AUWCL and SPA Host Conference on EPA and the Future of Environmental Protection

May 6, 2019

Former EPA administrators William K. Reilly, Carol M. Browner, and Gina McCarthy.
Former EPA administrators William K. Reilly, Carol M. Browner, and Gina McCarthy.

On April 23-24, 2019, American University Washington College of Law’s Program on Environmental and Energy Law and the School of Public Affairs’ Center for Environmental Policy hosted “EPA and the Future of Environmental Protection.”

Following the environmental awakening of the late 1960’s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has helped achieve significant environmental progress as the U.S. population and economy have grown, and has led the world in setting science-based standards and promoting environmental progress through innovative policies, partnerships, and local, regional, national and international negotiations. EPA action to date has significantly improved air and water quality across the United States, and resulted in the cleanup of some of the most heavily polluted toxic sites.

AU President Sylvia Mathews Burwell delivers welcome remarks.
AU President Sylvia Mathews Burwell delivers welcome remarks.

Now, however, the world faces new and even more daunting environmental threats due to human-induced climate change and biodiversity loss. The two-day conference, held on the eve of the Agency’s 50th anniversary, welcomed leading experts from federal, state and tribal governments, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and academia, and considered EPA’s role in leading the nation and the world in meeting these daunting challenges. Nearly 400 people – including current and former EPA employees, representatives from other government agencies, associations, nonprofit organizations, academia, and the private sector – attended the event.

Three former EPA administrators joined the discussion: William K. Reilly (1989-1993), Carol M. Browner (1993-2001), and Gina McCarthy (2013-2017); the current EPA Administrator, Andrew R. Wheeler, was unable to attend.

Nearly 300 people attended the two-day conference, which considered the EPA’s role in leading the nation and the world in meeting future environmental challenges.
Nearly 300 people attended the two-day conference, which considered the EPA’s role in leading the nation and the world in meeting future environmental challenges.

“Most people in the U.S don’t know what the EPA does,” said  McCarthy. “We don’t do a very good job – or aren’t given the resources – to talk about the fundamental things we do and why they are important. We need to try to figure out how to communicate better.”

Other distinguished speakers included Brenda Mallory, director and senior counsel for the Conservation Litigation Project and former general counsel at the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Martha Rudolph, former director of Environmental Programs for the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment and former president of the Environmental Council of the States;  Robert Perciasepe, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and former Deputy Administrator of EPA; Howard Shelanski, partner at Davis Polk and former administrator at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs; and Anthony Williams, former Mayor of Washington, D.C.

Professor and PEEL Director Amanda Leiter
Professor and PEEL Director Amanda Leiter.

Click here for a full list of conference speakers.

Professor Amanda Leiter, director of the WCL Program on Environmental and Energy Law (PEEL), noted that “recent multinational studies of climate change and the extinction crisis highlight that this is a critical time for the future of the global environment. We were pleased to bring together thought leaders to begin to think about how the EPA of the future can best address these challenges, and reach broader and more diverse audiences as it does so.”

The Program also offered students from WCL and SPA an opportunity to see firsthand the wide array of career opportunities open to them in the environmental field.

The event was held in cooperation with the EPA Alumni Association and the Environmental Law Institute.

Through the PEEL’s courses of study, students gain a thorough grounding in domestic environmental, energy, and natural resources law, international and comparative environmental law, oceans and coastal law, and animal law. Housed in a state-of-the-art LEED Gold facility, PEEL connects students to a vibrant network of adjunct professors, alumni, and other practitioners working in these areas of law.  Additionally, PEEL supports four student run organizations: the Animal, Energy, and Environmental Law Societies and the Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief.