EPA has dismissed a member of its drinking water advisory council who signed a petition last year criticizing the Trump administration.
Elin Warn Betanzo, an engineer and water consultant based in Michigan, was informed last week that her “services are no longer needed” on the National Drinking Water Advisory Council, according to an email viewed by POLITICO’s E&E News.
Betanzo had already been barred from participating on the council since last July, pending an investigation by EPA into her “potential signature on a petition.” She is one of thousands of people who signed an online “declaration of dissent” against the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks last summer.
“As the committee moves forward, the agency has determined to reset membership, and effective immediately, your services are no longer needed at this time,” Peggy Browne, who is second-in-command in the agency’s water office, said in the email. “Once again, thank you for your service.”
