In the News

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 natural gas’ unique space as an industrial input that still harms the environment, yet is simultaneously helping to wean the country off of coal.

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director of the EPA Office of Science and Technology in the Office of Water, was quoted in this article about EPA’s proposed perchlorate regulations that are set more than nine times higher than several states, which ignores scientific expertise and could have dangerous effects on public health, particularly for sensitive populations. This article also ran in AlterNet and RawStory.

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 Trump Administration’s attempts to bury a study from the US Department of Agriculture that shows dangerous conditions in the future due to climate change and rising carbon dioxide levels.

EPN member Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule and its effects on the energy industry beyond simply loosening requirements for emissions reductions from coal-fired power plants.

Jeff Alson, EPN member and former EPA Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about EPA’s controversial new rule for vehicle emissions and various attempts to shut certain employees out of the process, which EPA Administrator Wheeler denied in a recent letter to Congress. A similar article ran in Inside EPA.

Rich Kuhlman, EPN member and former Director of the Grants Administration Division of EPA, was quoted in this article about a report from EPA’s Office of the Inspector General that says that the Senior Environmental Employment program’s wages have remained stagnant for years.

EPN member Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the impending legal battle over the ACE rule’s new interpretation of a term in the Clean Air Act, which could prevent future administrations from imposing emissions reduction requirements.

EPN member Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the new Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, EPA’s replacement for the Clean Power Plan which removes requirements for cutting carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Gary Timm, EPN member and former EPA Chief of the Chemical Testing Branch of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, is quoted in this article about EPA’s lack of scientific evidence to support the conclusion that PV29 poses no unreasonable threat.

EPN member Jeff Alson, former EPA Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, is quoted in this article about his accusation that Administrator Andrew Wheeler lied in a letter he wrote to Congress Tuesday that denied agency staff were shut out as EPA developed a controversial rollback on Obama-era fuel standards. Similar stories ran in Bloomberg Environment and Greenwire.

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 “best system of emission reduction” (BSER) term in the Clean Air Act after EPA released its replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan, focusing on the legal ramifications of re-interpreting BSER to create a more narrow standard. Similar stories ran in Climatewire and Inside EPA.

Joe Goffman, EPN member and former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was interviewed on this radio segment about the new Affordable Clean Energy rule, its questionable legality, and its potential negative effects on state regulators and energy markets.

EPN members Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, and Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, are quoted in this article about the costs of the new ACE rule exceeding its benefits by as much as $980 million per year when its modest cuts in ozone and particulate matter aren’t counted in its favor — something the Trump administration has advocated in other rules.

EPN member Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this article about the ACE rule’s risky legal interpretation arguing that the agency is prohibited from issuing the types of broad greenhouse gas standards that were included in the CPP in a bid to block a future administration from re-imposing similarly expansive requirements.

Dr. Bernard Goldstein, EPN member and former chair, EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, and former EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, wrote this op-ed about Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s misinterpretation of a double-blind study and the current lack of knowledgeable scientific leadership and appreciation for accurate scientific advice at EPA.

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, EPA Office of Science and Technology in the Office of Water, was quoted in this article about President Trump’s executive order to cut one-third of all science advisory committees; while administration officials claim this will help save government resources, opponents argue it could further undermine the role of science in informing federal policymaking.

EPN member John Bachmann, former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs, EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, was quoted in this article about renewed calls for EPA Administrator Wheeler to reinstate the Particulate Matter Review Panel under CASAC, with critics pointing out similarities to the Trump Administrations’ broader attacks on the role of science in policy-making.

Janet McCabe, EPN member and former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this article about EPA finalizing its plan to relax limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants.

EPN member, Ellen Kurlansky, former EPA Air Policy Analyst and Advisor, is quoted in this article about Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s announcement Wednesday that EPA’s replacement for the Clean Power Plan, which aimed to reduce carbon emissions from the energy sector to combat climate change, has been finalized.

EPN members, Ellen Kurlansky, former EPA Air Policy Analyst and Advisor, Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, and Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, are quoted in this article about EPA Administrator Wheeler’s announcement Wednesday of the Agency’s replacement for the Clean Power Plan, which had aimed to reduce CO2 levels from energy production by a third by 2030. The new rule stipulates that to reduce emissions, coal-fired power plants only need to install more efficient technology.

EPN member Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this InsideClimate News article about the narrowly written replacement to the Clean Power Plan that the Trump administration conceded would accomplish less than the rule it threw out and would be only a tiny fraction cleaner than leaving one of the main sources of greenhouse gases completely unregulated. A similar article also ran in The Guardian.

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 Trump administration finalizing the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which EPA claims can cut pollution without damaging the coal industry. Similar articles ran in Thomson Reuters Foundation News, The Washington Examiner and Earth.com.

EPN member Joe Goffman, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this article about Administrator Wheeler signing the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, the replacement for the Clean Power Plan that contains much less stringent federal requirements for power plants. The story also ran in WMC 5, and a similar stories ran in CBS News, ABC News and KTUU.

Janet McCabe, EPN member and former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, is quoted in this audio clip about EPA’s replacement for the Clean Power Plan, which would loosen requirements that protect Americans from air pollution. (Clips starts at approximately 2:24).