Environmental Protection Agency - Obama Presidency Oral History Back Environmental Protection Agency Index / Organizations Transcripts Gina McCarthy ...administration as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] from 2013 to 2017. In thi... ...the Environmental Protection Agency [ EPA ] from 2013 to 2017. In this interview... ...nominee for assistant administrator at EPA . That was really a fun experience fo... ...was a while ago. I got a call from the EPA that they had received a complaint tha... ...I went to them, and I said, “Okay.” The EPA strike team, or the DEP [Department o... ...and cleanups, and eventually, US EPA cleaned the site up fully, and it too... ...to eventually state government at US EPA . I never forgot the lessons of havin... ...an advocacy group in Boston suing US EPA to then go and sue the people that ra... ...and at the same time as Mass. v. EPA , the litigation was happening at th... ...the federal level to challenge the US EPA to look at regulating greenhouse ga... ...now we had an ability to litigate EPA and make them do their job to look a... ...up being basically nominated for US EPA by President Obama as his US EP... ...for US EPA by President Obama as his US EPA administrator. I had met her during th... ...government before she had worked at EPA , so we exchanged information on how t... ...became an assistant administrator for EPA 's Office of Air and Radiation? ... ...nuclear plants themselves. But what EPA had was the scientist that talked abou... ...what's protective for health. And what EPA also looked at was radon in the homes... ...an assistant administrator for Obama's EPA , and you have this incredibl... ...but you are now at the flagship of EPA . How does the EPA function? I don'... ...at the flagship of EPA. How does the EPA function? I don't think a lot o... ...you about actually being at the EPA ? When you go to EPA, even from ... ...being at the EPA? When you go to EPA , even from a state level, where w... ...know a lot, the areas of expertise in EPA are pretty vast. There's a lot o... ...states need to live by. That's what EPA does. It regulates things. I... ...mean they're always implemented by EPA . In fact, EPA is not always th... ...always implemented by EPA. In fact, EPA is not always the primary implementer... ...Act, it's states that have primacy, and EPA takes a back seat, just for support. I... ...air permits need to be reviewed by EPA , or could be challenged by EPA. So i... ...by EPA, or could be challenged by EPA . So it is a dance of working togethe... ...that are there to service both EPA in terms of our needs as well a... ...later in my career when I was at US EPA as the administrator, we have ... ...activities. When you have a disaster, EPA is always part of the disaste... ...I mean, you name it, we do it. So EPA , for the most part most of the work w... ...a constantly evolving process. But if EPA is constantly evolving, it also get... ...each administration really affect the EPA , or are there enough scientists tha... ...Obama to a President Trump—changes at EPA —is there enough of an infrastructur... ...there enough of an infrastructure at EPA that it could survive differen... ...So you do have ways, even internal to EPA , to moderate when the shift may b... ...moderation by the advisors within EPA that always are available to the publi... ...people have seen with the rollbacks at EPA have been about denying science, or no... ...were you when you were chosen EPA administrator? Do you remember th... ...White House; because, as you indicated, EPA has always been political, as much a... ...but at that point, was sitting in the EPA headquarters watching it on TV, becaus... ...up as the assistant administrator of US EPA , there had already been a White Hous... ...gas emissions from cars through EPA .” They decided they'd do tha... ...says that—if you remember, Mass. vs. EPA said, “Yes, the Clean Air Act include... ...as the scientific basis for saying that EPA normally could, but had to regulat... ...under way when I was administrator at EPA , was the Clean Power Plan. And tha... ...that it works is, we're supposed to as EPA , establish a best system of emissio... ...pipeline itself, because that's where EPA clearly regulates. So we were lookin... ...the Obama administration, or EPA , think about—I remember Boone Picken... ...the next step for clean energy. How did EPA under Obama view natural gas as ... ...shift? Here's the difference between EPA and the Department of Energy, is tha... ...to make? Now, people will argue that EPA did that, but what EPA did was our jo... ...will argue that EPA did that, but what EPA did was our job looking at differen... ...the lawsuits that had been sued about EPA and doing our job under the law an... ...and came in there with the idea that if EPA got out of the way and we got thos... ...drama. And in the end, the part that EPA played very much ended up looking a... ...was necessary, that did not fall within EPA 's purview. EPA was a participant in ... ...that did not fall within EPA's purview. EPA was a participant in a multiagency loo... ...it had been shaped for a long time, and EPA basically chaired an interagenc... ...an interagency working group, but EPA was far and away the most active... ...often treated like it's just all about EPA cleaning up places. But it's not that... ...also in the crosshairs of climate. EPA has always been very active in doin... ...together. And we did work internally at EPA to integrate environmental justice int... ...be more multiagency opportunities. So EPA took on a much bigger role on thes... ...efforts, to launch—actually, EPA was on the forefront of this. We'... ...NRDC, and groups like it, work with EPA ? What's the relationship with a larg... ...organization interacting with the Environmental Protection Agency ? How can they be part of the solutio... ...policy. They know the laws as much as EPA does, and they definitely work hard t... ...litigators back in 1970, same year that EPA started up, fifty years ago. We jus... ...that wants to do its job and an EPA that is beholden to the public and t... ...With the Obama years and your tenure at EPA , and your incredible knowledge bank o... ...your life, what would you like to see EPA do differently in a Bide... ...have to appoint Anthony Fauci of the EPA , [laughs] somebody who pays attentio... ...you do it at your own peril. And EPA scientists—the science has bee... ...decisions, and people can trust that US EPA is on the job, doing its mission t... Show more... Kate Orff ...goals. Then I had a meeting with a US EPA [Environmental Protection Agency... ... Then I had a meeting with a US EPA [ Environmental Protection Agency ] administrator who came into th... ...he was a deputy administrator of the EPA , and he was like, “I go to meeting... Nancy Sutley ...that story. I read that you worked at EPA [Environmental Protection Agency... ...story. I read that you worked at EPA [ Environmental Protection Agency ] during the Clinton administratio... ...including as special assistant to EPA Administrator Carol Browner. And ... ...charge to Carol and the whole team at EPA was really to try to reset and mak... ...relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency [CalEPA] from 1999 to 2003. I've rea... ...the focus on environmental justice at EPA , and then eventually the Clinto... ...government had to respond in some way. EPA , I think to Carol's credit, reall... ...administration wide. This isn't just an EPA problem. So in California, it wasn'... ...of it because I came directly from US EPA , and then I'd been working in th... ...statute, and it directed the California Environmental Protection Agency —I'm going to forget everything i... ...that I needed help. I actually went to EPA and said, “Can I borrow you... ...standards. And because I had come from EPA , my unique contribution to that bil... ...the Supreme Court of Massachusetts v. EPA , which was decided by the Suprem... ...the question that was set up was, was EPA going to regulate, or was Congres... ...you join the agency review team for EPA ?” It was David Hayes, who went up t... ...interested to do that. So I joined the EPA agency review team, which was sort of ... ...a mix of some folks that I knew from my EPA days and others. We started with a lo... ...back and forth. When I had worked at EPA headquarters, it was not in th... ...who served as deputy administrator of EPA at the end of the George W. Bus... ...“Welcome Transition Team.” And at EPA they're like, “Go sit by th... ...office, and even people who worked for EPA , for many years, were like, “I'v... ...transition personnel work had been at EPA with me, Mike McCabe, who had been on... ...I was being looked at for a position at EPA , one of the program heads, th... ...was important to make that commitment. EPA is not technically a cabinet agency... ...Clinton initially sort of made EPA part of the cabinet. I actually don'... ...I knew a little bit of it from my EPA days—was, whatever the outside worl... ...approach. It couldn't just be at EPA . It couldn't just be at the Departmen... ...of the Clinton administration as the EPA administrator, so she was not onl... ...lot during the transition, and frankly EPA in particular. A number of regulation... ...sort of a big pile of things awaiting EPA to fix, because the courts had said th... ...scientific integrity. I had worked at EPA on some challenging issues that wer... ...Ambient Air Quality Standards. In 1997, EPA spent a lot of time on this, revise... ...of Energy was sort of promoting this. EPA was looking at the environmenta... ...Guzy, had been the general counsel at EPA during part of the Clinto... ...and had actually worked on Mass v. EPA , the preliminaries of that while h... ...of Energy and Climate Change, Gary, the EPA , and NHTSA—the National Highwa... ...standards. And since Mass v. EPA said that carbon dioxide was ... ...of the Clean Water Act over wetlands. EPA wanted to work with Congress wher... ...change. But to some extent Mass v. EPA set the Clean Air Act up as ... ...remember who it was. It might've been EPA ; it might've been one of th... ...surprised, because nobody had ever— EPA did as well, I'm pretty sure. No on... ...two things. There's a requirement that EPA review all environmental impac... ...won't get into details. But anyway, EPA has to rate them. Then, if there's ... ...Then, if there's a dispute between EPA and the lead agency, they can go to CE... ...talking to the State Department and EPA about the Keystone pipeline, and th... ...with this question. I've read that EPA administrator Lisa Jackson signed th... ...of course, Carol from the time I was at EPA through 1999. So it was talking abou... ...be one thing; it wasn't going to be one EPA regulation or one strategy at th... ...with it in state government, where EPA would evaluate toxic legacy sites an... ...would happen and they have no say. So EPA sort of instituted a policy, or a... ...state supervision and putting it under EPA supervision. I think at least i... ...least in California, it was like, Well, EPA is so slow, and things have been on th... ...for Lisa Jackson, coming in as the EPA administrator, to try to move some o... ...of this along. I think she had, in her EPA career prior to that, worked on ... ...of disputes between states and the EPA ? No, not really. We were aware o... ...issues they would like to discuss with EPA and wanted to talk to the White Hous... ...about climate change as a single EPA regulation or a policy at th... ...of their practices? Well, I think EPA was very enthusiastic about being par... ...But it wasn't so much really about EPA programs, but just generally how do yo... ...at Department of the Interior and EPA sort of saying who's in charge of this... ...Reclamation Act of], and then of course EPA dealing with impacts, particularly o... ...And I think it was a little bit of the EPA view of the world that you had t... ...mining statute said one thin,g and then EPA was saying, “Yes, that's all well an... ...these decisions that are clearly within EPA 's jurisdiction.” You mentioned, a... ...on coal? Yes, it wasn't just us. EPA was involved; of course Interior wa... ...the radiation—and it turned out that EPA had a monitoring program; that they di... ...River and the Chicago River. So EPA was very alarmed. They're like, “That'... ...nearly a decade. I've read that you and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson wer... ...It wasn't like nothing was being done. EPA certainly—they had a new Office o... ...active, and some agencies had programs. EPA , they had complaints under Title VI o... ...committee were raising were not EPA issues. They weren't issues necessaril... ...They weren't issues necessarily in EPA 's purview. So you couldn't just say... ...just say, “Well, sorry, that's not an EPA issue. Go away,” but really trying t... ...wanted to ask about EPA 's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards fo... ...court. But it had gotten sent back to EPA to try to address, and it was kind of ... ...the industry was arguing that what EPA wanted to do was going to be incredibl... ...raise power prices for no benefit. And EPA 's view was, that's not right, a; and... ...were announced in September of 2011, EPA issued a proposal for new Ozon... ...a process under the Clean Air Act where EPA has to periodically review thes... ...matter] review when I worked at EPA in the Clinton administration. I'm no... ...way. People were very unsatisfied, so EPA was sort of left with this, “Okay, wha... ...going to have—the way that it works is, EPA then, based on that standard... ...you as chair of CEQ or administrator of EPA ? I sort of remembered it had t... ...There certainly was work going on in EPA , and I think in other agencies a... ...issue that can get solved by a single EPA regulation. There was the internationa... ...process. On mitigation, you could say EPA is going to promulgate a regulatio... ...isn't [laughs], a formal way that—like EPA and many federal agencies have thes... ...and their families there, and also as EPA had raised some red flags about th... ...environmental review. It wasn't just EPA . Fish and Wildlife Service wa... ...concerned about invasive species, and EPA had a number of concerns around th... ...agency in Guam was basically under EPA 's supervision, because they could no... ...and we saw all the installations. Some EPA folks were there, and we toured th... ...always aware of that clock. Because if EPA comes in and says, “Well, we can do ... Show more... Heather Zichal ...we should have a Great Lakes czar at EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] t... ...should have a Great Lakes czar at EPA [ Environmental Protection Agency ] to manage water quality issues s... ...it, what do you need across the Environmental Protection Agency to actually execute against thi... ...to speak to the right hand, making sure EPA was providing this permit, and OSH... ...and greatest on this rule making from EPA . And it's not to say that the agencie... ...created a regulatory landscape for the Environmental Protection Agency to proceed with the regulation on powe... ...for greenhouse gas emissions within EPA authority to regulate large stationar... ...so much of the agenda, it's not at EPA , it's not at the Interior Department... ...at the Department of Transportation and EPA . Making sure all of those processe... ...who went on to be the administrator of EPA , and I took away—an important lesso... ...drinking water, and then you've got the Environmental Protection Agency engaged. There's another set of issue... ...the federal government, should the EPA step in and provide safe drinkin... ...you about the change in leadership at EPA when Administrator Jackson left th... ...But after four years of being the EPA administrator, I can respect an... Show more... Sally Jewell ...Bill Ruckelshaus, former head of the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] and ... ...Ruckelshaus, former head of the EPA [ Environmental Protection Agency ] and a strong Republican. Bill and ... ...to the Clean Power Plan, championed by EPA , was a step in that direction. Th... David Axelrod ...House, and Carol Browner, the former EPA [Environmental Protection Agency... ...and Carol Browner, the former EPA [ Environmental Protection Agency ] director, who was the president'... Kathryn Ruemmler ...to just having a random, Oh, the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency... ...to just having a random, Oh, the EPA [ Environmental Protection Agency ] issued some rule here, or this agenc... ...big battleground court, because if the EPA is going to issue a new rule on climat... Load more Transcripts Related Topics go to the Democrats Democrats go to the Russia Russia go to the Agriculture Agriculture go to the Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa go to the Labor Labor