Complete list of press releases

(July 30, 2018) EDF and its allies are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to reverse an ill-considered lower-court stay of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) standards that reduce the waste of natural gas on public and tribal lands.

The groups filed their opening brief in the appeal today.

“The district court committed a serious legal error by enjoining implementation of a nationwide regulation without concluding that the four prerequisites for granting this extraordinary relief had been met,” the groups say in their brief. “If allowed to stand, the Stay Order would create a new, lower standard for enjoining agency actions – a standard that directly conflicts with this Court’s longstanding precedent.”

BLM’s Waste Prevention Standards require oil and gas companies operating on federal and tribal lands to take common sense measures to reduce preventable leaks of natural gas. Between 2009 and 2015, those companies wasted enough natural gas to supply more than 6.2 million homes for an entire year.

The waste of natural gas on public and tribal lands costs taxpayers millions of dollars. Preventing that waste means more royalty money for Western communities and tribes – money that can be used for roads and schools.

Natural gas that is wasted through leaks, venting or flaring also allows large amounts of unhealthy pollution into our air – including methane, which is a potent driver of climate change.

A lower court temporarily suspended portions of BLM’s Waste Prevention Standards. The states of California and New Mexico, and a group of 15 national, regional, tribal and local public health and environmental groups – including EDF – appealed that decision to the Tenth Circuit.

You can find more information – including all legal documents – on EDF’s website.

(AUSTIN, TX – July 30, 2018) The Mexican Government proposed new methane regulations today, delivering on a commitment Mexico made in trilateral accord with Canada and the United States to cut methane emissions from their oil and gas industries 40-45 percent by 2025. Prime Minister Trudeau took a critical step toward meeting Canada’s pledge with the federal methane regulations his government finalized in April. However, weak draft Alberta regulations now threaten Canada’s ability to live up to its commitments.

“Mexico is moving forward with an unmistakably strong regulatory package. Whether Trudeau will stand firm or let Alberta’s weak draft rules undermine Canada’s methane efforts will be a major test of his government’s climate resolve.”

        - Drew Nelson, International Affairs Director, Energy

Canadian law allows provincial regulations to replace national rules, so long as they provide an equal or better level of protection. Days before the federal methane rules published, Alberta unveiled its own draft methane rules. Analysis indicates a large emissions gap between the federal and Alberta regulations. Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna is expected to soon make a decision regarding an equivalency agreement with Alberta.

Alberta’s weak draft regulations are out of step with what Mexico, Canada, and every other jurisdiction regulating methane is doing. Alberta allows companies to intentionally vent gas at much higher levels and doesn’t require companies to frequently find and fix leaks.

(CIUDAD DE MÉXICO – 30 de julio de 2018) El gobierno de México propuso hoy nuevas regulaciones para reducir las emisiones contaminantes de metano del sector de petróleo y gas, lo que ayuda al país a avanzar en sus compromisos climáticos internacionales. Los lineamientos, una vez finalizados, colocarán a México entre los principales países que controlan las emisiones de metano como una forma de cumplir sus objetivos climáticos y evitar el desperdicio de energía.

El metano es un poderoso contaminante y el componente principal del gas natural que genera el 25 por ciento del calentamiento global actual. Grandes cantidades de metano pueden escaparse a la atmósfera a través de fugas y del venteo, que ocurren a lo largo de toda la cadena de suministro del petróleo y el gas. México es el quinto emisor más importante de metano en el mundo.

“Lograr contar rápidamente con normas sólidas en cuanto al metano puede ayudar a asegurar la independencia energética de México y garantizar que su creciente industria del petróleo y gas opere de la manera más eficiente posible. La reducción de fugas de gas metano beneficia al medio ambiente, a la economía y a las comunidades de México.

México ha demostrado un gran liderazgo en el desarrollo de normativas consistentes para abordar la contaminación por metano. Las reglas preliminares presentadas se basan en los aprendizajes de otros países que ya controlan con éxito las emisiones de metano del sector petróleo y gas en América del Norte.

México es el ejemplo más actual de la creciente acción internacional para atajar un problema climático crítico pero resoluble. La próxima administración federal en México puede construir sobre este liderazgo implementando eficazmente las regulaciones de metano y al seguir posicionando a México a la vanguardia de los problemas climáticos”, mencionó Drew Nelson, director de Asuntos Internacionales del Programa de Energía y Cambio Climático de EDF.

La industria del petróleo y gas está reconociendo la importancia de reducir las emisiones de metano. Recientemente, Pemex acordó un futuro de emisiones de metano cercanas a cero junto con otros nueve grandes productores. ExxonMobil y Equinor, inversionistas del sector energético de México, también están trabajando para desarrollar tecnologías para controlar el metano. Si la industria y las medidas de política pública se conciertan para reducir las emisiones de este gas, el panorama climático podría cambiar.

EDF compartió las mejores prácticas regulatorias internacionales para reducir las emisiones de metano del sector petróleo y gas con el gobierno de México durante el desarrollo del borrador de estas regulaciones. Las regulaciones de metano propuestas por México están en línea con esas mejores prácticas internacionales y EDF se compromete a seguir trabajando de la mano con las autoridades para lograr una buena implementación de las mismas.

(MEXICO CITY – July 30, 2018) The Mexican Government proposed new regulations today to cut harmful oil and gas methane emissions, helping Mexico advance its international climate commitments. The rules, once finalized, will place Mexico among the leading governments controlling methane emissions as a way to meet their climate goals and avoid energy waste.

Methane is a powerful pollutant and the primary ingredient in natural gas. Large quantities of methane can escape through leaks and venting across the oil and gas supply chain.

“Getting strong methane rules in place quickly can help secure Mexico’s energy independence and ensure that its growing oil and gas industry operates as efficiently as possible. Reducing methane gas leaks benefits the environment, economy and Mexico’s communities.

“Mexico has shown real leadership in developing sound regulations to address methane pollution. The draft rules draw on learnings from other oil and gas jurisdictions already successfully controlling methane emissions across North America.

“Mexico is the latest example of growing international action to tackle a critical, yet solvable climate problem. The next administration can build on this leadership by swiftly implementing the methane regulations and continuing to position Mexico at the forefront of climate issues.”

        - Drew Nelson, International Affairs Director, Energy

The oil and gas industry is recognizing the importance of reducing methane. Recently, Pemex agreed to a near-zero methane emissions future with nine other major producers. Big investors in Mexico’s revitalized energy sector, ExxonMobil and Equinor, are also working to advance the technologies to control methane. Concerted industry and policy actions to reduce methane, a greenhouse gas that drives 25 percent of warming, could be a climate game-changer.

EDF shared international regulatory best practices for reducing oil and gas methane emissions with the Mexican government during the development of the draft regulations. Mexico’s proposed methane regulations are in line with those international best practices.

(Washington, D.C. – July 28, 2018) The Trump Administration is on the verge of issuing a proposal to slam the brakes on America’s successful program to reduce pollution from cars – and attacking long-standing state authority to maintain clean car programs at the same time – according to news reports.

The New York Times just released a draft of the administration’s proposal to dramatically weaken America’s Clean Car Standards – standards that are in effect today delivering crucial health and economic benefits to all Americans.

“If these news reports are correct, the Trump administration is preparing a proposal to substantially increase pollution while raising families’ costs at the gas pump by hundreds of dollars a year through an attack on our nation’s Clean Car Standards,” said EDF president Fred Krupp. “The administration’s proposal also reportedly contains an attack on states’ rights to protect millions of people against health-damaging air pollution – a move that is flatly illegal. EDF will vigorously defend America’s Clean Car Standards in our courts and in the court of public opinion if this attack on public health, gas cost savings and state leadership is pursued.”

The Clean Car Standards are one of our nation’s biggest environmental success stories. Put in place in 2012 with the support of virtually every automaker, they’ve been providing benefits to all Americans ever since – reducing climate pollution, spurring fuel efficiency gains, and saving families hard-earned money at the gas pump. If news reports are correct, the administration is planning to halt climate pollution reductions and put the brakes on fuel economy improvements from 2020 through 2026. That would result in over two billion tons of additional climate pollution, according to EDF’s analysis.

A new analysis by M.J. Bradley found that if the Clean Car Standards are rolled back American families in each state across the country will spend an average of $200 more each year on gas, and could spend as much as $500 more each year if gas prices continue to rise. 

More than two thirds of American voters support the Clean Car Standards, according to a recent American Lung Association poll. Major industry stakeholders, including automakers themselves, have urged the Trump administration not to weaken the protections. Automakers including Ford and Honda have said they do not want a rollback of the existing Clean Car Standards.

The Clean Car Standards are already in full force and effect. They are supported by an extensive record, including an exhaustive multi-year technical analysis that was conducted by multiple state and federal agencies. That analysis concluded that the standards are achievable and that even more technologies are available to meet the standards, at lower cost, than expected when they were finalized in 2012. The newly-published draft proposal reflects a dramatic and dangerous departure from these factual findings.  

The draft reportedly also contains an attack on states’ long-standing authority to carry out more protective clean car programs than those implemented by the U.S. government. That authority has been in place for half a century under provisions in the Clean Air Act, has been affirmed in major court cases, and has played a key role in spurring the development and deployment of clean car solutions like smog-fighting catalytic converters. More than a third of U.S. new car sales are covered by the coalition of states that have committed to protective clean car standards: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont.

Documents obtained by EDF through the Freedom of Information Act show that attacking the clean car standards and state leadership on clean cars has been the aim of the administration since President Trump took office.

EDF and its allies are already in court challenging former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s decision to weaken these protections. The groups filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit after EPA announced it had made a decision to weaken the standards but failed to provide any meaningful technical analysis. 

(Washington D.C. – July 26, 2018) Tonight the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency withdrew an unlawful loophole that would allow more super-polluting freight trucks onto our roads – trucks that present a serious and urgent threat to the health of all Americans.  

“This is a huge win for all Americans who care about clean air and human health,” said EDF president Fred Krupp. “These super-polluting diesel freight trucks fill our lungs with a toxic stew of pollution. EPA’s effort to create a loophole allowing more of them onto our roads was irresponsible and dangerous. We hope their decision tonight to withdraw that loophole puts a firm and final end to this serious threat to our families’ health.”

Tonight’s EPA announcement follows an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that suspended EPA’s action pending emergency briefing. The D.C. Circuit ruled two-to-one last week to suspend implementation of EPA’s decision not to enforce modern pollution standards for super-polluting trucks. EDF, the Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club had filed a motion seeking that suspension. EPA’s withdrawal also follows legal action by a broad coalition of 16 state Attorneys General who oppose EPA’s radical and harmful non-enforcement policy.

The legal battle began earlier this month when, with no public warning, EPA issued an assurance that it would not enforce pollution limits on “glider trucks.”

Glider trucks are heavy-duty freight trucks that are assembled by putting old, dirty diesel engines into a new freight truck body. EPA testing found they can emit lethal particulate pollution at up to 450 times the amount from modern, Clean Air Act-compliant engines.

A recent EDF-commissioned analysis, submitted to the court as part of the legal filings indicates the additional glider trucks produced during EPA’s two-year non-enforcement policy could result in more than 1,700 premature deaths over the life of those vehicles.

Under America’s Clean Truck Standards, engines used in glider trucks must meet modern pollution standards. Then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt tried to repeal pollution standards for glider trucks after a meeting with a major glider manufacturer on May 8, 2017 – the same manufacturer who prominently hosted an event for then-candidate Donald Trump early in his presidential campaign.

Pruitt’s attempt failed after comments underscored his proposal’s flawed legal reasoning, the White House and EPA Science Advisory Board raised concerns about the lack of supporting analysis, and a misconduct investigation was launched into the one study cited in the proposal. Pruitt’s proposal to repeal pollution standards for super-polluting glider trucks also faced extensive public opposition from EDF, the American Lung Association and other health experts, Moms Clean Air Force and other concerned citizens, and freight truck companies that make cleaner engines and would now face unfair competition.

Then, on Pruitt’s last day in office, EPA abruptly announced that it would not enforce the pollution standards for super-polluting glider trucks – even though it had not repealed those clean air standards.

Tonight, EPA withdrew that non-enforcement policy.

You can find all the legal filings in this case on EDF’s website.

 “EDF applauds Rep. Carlos Curbelo and the bill sponsors for putting forward an innovative proposal to fund American infrastructure that would also cut climate pollution. The bill marks a welcome and overdue return to bipartisan engagement on policy solutions after years when some in Congress have questioned the basic science of climate change.

“America can and must lead the world on clean energy innovation and climate action, while doing our fair share to reduce the risk of dangerous climate change, informed by the best available science. That means a comprehensive approach that puts the United States on track to stop adding more heat trapping carbon pollution to the atmosphere than we take out, by the middle of this century.

“This bill is unlikely to cut climate pollution in line with that trajectory. Nonetheless, it contains some important design features that advance the policy debate in Washington. It harnesses the power of economic incentives to let businesses choose for themselves how best to cut pollution, and establishes clear environmental performance goals along with transparent mechanisms to measure progress and stay on course to meeting those goals.

“Rep. Curbelo deserves significant credit for reinvigorating the discussion on climate policy in Congress. EDF looks forward to working with him, along with the sponsors of this bill and all supporters of climate action, to build a bipartisan majority for ambitious, strong, fair, and effective climate action.”

            - Fred Krupp, president, Environmental Defense Fund

  (Washington D.C. – July 23, 2018) A new analysis by M.J. Bradley shows that the Trump administration’s impending attack on Clean Car Standards will cost American car owners hundreds of dollars each year, and will ultimately mean thousands of dollars in extra fuel costs for families in every state. 

With the anticipated roll back of the standards, the average American family will spend $200 more each year, and could spend as much as $500 more each year if gas prices continue to rise — with low-income and long-commuting Americans particularly hard hit.

“The Trump administration’s attack on our common sense Clean Car Standards means bigger bills at the gas pump for American families,” said EDF Senior Attorney Martha Roberts. “This rollback will also increase harmful pollution and undermine the jobs created by innovative American engineering and manufacturing. We need to accelerate our progress towards clean cars, not hit the brakes.” 

The new M.J. Bradley report was commissioned by EDF. It finds that with the current Clean Car Standards, owners of model year 2025 cars would see net savings in fuel costs of up to $5,000 over the cars’ lifetime – and trucks owners would see net fuel cost savings of up to $8,000 – compared to model year 2020 vehicles. Those savings would be lost if the Trump administration rolls back the Clean Car Standards.

For the vast majority of American families, the Clean Car Standards result in money saved at the gas pump as soon as they drive a car off the lot — and for all families, their savings continue as long as they own their vehicle.

In addition to saving families money at the gas pump, the Clean Car Standards give us cleaner air to breathe, help protect us from the growing threat of climate change, and drive the technological innovation that leads to jobs and economic growth. They have widespread support, including from many states and automobile workers. An American Lung Association poll found that more than two-thirds of Americans support the Clean Car Standards. Major automakers have disavowed a rollback of the existing standards.

In spite of these many broadly shared benefits for all Americans, the Trump Administration is poised to throw the standards into reverse, and attack state clean car programs as well, in the next few days.

You can read the full report here – including savings estimates for each state.

   (Washington D.C. – July 18, 2018) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today to suspend an EPA loophole that would allow more super-polluting freight trucks that present a serious and urgent threat to the health of all Americans onto our roads.

Environmental Defense Fund, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Sierra Club filed a motion yesterday asking the court to suspend EPA’s deeply harmful decision to not enforce modern pollution standards for these freight trucks. The pollution standards are current law and were adopted after years of analysis and public comment.

“The court’s decision today is an important step towards protecting the health of all Americans from super-polluting diesel freight trucks,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “The Trump administration’s decision to allow more of these dirty diesel trucks on our roads was made without any public input and with reckless disregard for the serious public health threats they will cause. We’re pleased the court has suspended this dangerous loophole and we look forward to presenting a strong case to the court about the need to reverse EPA’s flawed decision.”

The D.C. Circuit ruled two-to-one to temporarily suspend implementation of EPA’s decision not to enforce modern pollution standards for super-polluting trucks – a radical decision issued on Scott Pruitt’s final day as EPA Administrator. The court will now consider EDF and its allies’ request for a longer stay pending consideration of the merits of the case. The court’s order provides for emergency briefing through July 27.

Earlier this month, with no public warning, EPA issued an assurance that it would not enforce pollution limits on “glider trucks.”

Glider trucks are heavy-duty freight trucks made by putting old, dirty diesel engines into a new freight truck body. EPA testing found they can emit lethal particulate pollution at up to 450 times the amount from modern engines.

A recent EDF-commissioned analysis, submitted to the court yesterday along with EDF and allies’ motion, indicates the additional glider trucks produced during EPA’s two-year non-enforcement policy could result in more than 1,700 premature deaths over the life of those vehicles.

Under America’s Clean Truck Standards, engines used in glider trucks must meet modern pollution standards. Then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt tried to repeal pollution standards for glider trucks after a meeting with a major glider manufacturer on May 8, 2017 – the same manufacturer who prominently hosted an event for then-candidate Donald Trump early in his presidential campaign.

Pruitt’s attempt failed after comments underscored his proposal’s flawed legal reasoning, the White House and EPA Science Advisory Board raised concerns about the lack of supporting analysis, and a misconduct investigation was launched into the one study cited in the proposal. Pruitt’s proposal to repeal pollution standards for super-polluting glider trucks also faced extensive public opposition from EDF, the American Lung Association and other health experts, Moms Clean Air Force and other concerned citizens, and freight truck companies that make cleaner engines and would now face unfair competition.

Then, on Pruitt’s last day in office, EPA abruptly announced that it would not enforce the pollution standards for super-polluting glider trucks – even though it had not repealed those clean air standards.

You can find all the legal filings in this case on EDF’s website.

(DENVER, CO) Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed an executive order today to initiate plans aimed at reducing pollution from the state’s abandoned and orphaned wells. However, the executive order does not include provisions that would address the integrity and safety of tens of thousands of active wells across Colorado.

“We appreciate the Governor’s efforts, as orphan wells are a long term environmental problem that deserves attention, but Colorado should prioritize the health and safety of communities living in the state’s active oil fields. Leaks and catastrophic blowouts can result from poorly constructed and maintained oil and gas wells, and Colorado needs to update its rules to ensure industry is minimizing these risks.”  
 
•    Dan Grossman, National Director of State Programs, Oil & Gas 

(WASHINGTON, DC) Environmental Defense Fund, the National Corn Growers Association and the Farm Journal Foundation are co-hosting “Market and Policy Innovations for Resilient Agriculture” this Friday, July 20 in Washington, DC. The event will feature a keynote address from former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

It will also include a panel discussion about strengthening the economic and environmental resilience of agriculture, and the emerging ideas and unexpected partnerships driving change on the farm and across the food system.

Speakers will be available before and after the event for interviews.

Who:

• Tom Vilsack, former U.S. secretary of agriculture and current president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
• Chris Novak, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association.
• Fred Yoder, farmer and chairman of the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance.
• Lynn Tjeerdsma, senior policy advisor to Senator John Thune.
• Josette Lewis, associate vice president of sustainable agriculture at Environmental Defense Fund.
• Stephanie Mercier, senior fellow at the Farm Journal Foundation.

When:

Friday, July 20, 8:30-11 a.m.

Where:

Mayflower Hotel, Senate Room, 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Please RSVP at DCcollaborativeconservation.eventbrite.com.

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) A new market opportunity pays farmers and ranchers to preserve grasslands and lock carbon into the soil. The sale of the first listed grassland carbon credits will allow the Southern Plains Land Trust to restore and preserve two Colorado ranches that sequester 8,000 metric tons of soil carbon per year.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) facilitated the development and sale of the credits with the help of a Conservation Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Natural Capital Partners purchased them on behalf of its client Microsoft, which began a carbon neutrality program in 2012.

“This project exemplifies how USDA grants can support innovative conservation approaches,” said Robert Parkhurst, Director of Agriculture Data and Metrics at EDF. “It will serve as a model for private working lands around the nation.”

Grassland carbon credits reward landowners for retaining soil carbon and avoiding the emissions associated with converting grasslands into croplands. Grassland projects also provide ecosystem benefits such as habitat for threatened species.

“Agricultural carbon markets are now economically viable for producers as a result of new technology applications, such as satellite imaging, that have dramatically reduced verification costs,” Parkhurst added. “These carbon markets have the potential to incentivize land management decisions that boost climate resilience.”

“We need new approaches, validated and encouraged by globally recognized markets, to reduce global carbon emissions. This innovative project has the potential to reduce emissions while also delivering co-benefits like protection of ecosystems and biodiversity,” said Elizabeth Willmott, Environmental Sustainability Program Manager at Microsoft.

“Raven’s Nest and Heartland Ranch contain sweeping native grasslands, seasonal wetlands and twenty miles of prairie streams. These habitats are abundant with songbirds, raptors, diverse mammals and rare plants. Native grazers like bison, elk and pronghorn keep the grasslands healthy,” explained Nicole Rosmarino, Executive Director of the Southern Plains Land Trust.

The Climate Action Reserve’s Grassland Project Protocol uses biogeochemical modeling and emissions factors to quantify carbon that would be released from the soil if the land were tilled. Offsets are then generated for preserved belowground soil carbon, avoided use of nitrogen-based fertilizers and avoided use of carbon-emitting machinery for crop cultivation.

 (Washington D.C. – July 17, 2018) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Center for Biological Diversity, and Sierra Club are asking the court to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from allowing more super-polluting freight trucks on America’s roads.

The groups filed a motion for immediate reversal or a stay of EPA’s deeply harmful decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today.

“Giving super-polluting freight trucks a free pass to pollute will put Americans’ health and lives at risk,” said EDF Senior Attorney Martha Roberts. “Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is continuing Scott Pruitt’s decision to short-change public health without any public input or regard for the law. We urge the court to set aside this this flawed decision.”

Earlier this month, with no public warning, EPA issued an assurance that it would not enforce pollution limits on “glider trucks.”Glider trucks are heavy-duty freight trucks made by putting old, dirty diesel engines into a new freight truck body. EPA testing found they can emit lethal particulate pollution at up to 450 times the amount from modern engines.

A recent EDF-commissioned analysis, submitted to the court today along with the motion, indicates the additional glider trucks produced during EPA’s two-year non-enforcement policy could result in more than 1,700 premature deaths over the life of those vehicles.

Under America’s Clean Truck Standards, engines used in glider trucks must meet modern pollution standards. Then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt tried to repeal pollution standards for glider trucks after a meeting with a major glider manufacturer on May 8, 2017 – the same manufacturer who prominently hosted an event for then-candidate Donald Trump early in his presidential campaign.

Pruitt’s attempt failed after comments underscored his proposal’s flawed legal reasoning, the White House and EPA Science Advisory Board raised concerns about the lack of supporting analysis, and a misconduct investigation was launched into the one study cited in the proposal. Pruitt’s proposal to repeal pollution standards for super-polluting glider trucks also faced extensive public opposition from EDF, the American Lung Association and other health experts, Moms Clean Air Force and other concerned citizens, and freight truck companies that make cleaner engines and would now face unfair competition.

Then, on Pruitt’s last day in office, EPA announced that it would not enforce the pollution standards for super-polluting glider trucks – even though it had not repealed those standards.

EDF and its allies have formally asked Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to withdraw the non-enforcement decision, as has a coalition of 13 states. EDF has also filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records related to it.Today, EDF and its allies filed a motion asking the D.C. Circuit to set aside or stay this harmful and unlawful decision. The groups also submitted extensive scientific and technical declarations that assess the health harms associated with diesel pollution and the development and viability of modern pollution controls, along with declarations from EDF members and others about the immediate and severe health consequences from EPA’s decision not to enforce these public safeguards. (You can read the declarations here, here and here).  

 (Washington, D.C. – July 17, 2018) Experts for Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today to withdraw the “censored science” proposal – a proposed rule that would bar the agency from considering some of our most important public health studies in making decisions about vital protections for human health and the environment.   

EPA held an all-day public hearing on its proposal at its Washington, D.C. headquarters today. EDF Senior Health Scientist Jennifer McPartland was among the more than 100 Americans who were expected to testify.

“EPA’s proposed rule represents a total disregard for the agency’s core mission: protection of human health and the environment,” said McPartland in her testimony. “If finalized the rule will erode critical public health protections, and with them, the scientific integrity and public trust of the agency.”

You can read McPartland’s full testimony here.

EPA’s proposed rule closely resembles federal anti-science legislation that has been stalled in Congress for years, and has been widely criticized by leading scientific organizations and public health organizations. The legislation was drafted by House Science Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith and is misleadingly labeled the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment (HONEST) Act.

Before he left office, former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt began attempting to create a rule based on Rep. Smith’s unsuccessful legislation – without seeking input from the agency’s Scientific Advisory Board or other scientific bodies. EPA agreed to hold a public hearing on the proposal only after EDF and hundreds of others demanded an opportunity to voice their views.

At the hearing today, McPartland called on acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler to retract the proposal.

EDF Legal Fellow Surbhi Sarang also testified about the dangers of the censored science proposal at today’s hearing. You can read her full testimony here.

(WASHINGTON – July 16, 2018) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced today that Kathleen ‘Katie’ McGinty, a nationally recognized environmental leader, is the new leader and Senior Vice President of the Oceans program. 

Amanda Leland, who headed the Oceans program for the past six years, was promoted to Executive Vice President in charge of overseeing EDF’s core programs, including Climate, Energy, Health, Ecosystems and Oceans.

“Under Amanda’s leadership, the Oceans program has made tremendous gains toward our goal of ending overfishing and restoring our seas to abundance,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “After decades of declines, more than half of all U.S. federal fisheries that had been in trouble have been rebuilt - with most of the rest on the way back. And progress is spreading around the world including Indonesia, Mexico, Sweden, and Japan. But there is more work in front of us.

“Overfishing is one of the most pressing and solvable environmental challenges of our time and I’m delighted that Katie will be joining our team of experts to help tackle it,” Krupp added. “She has the inclusive vision, world-class experience and global perspective to lead the Oceans program toward a future where we have more food on the plate, more fish in the sea and more prosperity for the world’s fishing communities.”

McGinty, who served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), has deep expertise coordinating environmental policy while working with stakeholders on all sides to ensure the best possible outcome for the environment and the economy. For example, during her tenure at CEQ McGinty led efforts to restore salmon runs, bringing together landowners, farmers, and tribes to find a solution.

“I’m thrilled to be leading EDF’s Oceans program at this critical time because I believe the Oceans are a fulcrum for the health of our planet and our wellbeing,” McGinty said. “How the oceans go, so goes our future. We have an amazing opportunity in front of us to achieve environmental and economic outcomes that benefit future generations who will rely on this fundamental resource, and I’m honored to be a part of that.”

As former head of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, McGinty was instrumental in developing balanced environmental policies that allowed the state to be a leader in aligning environmental stewardship with business growth, including spearheading an effort to make Pennsylvania a frontrunner in wind and solar manufacturing. Her leadership resulted in 3,000 new jobs and $1 billion in new investments in the state.

In addition to her public service, McGinty also has significant international private sector experience, having served as partner at Element Partners, a growth equity fund dedicated to investments in sustainable technology and innovation in large industrial markets across the globe. McGinty has also lived in India and worked in China, overseeing efforts in brownfield cleanup and sustainable community development.

“EDF’s mission to end overfishing ties in perfectly with Katie’s work throughout her career to find solutions that benefit the greatest number of people,” said Leland. “With a passion for working with all sides to find common-sense solutions to environmental and public health challenges, Katie brings to the role a wealth of experience, depth of knowledge and strength of relationships that are unparalleled.”