In the News

Margo Oge, EPN member and former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, wrote this op-ed discussing the opportunity the Biden administration has to transition the auto industry to electric vehicles.

EPN members Judith Enck (former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2), Stan Meiburg (former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting EPA Deputy Administrator), and Jim Woolford (former Director, EPA Superfund Program) were quoted in this article discussing the recent push to reinstate the Superfund taxes.

David Coursen, EPN member and former Attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, penned this op-ed describing how the American Jobs Plan and EPA’s recently-released budget outline will work in conjunction with the climate crisis executive order to advance environmental justice.

EPN members Stan Meiburg (former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting EPA Deputy Administrator), Betsy Southerland (former Director of the Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water), and Alexis Strauss Hacker (former EPA Senior Policy Advisor and Deputy and Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 9) were quoted in this article discussing the positive effect the appointment of Michael Regan as EPA Administrator has had on agency morale. Stan, Betsy, and Alexis were quoted in an Inside EPA article also discussing the early days of Administrator Regan’s tenure.

Betsy Southerland (EPN member and former Director of the Office of Science and Technology in EPA’s Office of Water) and Michelle Roos (EPN Executive Director) were quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article concerning the President Biden’s proposed budget for EPA in Fiscal Year 2022, including funding to rebuild the agency’s depleted workforce.

Cynthia Giles, EPN member and former Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, published this report on compliance problems in electricity production, transportation, and oil and gas production, the top carbon emitters that threaten climate goals. This is part four in her Next Generation Compliance series.

Michelle Roos, EPN Executive Director, was quoted and EPN was cited in this article discussing the release of the Biden administration’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2022. Michelle and EPN were also mentioned in a Nature World News article also describing the budget proposal.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article describing a virtual panel on climate justice that Mustafa participated in with White House Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy.

Chris Zarba, EPN member and former Director, EPA SAB, was quoted and EPN was cited in this article regarding Administrator Regan’s recent decision to reset the composition of CASAC and SAB.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article regarding the likely hurdles in getting the Environmental Justice for All Act passed and the benefits the bill would provide to environmental justice advocates.

Stephen Hoffman, EPN member and former EPA Environmental Scientist, was quoted in this article regarding lithium mining, a key element needed to create electric car batteries.

Chris Zarba, EPN member and former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), was interviewed on this podcast regarding EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s decision to reset the composition of the SAB and Clean Air Science Advisory Committee.

Jeff Alson, EPN member and former Senior Engineer and Policy Adviser, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article discussing a petition to overturn the Trump-era Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient vehicles rule and a probe investigating whether career EPA staff were excluded from development of the rule.

David Coursen, EPN member and former attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, wrote this op-ed discussing how the American Jobs Plan will improve drinking water and sanitation in disadvantaged communities and what additional resources EPA will need to further implement its environmental justice programs.

EPN member Tracey Woodruff, former EPA senior scientist and policy advisor in EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article regarding the known and unknown contaminants that may be present in drinking water and the pressing need for additional water quality regulations.

EPN member Chris Zarba, former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board, was quoted in this article discussing the need for more balanced EPA advisory committees.

EPN member Tracey Woodruff, former EPA senior scientist and policy advisor in EPA Office of Policy, was quoted in this article describing her findings that support the importance of including asthma impacts in the cost-benefit analysis of EPA’s formaldehyde rule.

EPN member Mustafa Santiago Ali, former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article describing the Biden administration’s proposed $2.25 trillion infrastructure package.

EPN member Chris Zarba, former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), was quoted in this article regarding Administrator Regan’s decision to completely remake the composition of the SAB and EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. In addition, Chris was quoted in similar articles about Regan’s decision that appeared in The New York Times, Common Dreams, Newsmax, International Business Times, and E&E News (where EPN was also cited).

EPN member Mustafa Santiago Ali, former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article describing the bigger role the White House Council on Environmental Quality and other federal agencies will play in confronting environmental justice.

Cliff Villa, EPN member and former EPA attorney, was quoted in this article regarding tribal efforts in New Mexico to overturn a Trump-era water rule that narrowly redefined navigable waters in the Clean Water Act. Cliff was quoted in similar stories appearing in Law360 and The Counter and was interviewed on KRQE.

EPN member Mustafa Santiago Ali, former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article describing efforts by Indigenous people to stop construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline in Minnesota.

EPN member Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, edited this collection of commentary articles discussing the challenges that must be faced in dealing with microplastics.

The testimony of EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article discussing a House Science Committee report and subcommittee hearing about staffing levels at several federal science agencies.