In the News

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article discussing the need to include processors of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in EPA’s proposed TSCA reporting rule for PFAS.

Judith Enck, EPN member, founder of Beyond Plastics, visiting professor at Bennington College, and former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article regarding what can be done to increase the amount of plastic recycling, including making plastic producers and sellers responsible for the life cycle of their products and eliminating single-use plastics.

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 discussing how industries should use the infrastructure bill to rebuild trust and improve the lives of the communities they have negatively impacted.

Rob Verchick, EPN member; Loyola University law professor; president of the Center for Progressive Reform; and former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Policy, penned this op-ed outlining steps that could be taken to modernize the nation’s electrical grid and make it more climate-resilient.

EPN members Mark Ryan, former EPA Regional Counsel, EPA Region 10, and former Special Assistant US Attorney, and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Research and Development, EPA Office of Water, penned this op-ed discussing the recent repeal of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule and what EPA can do to ensure development of a lasting definition of waters of the United States that offers clean water protections for everyone.

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Research and Development, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article regarding the amount of political interference that was involved in the toxicity assessment of PFBS, a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance, and the steps taken early on in the Biden administration to withdraw and replace the assessment.

Rob Verchick, EPN member; Loyola University law professor; president of the Center for Progressive Reform; and former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Policy, co-authored this op-ed discussing the ways industry has been using the infrastructure bill to attempt to strip the authority of the National Environmental Protection Act.

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Research and Development, EPA Office of Water, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article about EPA’s proposed TSCA reporting rule for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Mark Ryan, former EPA Regional Counsel, EPA Region 10, and former Special Assistant US Attorney, was quoted in this article about the recent repeal of the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule, an action that will afford more protections to drinking-water sources and wetlands. Mark was also quoted in similar articles appearing in E&E News, The New York Times, and S&P Global.

Michael Shapiro, EPN member and former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about a provision in the infrastructure bill that would require all EPA-funded water projects to use manufactured parts made only in America.

Jeff Alson, EPN member and former Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted and EPN was cited in this article discussing EPA’s proposed near-term vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards with an emphasis on prioritizing more stringent long-term standards.

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Research and Development, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article regarding how certain protections offered in the Trump-era LCR could be allowed to move forward as the agency revises other parts of the rule, which may help EPA meet President Biden’s goal to remove lead pipelines.

Tracey Woodruff, EPN member; Director, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California; former EPA senior scientist; and former policy advisor, EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article discussing the shortfalls of EPA’s decision to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos based on data showing the chemical reduced function of cholinesterase, an important enzyme in the brain, rather than on epidemiological studies that showed chlorpyrifos negatively impacted neurodevelopment.

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Research and Development, EPA Office of Water, was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article discussing how the increased funding appropriated to the EPA Superfund program in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill could go towards accelerating clean up of orphan sites.

EPN members Linda Birnbaum, former Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and former EPA scientist, and Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, were quoted in this article about the Trump EPA suppressing data from its Integrated Risk Information System linking formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, to increased risk of leukemia.

EPN members Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, and Bob Perciasepe, Senior Advisor at Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and former EPA Deputy Administrator, were quoted in this article about the slow pace of Senate confirmations for EPA nominees and the benefits of streamlining the confirmation process.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member, Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for 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 protracted struggle to get extensive cleanup of the Industrial Excess Landfill, a Superfund site that has been on EPA’s National Priorities List since 1986.

Jeff Alson, EPN member and former Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article regarding the Biden administration’s recent vehicle fuel-efficiency standards announcement and the challenges in crafting standards for vehicles produced beyond 2026.

Mark Ryan, EPN member and former Regional Counsel, EPA Region 10, was quoted in this article discussing a recent court case challenging the scope of the Clean Water Act that may appear before the Supreme Court, suggesting a need for EPA to promulgate a revised ruling on waters of the United States very soon.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member; Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for 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 discussing how EPA needs to do more to meet the needs of minority communities and how those communities should be permitted to shape policy that impacts them.

Tom Sinks, EPN member; former Human Subjects Research Review Official, EPA Program in Human Research and Ethics Oversight; former Director, EPA Office of the Science Advisor; and former Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Health & Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, CDC, penned this Letter to the Editor discussing why mask mandates should follow CDC guidance and why such public health decisions should be nonpolitical.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member, Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for 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 how the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, as currently written, could compromise President Biden’s plan to confront environmental racism by meeting the needs of underprivileged and underserved communities.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member; Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation; former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization; and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was interviewed by Kelly Wright discussing the impacts that pollution from fossil fuels, farming practices, and deforestation have had on climate change and on vulnerable communities.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member, Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for 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 making it easier for lower- and middle-income families to gain access to federal clean energy incentives so they can participate in lowering greenhouse gas emissions.