EPA Experts in the News
Browse articles that highlight EPA experts discussing various environmental topics. Additional topics will be added as articles are published.
To get in touch with any of the EPA subject matter experts listed below, please contact press@epa.gov.
- Air
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
- Environmental Justice
- Land and Emergency Management
- Pesticides and Toxics
- Research
- Water
Air
Improved school ventilation has benefits beyond preventing the spread of COVID-19
March 26, 2022
Tracy Enger was interviewed about EPA’s efforts to help schools across the country with improving their indoor air quality.
Watch the TV interview with Scripps National News.
Better ventilation means healthier students, but many schools can't afford to upgrade
March 18, 2022
Tracy Enger was interviewed about EPA’s efforts to help improve air quality inside schools across the country.
Listen to the NPR radio interview.
Biden admin touts crackdown on illegal HFC imports
March 15, 2022
Cindy Newberg was interviewed about EPA’s efforts to stop the illegal imports of HFCs.
Read the online E&E article.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
Governmental Inclusion: The Federal Government Continues to Excel at Inclusion
Winter 2021/2022 issue (posted February 1, 2022)
Kristinn Tropp was interviewed about EPA’s efforts to hire and retain a diverse workforce.
Read the online article in Careers and disABLED magazine.
Environmental Justice
Toxic shower water. Sewage pits. ‘Infuriating’ woes in east Coachella Valley mobile parks
April 15, 2022
Region 9 enforcement expert Roberto Rodriguez was interviewed by the Desert Sun newspaper for a lengthy piece on drinking water contamination impacting communities with environmental justice concerns in California’s Coachella Valley. Members of Congress and community advocates are also quoted.
Read the Desert Sun article.
EPA drilling down on Civil Rights complaints, Top Lawyer says
February 15, 2022
Stephen Lee at Bloomberg Law interviewed EPA’s Director of External Civil Rights, Lilian Dorka, to breakdown how the External Civil Rights Compliance Office plans to move from a reactive to proactive model to address civil rights complaints.
Read the Bloomberg Law interview.
EPA launces civil rights revamp
December 14, 2021
Kelsey Brugger at E&E News interviewed EPA’s Director of External Civil Rights, Lilian Dorka, to discuss long overdue reforms within the External Civil Rights office. Lilian discussed various ways in which the External Civil Rights Compliance Office plans to use the full authority to implement civil rights laws at EPA.
Read the E&E News interview.
Ten Minutes with Matthew Tejada, Director of EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice
October 22, 2021
Engineering News-Record spoke with EPA’s Director of Environmental Justice, Matt Tejada, to talk about EPA’s EJSCREEN tool and explain how contractors and engineers can use it as they are planning and seeking community input.
Read the Engineering News-Record interview.
Land, Cleanups and Emergency Management
How food waste is contributing to climate change and what Is being done to help
March 23, 2022
Nena Shaw, acting director for resource conservation and sustainability in EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management discusses the importance of anaerobic digestion in reducing emissions from food waste.
Watch the WUSA9 interview.
Site suggested for National Priorities List
March 21, 2022
Jeff Pritchard, EPA Region 7 On-Scene Coordinator, talks about the removal action ending and proposal for NPL listing for Highway 3 PCE Site in Le Mars, Iowa. Jeff explains the difference between the work that was completed and the long-term actions that will be taken to alleviate vapor intrusion in businesses and to address removing tetrachloroethene from groundwater plume.
Read the Lemars Daily Sentinel article.
New funds, strategy may boost ‘massive task’ of reducing lead exposure for Missouri kids
November 9, 2021
Carlton Waterhouse, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Land and Emergency Management, Office of Land and Emergency Management talked to Missouri Independent’s Allison Kite during a visit to a Region 7 Superfund site in the Missouri’s “Old Lead Belt”. (The Old Lead Belt was one of the world’s largest lead mining districts where mining began in the early 1700s, having produced more than nine million tons of lead.)
Read the St. Louis Public Radio article.
Demolition begins at the Des Moines Dico site after EPA removes hazardous substances from buildings
July 19, 2021
PIO Ben Washburn discusses EPA’s work at the Dico Inc. site in Des Moines, IA.
Watch the WHO-13 interview.
Pesticides and Toxics
2 News Investigates: Mercury Contamination
April 14, 2022
CBS KTVN-2 in Reno, Nv., interviewed on-camera Remedial Project Manager Andrew Bain regarding public health risks tied to legacy mercury contamination at a sprawling Nevada Superfund site.
Watch the KTVN-2 interview.
Mother of 11-year-old Wentzville girl suffering from mercury poisoning speaks out
November 8, 2021
FOX 2-KTVI in St. Louis, Mo., interviewed On-Scene Coordinator Jessica Evans to discuss the EPA Region 7 emergency response to a mercury spill involving children in Wentzville, Mo.
Watch the Fox2 Now interview.
Research
WashU receives $744,000 EPA grant for microbial 'kill switch' research
July 28, 2021
EPA Region 7 Acting Regional Administrator Edward H. Chu was interviewed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to discuss a $744k EPA grant to Washington University.
Read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.
Water
EPA and IBWC Find Path Around Congressional Stall on Tijuana Pollution
April 18, 2022
As part of its longstanding coverage of the high-profile border-crossing wastewater issue, and how the challenge is being addressed through infrastructure, an investigative reporter interviewed Region 9’s Doug Eberhardt on how the federal government is internally coordinating to move forward expeditiously on project building.
Read the Voice of San Diego article.
Lead and Copper Rule, “Verify,” WUSA-TV 9 News
March 16, 2022
Pre-recorded interview with Eric Burneson, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water about lead service lines in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
Watch the WUSA-TV 9 interview.
"Shutting down Hawai'i's large capacity cesspools is the first priority," EPA says
March 15, 2022
Hawaii’s NPR affiliate developed a radio and online piece around an interview with Region 9 Enforcement Director Amy Miller, who spoke about EPA’s work to protect groundwater by stopping illegal large cesspools.
Listen or watch the Hawaii Public Radio interview.
Scientists discover way to prevent sickness from Mexico sewage
March 12, 2022
Spectrum News’s San Diego affiliate interviewed Region 9 transborder pollution expert Doug Liden for a piece on border-crossing wastewater and its public health impacts. Liden spoke about EPA’s role in addressing this challenge.
Watch the Spectrum News San Diego interview.
Effectiveness of water filters during the Benton Harbor water crisis
March 3, 2022
EPA Regional Water Division Tera Fong talks with ABC 57 about EPA’s water filter study in Benton Harbor
Watch the interview with ABC 57.
"A once in a lifetime opportunity": How federal funds to improve water quality could help Iowa communities
December 3, 2021
Region 7 Water Division Director Jeff Robichaud was interviewed by News 7-KWWL in Waterloo, IA, to discuss the state’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law State Revolving Fund allotment and what it means for Iowa communities.
Watch the KWWL interview.
Scientists Concerned about the Bottom of the Food Web in the Great Lakes
April 14, 2021
Lester Graham interviews EPA life scientist, Annie Scofield, while she was on board EPA’s Lake Guardian research vessel to talk about the how impacts from climate change are impacting the lower food web in the Great Lakes.
Listen to the Michigan Radio interview.
EPA Puts Lake Area & Truman Lake On “Impaired Waterway” List
January 8, 2021
KRMS News at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri interviewed Region 7 Water Division Director Jeff Robichaud to discuss the addition of the Lake of the Ozarks to the Impaired Waterway/303 (d) list in Missouri and what this means for recreation and tourism.
Listen to the KRMS radio interview.