Sean writes about air quality policy and regulations. His work has been honored by the National Press Club and Washington Press Club Foundation, among others; he also contributed a chapter to "Turning Carolina Red," an eBook published by E&E in 2014. He previously reported for the Federal Times and newspapers in Alabama. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from Carleton College and a master's degree in the same subject from Duke University.
A national study of tens of millions of older Americans has found a possible link between long-term soot exposure and the odds of developing two feared neurological disorders, even at exposure levels below EPA's current standards.
Calendars and emails obtained by E&E News through the Freedom of Information Act reveal a pattern among Trump administration appointees in EPA's air office in catering to previous or future employers. The upshot, many say, has been an agenda crafted to the wishes of polluting businesses.
Two scholars who worked in successive presidential administrations today questioned key underpinnings of EPA's contentious push to require cost-benefit analyses for future Clean Air Act regulations, something the agency is pursuing through a formal rulemaking.
Under pressure from federal courts, EPA plans to require coal-fired power plants in a dozen states to make fresh cuts in ozone-forming emissions that contribute to downwind Clean Air Act compliance problems.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler today announced appointments to the agency's Science Advisory Board, placing Trump administration picks to sit on the influential panel for the next three years no matter who wins on Election Day.