In the News

EPN member Christopher Zarba, former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board, was quoted in this article about new appointees to EPA’s science advisory panels and the inconsistent process applied for vetting these new members, outlined in a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Christopher Zarba, EPN member and former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board, was quoted in this article about a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that found that EPA ignored several ethics rules and administrative procedures when overhauling its science advisory panels. This article ran in numerous other publications, including ABC, US News, and The Telegram.

EPN member Stan Meiburg, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about a report from EPA’s Office of the Inspector General that found deficiencies in tracking environmental data, relaying health risks to citizens, overseeing states, and managing its staff’s workload.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former EPA Senior Advisor and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, was interviewed along with Collin O’Mara from The National Wildlife Federation on this segment about climate change and the disproportionate effects of pollution on minority and low-income populations.

Bill Muno, EPN member and former Superfund Director in EPA Region 5, was quoted in this article about a Congressional effort to attach provisions that would require EPA action on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the next two years to a must-pass military spending bill. This article also ran in the Bucks County Courier Times.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former EPA Senior Advisor and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, was interviewed in this segment about EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which replaces the Clean Power Plan (CPP) and is projected to increase the number of premature deaths due to air pollution in America. (Clip starts at 1:00).  This article and video also appeared in KTUU.

Joe Goffman, EPN member and former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about EPA’s new interpretation of the term “best system of emission reduction” in the Clean Air Act, which could legally prevent future administrations from curtailing air pollutants.

EPN member Stan Meiburg, former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Regions 4 and 6, as well as former Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about a speech on environmental leadership by President Trump where he touted significant progress on clean air and water, which was actually generated by previous administrations and external forces.

EPN member Mustafa Santiago Ali, former EPA Senior Advisor and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, was quoted in this article about President Trump’s speech on his administration’s environmental achievements, including rollbacks of important regulations on methane emissions and pollution from transportation and power plants.

EPN members Betsy Southerland, former Director, EPA Office of Science and Technology in the Office of Water, and Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, were quoted in this article about President Trump’s speech that emphasized that environmental leadership means saving the fossil fuel industry at the expense of public health.

EPN members Jeff Alson, former EPA Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, and Mustafa Santiago Ali, former EPA Senior Advisor and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, were quoted in this article on President Trump’s speech that claimed leadership on environmental policies, while the administration simultaneously rolls back important public health regulations and props up the coal industry. This article also ran in Washington Post, US News, RealClearPolitics, KTLA, LancasterOnline, The Spokesman Review, Global News, My Stateline, StarTribune, and The Daily News.

EPN members Mustafa Santiago Ali, former EPA Senior Advisor and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, are quoted in this article about Trump’s environmental leadership speech and inconsistencies between his rhetoric and actions, as the administration has been focused on slashing climate regulations.

Stan Meiburg, EPN member and former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Regions 4 and 6, as well as former Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about President Trump’s pledge to support clean air and water during a speech on environmental leadership, despite his administration rolling back dozens of regulations on pollution.

David Coursen, EPN member and former EPA Office of General Counsel, wrote this op-ed about the Trump Administration’s attacks on state-level environmental protection efforts, from proposed budget cuts for brownfield programs to potential rescindment of waivers that allow states to set standards that are more stringent than at the federal level.

Janet McCabe, EPN member and former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about air quality in Terre Haute and two locations that have now met the National Ambient Air Quality Standard requirements for sulfur dioxide. This article also ran in WFYI.

Joe Goffman, EPN member and former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about EPA’s new acting director for the Office of Air and Radiation, Anne Idsal, and the current pace of deregulation that will continue even under new management.

Janet McCabe, EPN member and former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the Region 6 proposed Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) alternative interpretation that would grant immunity to industrial facilities for emissions during malfunction, startup, and shutdown.

Lynn Goldman, EPN member and former Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances, EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, was quoted in this article about a coordinated effort by several individuals advising the Trump Administration to downplay the risks of dangerous chemicals in recent EPA decisions.

Janet McCabe, EPN member and former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about EPA’s replacement for the Clean Power Plan, a new agency analysis that exaggerates the benefits of this move, and the effects that these will have on the state of Kentucky.

EPN member Lisa Feldt, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and Associate Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about new funding provided by the House of Representatives for Chesapeake Bay cleanup in an Interior Appropriations bill; however, its fate in the Senate remains uncertain. A similar article ran in The Baltimore Sun.

EPN members Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, and Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, joined former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in writing this op-ed about EPA’s replacement for the Clean Power Plan, which rolls back emissions reductions requirements and provides incentives to keep coal-fired power plants running.

EPN member Penny Fenner-Crisp, former Senior Science Advisor to the Director, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, was quoted in this article about an Illinois medical device sterilization plant that was closed for violating ethylene oxide emissions requirements. New federal guidelines for ethylene oxide are expected this summer, with the Illinois plant upgrading its controls in an attempt to demonstrate compliance.

Joe Goffman, EPN member and former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the departure of EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation Bill Wehrum, emphasizing the negligible effect this will have on the Trump Administration’s deregulation agenda. Similar articles also appeared in Climatewire and Inside EPA.

EPN member Penny Fenner-Crisp, former Senior Science Advisor to the Director, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, is quoted in this article about a medical device disinfectant, ethylene oxide, that was found to have carcinogenic effects, which could lead to potential new regulations that could ban or limit the use of such a chemical.