NOVEMBER 11, 2024 — In the news section of Science, NC State professor and associate dean Chris Frey is quoted along with other former senior leaders of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding prospects for science at the Agency in the new Administration.
Dr. Frey, who served as Assistant Administration of the Office of Research and Development at the U.S. EPA from 2022 to 2024, reacts to messaging from a former Trump Adminstration official that EPA employees are “increasingly viewed as the villains.”
EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment. Based on principles set forth by EPA’s first Administrator, William Ruckelshaus – who was appointed by President Nixon – EPA should pursue its mission by following the science, following the law, and being transparent. Current EPA Administrator Michael Regan has added a fourth principle of advancing environmental justice and equity. Work conducted by ORD is critical to informing decisions by the agency and its external partners, including states, Tribes, local governments, and communities, based on the best available science.
In this context, Frey is quoted to the effect that EPA employees “deserve to be respected, not vilified.”
Read the full story here