News Archive

Janet G. McCabe, professor of practice at IU McKinney, was quoted in story for the Chicago Tribune, calling on her expertise as a former Environmental Protection Agency official.

The story, “Another break for Foxconn? EPA office led by Gov. Walker's former aide to decide smog pollution rules,” notes that after years of air quality testing and other evidence, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tentatively concluded late last year that most of southeast Wisconsin needs to take more aggressive action to reduce lung-damaging smog, but that analysis has “infuriated” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has promised to relax state environmental laws and access to Lake Michigan for Foxconn, a Chinese manufacturer planning to build a new electronics factory just north of the Illinois border in an area with some of the state’s dirtiest air.

Professor McCabe, who helped develop the new smog standards as the EPA’s acting assistant administrator for air and radiation in the Obama administration, said the smog regulations in question have withstood several court challenges and are grounded in well-documented medical research.

The Chicago Tribune quote Professor McCabe, “I don’t know how anyone can justify exempting areas with dirty air,” said McCabe. “These areas already have too much pollution, so the idea is you shouldn’t be adding new sources unless you ensure there is an overall decrease in pollution that is protective of public health.”

Read the story here.

Professor McCabe is also Assistant Director for Policy and Implementation at IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute. She is also a Senior Law Fellow with the Environmental Law and Policy Center. From July 2013 through January 2017, Janet McCabe was the Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the United States Environmental Protection Agency and was nominated by President Barack Obama to be Assistant Administrator of that office.