Complete list of press releases

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued an order to suspend construction of the Mariner East 2 Pipeline, which is linked to water contamination in multiple counties.

“Governor Wolf and the DEP made the right call. This action proves that irresponsible companies can no longer pollute without consequence. Continued vigilance from the Wolf Administration will be critical to protect Pennsylvanians’ air and water and to ensure all oil and gas companies operate more responsibly within the commonwealth.”

• Andrew Williams, Director, Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, U.S. Climate and Energy

(SALT LAKE CITY – Jan. 3, 2018) – The Utah Department of Environmental Quality finalized new standards today to modernize and improve regulation of smog-forming emissions from the state’s oil and gas facilities. 

“Oil and gas pollution is the number one ozone contributor in Northeastern Utah’s Uintah basin; reducing these emissions is critical in order to protect public health. Modernizing oversight of the oil and gas industry is the right move by the Department of Environmental Quality, but the state missed a huge economic opportunity by failing to include measures that reduce methane, both a potent greenhouse gas and an important energy source. More can and should be done to cut methane waste and pollution and we look forward to continuing to work with DEQ to address harmful and wasteful emissions in the Uintah basin going forward.”

•    Jon Goldstein, Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, EDF Oil and Gas Program 

(NEW YORK, NY) In his annual State of the State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo today unveiled New York’s 2018 clean energy agenda, which builds on the state’s legacy of climate progress and innovation. Gov. Cuomo’s proposal aims to invest $200 million in 1,500 megawatts of energy storage by 2025 and employ 30,000 New Yorkers to meet this target; develop 800 megawatts of offshore wind to power 400,000 New York homes by 2030; implement congestion pricing, which will reduce traffic, cut pollution, and fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to alleviate millions of subway riders; adopt regulations that will end the use of coal in New York’s power plants by 2020; and reduce the energy burden of low-income households by creating a zero-cost community solar program for 10,000 New Yorkers.

“As Washington pulls us backward, Governor Cuomo’s environmental commitments show states and cities can lead the way on climate progress solutions. This plan advances energy regulatory reform efforts already underway, offers cost-effective ways to deploy clean technologies using a mix of private and public investment, and endorses congestion pricing to support transit and cut traffic pollution.”

• Andy Darrell, New York Regional Director, Environmental Defense Fund

(TRENTON, NJ – Dec. 21, 2017) Governor-elect Phil Murphy today appointed Catherine McCabe, former acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to head the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. As the department’s new commissioner, Ms. McCabe will lead the state’s air, waters, land and natural and historic resources protection efforts.

“Catherine McCabe’s nomination is an indication of Governor-elect Murphy’s forward-looking vision for New Jersey’s clean energy economy and future. The legislature should wait to take action on important matters, including the nuclear bailout, until his all-star cabinet is in a place.”

• Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

A bill aimed at subsidizing Public Service Enterprise Group’s (PSEG) two aging nuclear power plants was passed out of New Jersey’s Senate Environment and Energy Committee and Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee today. If enacted, this customer-funded bailout would require all New Jersey electric customers to pay $300 million for an unlimited number of years to keep the aging plants in operation, adding an extra $40 a year to each customer’s electric bill. PSEG, PSE&G’s parent company, has not provided any documentation or analysis to show these facilities are in need of financial assistance.

“This is blatant financial opportunism: PSEG’s multi-billion dollar customer-funded bailout is being rammed through the lame duck session, with no benefits for New Jersey customers. New Jerseyans are being required to subsidize the utility giant’s aging, expensive nuclear plants, even though PSEG admits the plants are still profitable.”

• Mary Barber, Director, New Jersey Clean Energy

(WASHINGTON – December 20, 2017) The following statements were issued by Ocean Conservancy’s Chris Dorsett, Environmental Defense Fund’s Robert E. Jones, and Earthjustice’s Andrea A. Treece in response to Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s decision to issue a stay in their lawsuit against the Department of Commerce. Ocean Conservancy and Environmental Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in the District Court of D.C. against the Department of Commerce for its decision to illegally extend the 2017 private recreational red snapper fishing season in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chris Dorsett, Vice President of Conservation Policy and Programs, Ocean Conservancy:

“America’s fisheries need to stay on the path to recovery – benefitting fishermen and coastal communities across the country.  Ocean Conservancy filed this lawsuit to ensure we stay on this path, and that we don’t slide back into the bad old days of allowing overfishing on important stocks like red snapper. The decision by the judge to maintain jurisdiction over the recreational red snapper season for 2018 is an important step in ensuring that future management decisions are focused on sustainability and accountability, for the benefit of both the fish and fishermen. 

“Hard work, sacrifice and good decisions have helped restore red snapper and bring stability to fishing-dependent businesses, but we’re only halfway through the rebuilding plan. The Department of Commerce must commit to managing fairly and accountably for all fishermen, and return to making science-based decisions that deliver healthy fisheries for the benefit of fishermen and coastal communities. Commerce needs to focus on rebuilding trust with stakeholders after this short-sighted decision. Under this stay, we will continue working with fishermen and other stakeholders to explore innovative management and data collection solutions while ensuring that Gulf red snapper is rebuilt on time and kept healthy for generations of fishermen to come.”

Robert E. Jones, Director, Gulf of Mexico Oceans Program, Environmental Defense Fund:

“This is an important outcome for the future of the Gulf’s red snapper fishery and the coastal communities that depend on it. The federal government has asserted before the Court that it will not illegally extend the season again, so now we can get back to work fixing the issues that cause short and inconsistent seasons for recreational anglers.  At the same time, the stay leaves the Court as a guardian to watch for any further illegal actions so the case can be reinvigorated to prevent overfishing and ensure rebuilding stays on track.

“We want to see broken recreational management fixed in a way that promotes flexible access for anglers while protecting the balance amongst all user groups. Solutions must include safeguards that adhere to the best available science and prevent overfishing because I do not want to return to the days of my childhood in Corpus Christi when we could barely find red snapper to catch. We have come too far to throw all of this progress out the window.”

Andrea A. Treece, Staff Attorney, Oceans Programs, Earthjustice:

“The Department of Commerce essentially conceded the illegality of its actions by failing to defend the case on the merits. With judicial oversight, this action won’t be repeated next year – Commerce is now on notice that it cannot play fast and loose with the future of our fisheries. We will be watching Commerce’s actions carefully to make sure they respect the law and make fishery management decisions based on science—in this fishery and others around the country.”
 

 

(Washington, D.C. – December 19, 2017) EDF and a coalition of conservation and tribal citizen groups filed a lawsuit and a motion for preliminary injunction asking a U.S. District Court to stop the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to delay a suite of protections that prevent the waste of a valuable public resource.

Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is trying to delay the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Waste Prevention Rule until January of 2019 – an action that would have immediate and irreparable adverse impacts on tribes, local communities, ranchers and families across the West. Zinke has provided no meaningful opportunity for public input or reasoned explanation for the attempt to delay the rule. The rule requires oil and gas companies operating on federal and tribal lands to take common-sense measures to reduce preventable leaks and flaring of methane, the primary component of natural gas.

EDF and its allies filed a motion for preliminary injunction with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California today seeking to block Zinke’s latest unlawful attempt to remove these protections:

“The consequences of Secretary Zinke’s unlawful action are immediate and profound. His action—removing protections that would otherwise be achieved in just a few weeks—will enable tens of thousands of oil and gas wells on federal and tribal lands to continue wasting natural gas, allowing hundreds of thousands of tons of harmful air pollutants to be emitted and squandering public and tribal resources. Plaintiffs request that this Court preliminarily enjoin this harmful action, and reinstate the January 17, 2018 deadline for complying with BLM’s Waste Prevention Rule.” (Motion, pages 1 and 2)

The Trump Administration has tried before to suspend the Waste Prevention Rule. Those efforts were rejected by both the courts and Congress.

The rule in question will stop the waste of American taxpayer-owned natural gas from avoidable leaks, flaring and intentional releases of methane. It will also reduce emissions of other damaging air pollutants, including smog-forming volatile organic compounds and benzene, which causes cancer.

$330 million of taxpayer-owned natural gas is wasted each year, and Secretary Zinke’s delay – by BLM’s own analysis – would allow nine billion cubic feet of additional wasted gas over the course of the next year. That is enough natural gas to meet the heating and cooking needs of over 100,000 homes for a year.

The Attorneys General of California and New Mexico also filed a legal challenge over Zinke’s attempted delay.

Along with its motion for preliminary injunction, EDF filed a number of declarations with the court from a broad coalition of Western government officials, landowners, and tribal organizations. The declarations underscore the immediate and damaging impacts of Zinke’s action to delay the Waste Prevention Rule.

In their declaration, Aztec, New Mexico City Commissioner Katee McClure and La Plata County, Colorado Commissioner Gwen Lachelt say:

“The Waste Minimization Rule is an important step forward to ensure operators on federal and tribal lands are deploying commonsense measures to capture additional gas. The Rule benefits our communities by providing additional royalties that we can use to fund key priorities—including infrastructure, roads, and education—while also helping to clean up the air in our parts of Colorado and New Mexico, which has health benefits for our citizens. If BLM’s suspension of key provisions of the Waste Prevention Rule takes effect, our communities will be harmed by the loss of royalties and degradation of air quality caused by the suspension.” (Declaration of Commissioners McClure and Lachelt, page 7)

EDF member Don Schreiber, a New Mexican rancher with extensive BLM-managed oil and gas development near his home, filed a declaration describing the impacts of venting, flaring, and leaking from BLM wells on his ranch, which would continue unabated under Secretary Zinke’s suspension of the Waste Prevention Rule:

“As I ride, walk and drive around [my] ranch, I can often see vapors escaping from leaking wells distorting the air and creating shadows on the ground. I have had horses spook violently under me when they were startled by the roar of a nearby well suddenly venting, which can sound like a jet engine…. Although [my wife and I] had hoped the Ranch would be a place we would share with our grandkids, the oil and gas operations on our land limit our ability to enjoy it with them. We worry about their exposure to air pollutants…. Protecting our grandchildren from the negative health effects of oil and gas emissions is a constant concern when they come to visit us.” (Declaration of Don Schreiber, pages 4 and 5)

The Aneth, Counselor, Ojo Encino, and Red Mesa Navajo Chapter Houses also filed declarations today, saying:

“Methane waste is a serious problem for tribes, robbing tribal governments of millions of dollars and polluting the air we breathe.” (Navajo Chapter House declarations, page 2)

The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthworks, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Wilderness Society, National Wildlife Federation, Citizens for a Healthy Community, Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Fort Berthold Protectors of Water and Earth Rights, Montana Environmental Information Center, San Juan Citizens Alliance, Western Organization of Resource Councils, Wilderness Workshop, Wildearth Guardians, and Wyoming Outdoor Council joined EDF in filing today’s complaint and motion for a preliminary injunction.

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

(BEIJING/ NEW YORK – Dec. 19, 2017) China announced today that it would begin phasing in an ambitious new program to stabilize and eventually reduce carbon pollution, a program that will become the world’s largest emissions trading system (ETS). China anticipates the carbon trading program, in which emissions credits below a defined limit are bought and sold on a market, will be a key tool to meet its greenhouse gas emissions pledge under the Paris climate agreement.

The initial phase of the ETS will cover the power sector, and is expected to include 3.5 billion metric tons of carbon emissions from some 1,700 stationary sources; this represents roughly 39% of the nation’s total emissions, and is dramatically larger than the current largest program, the European Union’s ETS. Additional sectors such as cement and aluminum will be phased in over the coming years, and by the time China’s program is fully implemented in 2020, it is expected to cover some 5 billion metric tons of CO2. Similar carbon trading programs in the European Union and California have effectively reduced emissions while encouraging economic growth. This market-based approach is being used by 50 countries, states and provinces around the world to drive down climate pollution and help support greater long-term ambition.

“The world has never before seen a climate program on this scale,” said Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) President Fred Krupp. “It is important that the world’s largest emitter should lead on climate, and that is precisely what China is doing by launching its national emissions trading system. China has stepped up its climate leadership dramatically in recent years, and is now increasingly seen as filling the leadership void left by the U.S.

“This new carbon market will position China not only to achieve its Paris Agreement pledge to peak carbon emissions by around 2030, but to take on a more ambitious target that puts China’s emissions on a downward trajectory well before then. Chinese leaders have drawn lessons from the experience of other countries, and they’re moving in a gradual and sure-footed way to make sure they get this right. I think that’s smart. And I’m proud that EDF has been able to provide technical assistance to the Chinese government on areas such as system design, data quality, third-party verification, compliance and enforcement,” Krupp said.

EDF has been working in China for more than 25 years, helping to gradually build the capacity and ambition needed for an undertaking of this magnitude. In recent years, EDF trained more than 39,000 Chinese environmental enforcement officers, and provided technical assistance as China launched seven regional and municipal carbon trading pilot programs. Their success inspired Beijing to move ahead with the program announced today.

“I would like to express my highest regards to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) for its actively promoting the exchange and cooperation between China and the U.S. on environmental protection and providing rigorous support to many activities,” Minister Li Ganjie of China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection told EDF in a letter earlier this year.

Background

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the first registered international non-governmental organization under the Ministry of Environmental Protection in China, has been working for more than two decades to help build China’s capacity and ambition to address climate change.

Beijing called on EDF in the early 1990s to help guide the country’s first pilot projects using economic incentives to reduce pollution. In recent years, we provided technical assistance as China launched seven carbon trading pilot programs. Their success inspired Beijing to announce that it would begin phasing in a national emissions trading system.

EDF has provided technical support to the Chinese government on critical preconditions to realizing China’s ambitions for the ETS including system design, data quality, third-party verification, training, and enforcement. EDF staff will continue to provide expertise in execution, refinement and measurement of the program’s success.

EDF’s pioneering work is a result of 50 years of environmental stewardship with public and private sectors in the United States and around the world. EDF has extensive experience in the development of emissions trading systems, including the U.S. acid rain cap-and-trade program, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, Europe’s emissions trading system, and California’s cap-and-trade program, and also works with jurisdictions including Mexico on potential new emissions trading systems.

(Washington, D.C. – December 18, 2017) As Americans face urgent and growing threats from climate change and as the solutions for achieving deep reductions from power plants are at hand, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly announced today that it will “consider” proposing limits on the pollution that causes it. American needs deeper reductions faster, not Administrator Scott Pruitt’s cynical “repeal and replace.”

Pruitt is already trying to repeal America’s Clean Power Plan, which would limit carbon pollution from power plants and is the single largest step the U.S. has ever taken to address the threat of climate change. According to news reports, the agency today announced a process to replace the Clean Power Plan that will drag on for years – and will likely end up with a feeble alternative or possibly no climate protections at all.

“EPA has an urgent legal and moral obligation to protect American families and communities from the harmful pollution that is destabilizing our climate,” said EDF Lead Attorney Tomás Carbonell. “Our nation needs stronger, faster climate protections, not Scott Pruitt’s cynical ‘repeal and replace’ of America’s Clean Power Plan. Delaying them, or ‘considering’ replacing them, is irresponsible. Nowhere does EPA’s notice give any indication that it recognizes the severity of the climate threat or the importance of putting in place more protective pollution limits.”

The Clean Power Plan provides crucial public health and economic benefits, and is supported by a diverse coalition of states, cities, power companies, public health and environmental groups – as well as by Americans in red and blue states alike. The Trump Administration itself determined the Clean Power Plan could prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths each year by 2030.

EPA today released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – a step usually taken when a federal agency is considering whether or not protections are needed and has little or no information available to inform its approach. Today’s notice asks for public comment about what a replacement for the Clean Power Plan should be, even though EPA already held extensive public hearings and received more than four million comments while developing the Clean Power Plan, and even though Pruitt’s EPA is also now accepting public comment about his supposedly not-yet-final proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan.

Today’s announcement says EPA is assessing “the possibility of replacing certain aspects of the CPP” – wording that defies repeated court rulings about EPA’s responsibilities under the law.

“The Clean Power Plan is firmly anchored in law and has a robust technical record,” said Carbonell. “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled three times that EPA has the authority and responsibility to limit climate pollution, and as recently as October two D.C. Circuit judges reminded Administrator Pruitt of his ‘affirmative statutory obligation’ to protect Americans from climate pollution from power plants. Pruitt is treating his legal duties as optional – but the courts have made very clear they are not.”

NEW ORLEANS - A group of clean air and parks conservation advocacy groups today challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to allow polluters to increase health and visibility-harming pollution in court. The groups filed a lawsuit in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, along with a petition for reconsideration to EPA, asserting that EPA’s Texas Regional Haze plan is unlawful and will do little to actually clean up pollution from Texas’ coal plants as it was originally intended to do. The groups are represented by Earthjustice and Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program.

Today’s challenge comes after a decade of deadlines missed by EPA and the state of Texas to establish a plan to reduce pollution from the state’s coal-fired power plants. These coal plants and other pollution sources are responsible for harming air quality in national parks and communities throughout the Southwest region.

In 2016, EPA proposed a strong plan to clean up dangerous pollutants from more than a dozen Texas coal plants and other polluting facilities. Administrator Pruitt’s EPA abandoned the proposal by October 2017, instead putting forward a plan that grants polluters a license to emit even more pollution into the air despite vocal opposition.

“When Scott Pruitt scrapped the previous, strong proposal to clean up haze pollution from Texas coal plants, he turned his back on the thorough technical analysis of career EPA staff and deferred to the coal industry’s wishes instead,” said Elena Saxonhouse, Attorney with the Sierra Club. “We’re challenging Pruitt’s do-nothing plan because people in Texas and across the south have waited too long for clean air and clean parks.”

Coal plants in Texas emit the most visibility-impairing, lung-damaging sulfur dioxide pollution in the nation, and more than all of the coal plants in Oklahoma and Arkansas combined. This contributes to hazy skies and high rates of hospital admission, missed work, heart disease, breathing difficulties and premature death.

“It’s EPA’s duty, under the Clean Air Act, to protect the health of Texans – and all Americans – from dangerous pollution, and to ensure that our cherished National Parks and Wilderness Areas continue to have the awe-inspiring views that have made them powerful economic engines for surrounding communities,” said Elena Craft, Senior Health Scientist for EDF. “Instead, Scott Pruitt has issued a Texas Regional Haze Plan that allows Texas coal plants to continue emitting high levels of dangerous pollution that puts people at risk. Texas families deserve cleaner, safer, healthier air to breathe – from an EPA that is doing its job.”

“It’s wrong for EPA to let polluters wreck the air in our communities and national parks,” said Earthjustice attorney Michael Soules. “Instead of protecting clean air and people’s health, the agency has issued a plan that would allow more pollution, not less. That’s why we are going to court to fight this.”

The Texas Haze Plan was intended to reduce haze in 15 national parks and wilderness areas across the south central United States, including the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, the Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks in Texas, and other areas.

“In no uncertain terms, EPA’s new Texas haze plan prioritizes the profits of polluters over people’s health and our natural heritage,” said Stephanie Kodish, Senior Director & Counsel of National Parks Conservation Association’s Clean Air Program. “Since the EPA refuses to hold Texas accountable for curbing air pollution that endangers people and degrades public lands across the Southwest, we are looking to the courts to uphold the law and mandate EPA to do its job.”

Under EPA’s new plan, none of these protected landscapes will realize improved air quality. This means continued poor visibility in national parks like Big Bend, and also puts the public’s health at risk. All told, these facilities are estimated to cause more than 677 deaths and thousands of asthma-related events and hospitalizations each year, with public health costs totaling more than $6.7 billion.

The clean air and parks conservation groups that filed today’s challenges will be available to discuss the legal action on a telephone press conference on Monday, December 18 at 12:00 PM ET/11:00 AM CT. Members of the press can join the call by dialing 877 888 4312 and using the passcode “HAZE.”

Read the petition for review here.
Read the petition for reconsideration here.

(TEXAS – December 14, 2017) The Public Utility Commission of Texas today approved a unanimous settlement on El Paso Electric Company’s rate structure. The electric utility agreed to eliminate proposed mandatory demand charges for all customers with rooftop solar systems, which would have caused unnecessary confusion and raised costs for most existing residential solar customers.

“This settlement helps keep costs down for El Paso solar customers, who should be able to produce their own clean, affordable electricity on-site without unnecessary fees. Utilities have a key role to play in accelerating Texas’ burgeoning clean energy economy by supporting the growth of cleaner, more efficient resources rather than fighting them.”

• John Hall, Associate Vice President, Clean Energy

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), ReThink Energy NJ, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) urged the New Jersey State Legislature in a joint letter today to reject attempts to rush nuclear subsidies through the “lame-duck” session with little debate, warning they could undermine New Jersey’s path to a clean energy future and financially burden utility customers across the state.

“PSEG’s New Jersey nuclear power plants are making money—so why is the company pushing for a customer-funded bailout?” says Mary Barber, Director, New Jersey Clean Energy, EDF. “We don’t know because PSEG hasn’t released any information or analysis to show these facilities are struggling financially, or what customers would get out of the deal.” 

 

Governor Christie has long supported nuclear energy, and recently said he would consider signing a bill to provide subsidies as long as it doesn’t include other provisions that the environmental community might want, such as limiting the subsidies and linking them to increased efforts to advance other pollution-free alternatives.

“The Legislature should not let Governor Christie sabotage the incoming Governor’s clean energy agenda,” said Dale Bryk, Chief Planning Officer, NRDC. “There is no urgent threat of plant closures or a spike in carbon emissions from replacement generation. The environmental community is telling the Legislature that there is no imminent threat that warrants rushing this through, and doing so could have negative consequences for clean energy and all New Jersey utility customers.” 

“Governor-elect Murphy’s administration is a few short weeks from taking office, with an ambitious clean energy agenda,” said Tom Gilbert, campaign director, ReThink Energy NJ. “Working with the new administration to develop a comprehensive clean energy plan that pairs any appropriate support for nuclear plants with ramping up renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts is the right pathway to a clean energy future.”

Nuclear subsidies stand to add substantial new costs to electric bills for all electricity customers in New Jersey, including fixed-income and low-income residents, existing businesses, and those considering a move to the state. 
 
“In the course of two weeks, how can the Legislature determine whether zero-emission credits for existing nuclear plants are critical to New Jersey’s clean energy future, and wisely craft credits that will benefit the state? It can’t!” continued Bryk.

The organizations share a strong commitment to helping the state build a clean energy economy that: cuts pollution; improves public health, especially in overburdened communities; creates jobs; and drives economic growth.  

“The availability of low-carbon energy and local jobs is a legitimate reason to be concerned about the premature retirement of New Jersey’s nuclear plants,” continued Barber. “But, a customer-funded bailout is not the answer. If PSEG can demonstrate financial need, a time-limited, zero-emissions credit should be considered, provided it is tailored to worker protections, community considerations, and a commitment to accelerate the adoption of clean energy.” 

“A statewide survey of voters earlier this year revealed that 89% believe that investing in clean, renewable energy is important to the overall health of New Jersey,” continued Gilbert.  “We now have an opportunity to make New Jersey a leader on clean energy, but these rushed, lame-duck subsidies could really set that effort back.”
 

According to press reports, the nomination of Michael Dourson to lead EPA’s toxics office is being withdrawn.

Dr. Richard Denison, Lead Senior Scientist said, “The withdrawal of Michael Dourson’s nomination is good news for the health of American families. It was clear from the beginning that Dr. Dourson was a dangerous choice. His record of mercenary science made clear he would have undermined public health and damaged the historic chemical safety reforms passed by Congress last year.

“The administration should now nominate a person of integrity, with a demonstrated commitment of protecting public health. Dr. Dourson must now leave the EPA, and the Administration should move forward to implement the new law as it was intended. Communities from California to North Carolina will be able breathe easier knowing Dr. Dourson will not be at EPA.”