In the News

Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former EPA Senior Advisor and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was interviewed about dual moves by the Trump Administration to weaken fuel efficiency standards: federal plans to lower national standards combined with a repeal of California’s authority to set stricter limits. (Clip starts at approximately 0:36).

EPN member Jeff Alson, former EPA Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about the Trump environmental record of deregulation and scientific censorship, which has prompted many high-profile scientists to leave the government.

Dan Reich, EPN member and former Assistant Regional Counsel, EPA Region 9, was quoted in this article about the legality of the Trump Administration’s move to revoke California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act to higher fuel efficiency standards than the federal limit. A similar article ran in Climatewire.

Janet McCabe, EPN member and former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about cross-state power plant pollution and a recent court decision that granted EPA time to consider voluntarily rewriting the 2018 regulation.

EPN members Trish Koman, former Senior Environmental Scientist, Program Manager and Supervisor in EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, and Jeff Alson, former EPA Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, were quoted in this article about EPA’s disingenuous analysis of its repeal of California’s authority to set strict fuel efficiency standards and the disastrous effects it could have on pollution and public health.

Jeff Alson, EPN member and former EPA Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about President Trump’s announcement that the government will revoke California’s authority to maintain strict fuel efficiency standards, a move even automakers argue will make the US less competitive and cause more pollution. Similar articles also ran in Forbes, Washington Examiner, Truthout, and CBS San Francisco.

EPN member George Czerniak, former Director, Air and Radiation Division, EPA Region 5, was quoted in this article about enforcement failures in Region 5, specifically involving an Indiana whiskey distillery and EPA’s recent decisions not to investigate non-compliance with the Clean Air Act.

EPN member Joel Mintz, former EPA Enforcement and Supervisory Attorney, wrote this op-ed about DOJ’s recent decision to stop approving enforcement case settlements with Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs), which allows non-complying entities to develop environmental programs instead of paying a fine.

EPN member Janet McCabe, former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the Trump Administration’s attempt to block California’s fuel efficiency deal with automakers by revoking the Clean Air Act waiver that allows states to set more stringent limits than the federal government. Similar articles ran in Bloomberg Business, EcoWatch, BuzzFeed, Streetsblog, and Morning Consult.

Margo Oge, EPN member and former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was quoted in this article about EPA’s attempts to revoke the waiver authority under the Clean Air Act that allows individual states to set stricter pollution limits than the federal government, which would target California’s recent deal with automakers to maintain Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. This article also ran in Outside the Beltway, and similar articles ran in The Hill and Courthouse News.

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about EPA’s repeal of the 2015 Waters of the United States rule and related uncertainty as the laws governing national waters return to their pre-Obama forms.

EPN members Jeff Alson, former EPA Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, were quoted in this article about former government officials who blew the whistle on the Trump Administration regarding environmental rollbacks and scientific censorship. This article also ran in the New Mexico In Depth and Truthout.

EPN member Jeff Alson, former EPA Senior Engineer and Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, was interviewed in a segment for Reveal News about the Trump Administration’s efforts to roll back Obama-era fuel efficiency standards, and how new policies have been based on insufficient or flawed models. (Clip starts at 20:00).

Stan Meiburg, EPN member and former EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Region 4 and Region 6 and Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about EPA’s reversal on ethylene oxide and its quiet announcement that it will further delay developing toxic pollution limits.

EPN member Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, wrote this op-ed about the antitrust investigation launched by the Trump Administration, retaliating at automakers and the state of California for finalizing a deal to maintain stricter fuel efficiency standards than the federal government.

EPN members Mark Ryan, former Assistant Regional Counsel for EPA Region 10, and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, were quoted in this article about the repeal of the 2015 Waters of the United States rule, which defined waterways that were subject to national protection and helped conserve lakes, streams, rivers, and more. A similar article ran in POLITICO.

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about EPA overturning the 2015 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which provided crucial guidance for regulating and preserving the nation’s waterways. Similar articles appeared in NBC, Washington Examiner, Roll Call, Earther/Gizmodo, and US News.

EPN members Jon Jacobs, former Senior Manager and Senior Counsel, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and Tina Levine, former Director, Health Effects Division, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, were quoted in this article about the absence of federal guidance for pesticides in cannabis products as various states move closer to legalization.

John Bachmann, EPN member and former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs, EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, was quoted in this article about draft particulate matter standards that are set below levels that some EPA staff recommend to protect public health.

EPN member Janet McCabe, former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about proposed rollbacks to methane regulations and energy transportation standards, which could increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Penny Fenner-Crisp, EPN member and former Senior Science Advisor to the Director, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, was quoted in this article about a recent announcement from EPA Administrator Wheeler about plans to reduce animal testing and eliminate mammal testing by 2035 as alternative methods for chemical and pesticide toxicology continue to develop.

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about health hazards presented by PFAS contamination in waterways and public lands, and the lack of a regulatory response as government agencies wait for more studies.

EPN members Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, and Bill Muno, former Superfund Director in Region 5, were quoted in this article about widespread contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and EPA and the military’s failure to clean up these chemicals.

EPN members John Hannon, Assistant General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office, Office of General Counsel, and Janet McCabe, former EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, were quoted in this article about a letter sent by EPA and the Department of Justice to the state of California that claims that it lacks the authority to agree with several automakers on stricter fuel efficiency standards than the level set by the federal government.