted in this article expressing concern that EPA’s motion to transfer the suit to North Carolina is not being done in good faith.

Dave Coursen, former Attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, wrote this op-ed highlighting the shortcomings of the 2022 omnibus appropriations bill for EPA funding and reiterating the need for increased funding of the agency’s core programs to allow it to carry out its mission to protect human health and the environment.

Ellen Kurlansky, former Air Policy Analyst and Advisor, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, penned this op-ed supporting EPA’s proposal to reinstate the “appropriate and necessary” finding to regulate hazardous air pollutants emissions from power plants, while also suggesting that an updated benefits analysis of reducing mercury emission would strengthen the rulemaking.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article discussing California’s proposal to set a maximum contaminant level and a trigger level for hexavalent chromium in the state’s drinking water supply.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was quoted in this article regarding a plan by Deborah Shore, the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 5, to have interagency projects that address climate change and environmental justice and promote resiliency.

EPN’s comments on EPA’s draft Lead Strategy were quoted in this article discussing potential agency actions resulting from public comments on the proposed strategy, including the investigation and possible cleanup of half a million parcels and increased funding for lead cleanups and enforcement.

Jim Woolford, former Director, EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article about dangerously polluted sites across the US that were recently added to the Superfund National Priority List.

Dave Coursen, former attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, Bill Reilly, former EPA Administrator, and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, were quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article discussing past budget and staffing shortages EPA has experienced and will likely continue to experience with the recent passage of the 2022 omnibus appropriations bill.

Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article discussing the Biden administration’s air policy agenda and possible challenges in getting Senate confirmation of Joe Goffman as Assistant Administrator in EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Penny Fenner-Crisp, former Science Advisor to the Director, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, was quoted in this article about former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s blocked nomination to be Virginia’s secretary of natural and historic resources.

Tracey Woodruff, Director, University of California, San Francisco’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment; former EPA senior scientist; and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article regarding the appointment of Trish Koman as the environmental justice coordinator in EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

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, was quoted in this article discussing the increased funding EPA’s environmental justice programs received in the recently-passed FY 2022 omnibus bill.

Jeff Alson, former Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about EPA’s decision to rescind the Trump-era withdrawal of the Clean Air Act waiver for California, restoring the state’s ability to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than those set by the federal government.

Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, wrote this op-ed discussing the steps countries and automakers have made towards a transition to zero-emission vehicles, which helps reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuel.

Stan Meiburg, former Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was quoted in this article discussing a report from the US Government Accountability Office indicating that over 3,200 chemical facilities nationwide are at risk from future natural disasters due to climate change impacts.

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, penned this op-ed discussing the importance of advancing climate and clean energy initiatives to not only reduce the world’s dependence on oil and natural gas but to also minimize Russia’s leverage as the lead supplier of fossil fuels to Europe.

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article discussing the feasibility of large-scale chemical recycling, a process that breaks down single-use plastic in order to create fuel and other plastic products.

Eric Schaeffer, Executive Director of the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and former Director, EPA Office of Civil Enforcement, was quoted in this article about a recent EIP report that found a sharp decline in the amount of EPA enforcement inspections, criminal investigations, prosecutions, and civil penalties during the Trump administration.

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 discussing the recent formation of the 2022 Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee review panel that will be reassessing the air quality standard for ozone.

The testimony of Ellen Kurlansky, former Air Policy Analyst and Advisor, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the public hearing on EPA’s proposal to reaffirm the appropriate and necessary finding for Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

Ellen Kurlansky, former Air Policy Analyst and Advisor, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article discussing the underestimation of benefits tied to reducing hazardous air pollutants in EPA’s proposal to reaffirm the appropriate and necessary finding for Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

Joel Mintz, former EPA enforcement and supervisory attorney, penned this op-ed discussing the need to restore EPA’s Supplemental Environmental Projects, an enforcement tool used in settlements between environmental law violators, EPA, and state environmental agencies.

Michael Levin, former Director of Regulatory Reform, EPA Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, wrote this article about how EPA’s proposal to deny petitions for small refinery exemptions will impact the renewable natural gas market.