EPA Celebrates Kerr Laboratory's 60th Anniversary as Deputy Administrator Tours Oklahoma Science, Farm and Energy Sites
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on November 4 that Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi celebrated the 60th anniversary of the agency's Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center in Ada, Oklahoma, on October 28, joined by Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs Usha-Maria Turner, Associate Administrator for Applied Science and Environmental Solutions Teresa Booeshaghi, and U.S. House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK). For six decades, the agency said, the Kerr Lab and generations of EPA scientists have worked to protect the nation's drinking water from pollution and safeguard soil and groundwater resources, and EPA renewed its commitment to putting science at the forefront of its work.
"As a proud Oklahoman, it was great to be back in the state to meet with stakeholders, EPA employees, elected officials, tribal leaders, and other federal partners. From EPA's premier ground water research center to the energy production and farms and ranches across the state, Oklahoma is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of our nation," Fotouhi said. "EPA stands ready to help all Americans achieve cleaner air, land, and water, while growing our economy, and will continue to rely on the gold standard of science to do so." Region 6 Administrator Scott Mason said Oklahoma shows it is possible to protect the environment while promoting economic growth, and that Region 6 will keep working with state and local partners.
The Kerr Lab celebration was part of a three-day Oklahoma swing. On October 28, Fotouhi also toured Boeing's facility in Midwest City, where Boeing employs more than 3,700 people and modernizes aircraft for the U.S. military and international allies, highlighting EPA's work to support the state's manufacturing economy through a more efficient and predictable air-permitting process, and concluded the day touring ongoing site remediation work at Tinker Air Force Base.
On October 29, Fotouhi and Mason visited Jensen Farms in El Reno and took part in a roundtable with Oklahoma Farm Bureau members and farmers and ranchers, covering EPA's proposed new definition of "Waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act, the agency's work to reduce the pesticide backlog and reverse Diesel Exhaust Fluid deratements. Later that day they toured Oklahoma City properties that have benefited from EPA's Brownfields Redevelopment program, including Scissortail Park, Fire Station #6, The Village at Walnut, and the First National Center.
On October 30, the pair joined a roundtable with the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma on EPA's proposal to revise the oil and natural gas regulations known as OOOOb/c, which, if finalized, is expected to save $45 billion in costs for consumers and businesses, including families and small businesses operating marginal wells, and to unleash an estimated 210 million additional barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Alongside U.S. Representative Stephanie Bice (R-OK), they also discussed other actions to unleash American energy dominance, and closed the trip with Hamm Institute for American Energy Executive Director Jeff Starling, touring the institute's applied energy research laboratory. Throughout the visit, the Deputy Administrator met with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, including Energy and Environment Secretary Chris Schinnerer.
(Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的美国环境保护署总部东楼。CC BY，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The East Building of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. CC BY, via Wikimedia Commons.
