I do my best to avoid politics in my blog, but because water is so heavily influenced by federal, state and local government, lobbyists, corporations and activists it is virtually impossible to stay out of the foray. Election and political preferences aside, the change of administration brings with it a new director of the EPA and a new agenda.
With each director change, a tug of war ensues with half of America predicting the eminent poisoning of the environment, and the other half celebrating the eminent elimination of over-reaching, industry stifling policies. Seldom do these optimisms or pessimisms come to be reality. Nonetheless, with water looming as such a live giving resource, a lot of eyes are on the new EPA director. So, what is the deal with our new EPA director Lee Zeldin?
The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) has provided an excellent water introduction on the new director. I cite the following excerpt.
“President-Elect Donald Trump announced he will appoint New York Representative Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump shared on Monday, “[Zeldin] will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.1”
Zeldin, a Republican from New York’s 1st district, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. He formerly served on the Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees in the House. In regard to drinking water, the new Administrator voted twice in recent years in support of legislation to limit PFAS. He voted in favor of the PFAS Action Act of 2021 and in favor of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2022 that required national regulation of PFAS.”
It is also important to note that even though Trump has charged Zeldin with cutting back on unnecessary EPA regulations and funding, Zeldin battled Trump and resisted his agenda. Specifically, during Trump V 1.0, Zeldin fought, refused, and eventually prevailed it stopping proposed cuts to clean and restore Long Island Sound.
The good news is that while Zeldin believes in smaller government, he is not a yes man, and he has shown the ability to part from party lines when it comes to important water issues.
“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.“ – Carl Sagan
There are many issues that the EPA must deal with if they are truly focused on protecting our water and environment. Regardless of your political persuasion, a very close examination of the EPA reveals that both Republican and Democrat administrations have acted in detrimental ways that show clearly that the organization is often motivated by financial interests. The following are just a few areas of concern to all of us.
- Weakened Cleaner Cars Standards – Am I the only one perplexed at the large number of new car models that are geared toward higher horsepower and performance? More horsepower equals more fuel consumption and more pollution. How is that helping the environment?
- Lower Mercury and Air Toxics Standards – In 2011 the EPA adopted limits on toxic metals that the coal and power producing industries release. Since the Obama administration we have seen those limits relaced and ignored. The EPA has actively been acting in a manner that adds risk to our air, water and health.
- Eliminating the Clean Water Rule – In 2015 the EPA established this rule to protect countless acters of wetlands and miles of streams. Since 2018 the same organization that accepted this rule has been working to weaken or eliminate it.
- The Climate Science Conundrum – Over the past three administrations the struggle for the EPA to have a firm stand on climate science has been volatile at best. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, arguments over what is clean energy, deleting certain climate information from government records, and selectively choosing which information gets to the public eye have made a debacle out of what should be a universally accepted policy.
On matters of drinking water, I have written more than a few times and called out my issues with the EPA. On the one hand they help us while on the other hand they seem to cater to big money and special interests. Will anything change with Lee Zeldin? Your guess is as good as mine, but I think it is safe to say that this appointment has the ingredients of a great one.
Tantamount to the EPA being elevated is free speech being made free again. Fact checking and censorship have served to dumb America down to where we have to be told what is the truth and what is not. In the realm of science, the media simply has no tolerance or place for opinions that contradict what they believe a narrative should be. The media tells us what “science” we should believe, even though few in the media or sports/entertainment world has anything more than a sixth-grade level education in math and science.
During Covid, I received 5 bans of 30 days for posting information about viruses, masks, and vaccines. Being armed with a 30-year scientific background, 5 years of critical care health experience, patents, classroom time with Jonas Salk, and a CV full of solving water/contamination Mark Zuckerberg felt that he knew more.
Until the media, politicians and the sports/entertainment world completely back away from science, and leave the debates and arguments to people in science, I think it simple to believe that we will ever see the EPA become responsible, regardless of who is in charge.
