A medley of national trade groups is rallying behind the nomination of a steel company manager for membership on the EPA advisory panel that plays a pivotal role in setting the United States’ most important air quality standards.
If the push is endorsed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, it would be an unusual step in giving a representative of a polluting industry a voice in setting standards for smog, soot and four other common pollutants. Tightening of those standards over the years is credited with saving thousands of lives, though business lobbies, citing added compliance costs and the potential economic effects, have often opposed them.
At issue is the effort to place Katherine Kistler of Nucor on the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, according to records obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News.
“It’s relatively rare to have industry-affiliated people on the CASAC,” said Chris Frey, who chaired the committee during the Obama administration and also served as EPA research chief under President Joe Biden. “That’s very uncommon.”
