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 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.

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.