Over the past two months, EPN submitted two sets of formal comments on proposed rulemakings, provided oral testimony to an EPA advisory committee, drafted a letter of concern regarding risk evaluations, and continued to be a trusted source of information.
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The Environmental Protection Network was launched in January 2017 to harness the expertise of former EPA career staff and confirmation-level appointees from multiple administrations to provide an informed and rigorous defense against efforts to undermine the protection of public health and the environment.
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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 the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee’s unprecedented split vote on particulate matter standards, demonstrating the effects of eliminating key scientific expertise from the panel.
EPN members Sara Schneeberg, former Assistant General Counsel, EPA Air and Radiation Law Office, and Janet McCabe, former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, were quoted in this article about comments submitted by EPN regarding EPA’s decision to allow five Texas counties to escape sulfur dioxide regulation.
EPN is mentioned in this article about EPA’s draft risk evaluations for pigment violet 29 and pressure from environmentalists to revise the conclusion that the chemical does not present a significant risk to human health; it was the first completed draft risk assessment under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
Mark Ryan, EPN member and former EPA Regional Counsel, Region 10, was quoted in this article about an EPA proposal to scale back state authority to review whether federal programs under the Clean Water Act would harm state water quality standards.
EPN members penned their own op-eds on tensions with California and the auto industry and on the Clean Water Rule.
Dave Coursen, EPN member and former EPA Office of General Counsel, wrote this op-ed about the conflict between EPA and California over air and water quality following the state’s deal with automakers to maintain fuel efficiency standards. EPN members Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, and Mark Ryan, former EPA Regional Counsel, Region 10, wrote this op-ed about the repeal of the 2015 Clean Water Rule and the law’s crucial role as an authority protecting national waterways and wetlands. EPN member Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, is quoted in this article about the Trump Administration considering a plan to revoke California’s legal authority to set state tailpipe pollution standards that are stricter than federal regulations. A similar article ran in Courthouse News.
EPA’s War On California
Repealing The Clean Water Rule Is Not About Protecting Farmers
White House Prepares to Revoke California’s Right to Set Tougher Pollution Rules
In addition to the news articles above, EPN members contributed to a range of articles on topics such as the benefits considered by the agency during rulemakings, lead in drinking water, the relationship between environmental policy and federalism, the continued dismantling and undermining of science, changes in animal testing policies, cuts to science advisory boards, disputes with California, changes to methane policies, and continued disputes surrounding PFAS.
EPN member Rob Wolcott, former EPA Senior Counsel, Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in this article about the value of statistical life assigned by EPA to analyze the benefits of avoidable mortalities when crafting particulate matter regulations.
Carl Reeverts, EPN member, former Deputy Director of the Drinking Water Protection Division, EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, was quoted in this article about EPA’s proposed lead and copper rule, which relaxes requirements for replacing lead-lined pipes and allows contamination to continue.
EPN members Janet McCabe, former Acting Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, David Coursen, former EPA Office of General Counsel, and Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, were quoted in this article about the Trump Administration’s fight with California regarding fuel efficiency standards.
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.
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.
Mustafa Santiago Ali, EPN member and former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was quoted in this article about the Trump Administration’s attacks on science, from proposed budget cuts at EPA to new regulations that ban qualified scientists from serving on advisory panels.
